All Forum Posts by: Jill Barrett

@Michael Paling We are in the Marquette area! Our rentals are in Ishpeming. The fix N flip is in Negaunee. We would love to join you! Can I get details?

@Vernon Harlock thanks for the welcome! I have a cousin who dabbles in real estate in the Calumet area. 

@Drew Sygit Jay doesn’t want me to quit my W-2 job until we’re able to swing it. Thanks for the advice!

Every time I bring up looking at more properties, Jay gets overwhelmed. He wants to wait until the one we’re working on is almost complete. I keep telling him that we’ll need to jump on something once the flip is done otherwise we’ll be paying more in taxes. 

I’m having a hard time with building our network. Not really sure where I need to be looking. 

Just wanted to introduce ourselves! We're Jill & Jay and are newbie investors. We have 2 multi-family properties in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and we just bought our first fix N flip last week. We love to buy the properties that others walk away from. They ones that need new roofs, have broken pipes, no heat source, or have water damage. We do all the work ourselves and enjoy spending the time together. We do this while Jill works a W-2 job and our goal is for her to leave that job and just do properties. We're hoping this fix N flip will be the answer to this! 

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $4,000
Cash invested: $35,000

This was a big project. This property is a duplex owned by 1 family. The mom lived in one side and the son and his family lived in the other. It was a hoarded house that they walked away from. While we were working on the first unit, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and we put the project on hold for his treatment. As of now, one side is done and rented and we're currently working on the other with a projected done date of July.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We loved the properties that needs a lot of work. The ones that people walk away from. We do all the work ourselves.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We found this by word of mouth. We knew the owners just wanted to be done with it and get it off their hands.

How did you add value to the deal?

We knew that the sellers were desperate to get rid of the property and used it to our advantage.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

One lesson learned it the amount of garbage a house can hold! We took 6 16yd dumpsters and multiple trailer loads of garbage out. Nothing salvageable.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $13,000
Cash invested: $35,000

This was our first investment property. The property was unlivable at the time, broken water pipes, frozen boiler and water damage. It was being used as a single-family home and we converted it to 3 units.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It had a lot of potential.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found it on the MLS. Because of the broken pipes and no furnace, we were able to get a great deal. These are things people shy away from. We look for them!

How did you finance this deal?

My husband received $8,000 from his grandmothers will. We used $6,000 for downpayment and did seller financing. It ended up being a great deal as the sellers divorced and needed money and accepted a small portion of the loan as payment in full.

How did you add value to the deal?

took a single-family home and made it to 3 units. We did all the work ourselves.

What was the outcome?

We now had our first income property!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This ended up being our best deal to date. We learned that divorce will make some people take pennies on the dollar to just be done with it. Our biggest challenge was putting on a new roof ourselves. It's a huge building with a steep roof.

I've only had to use FB marketplace. Make sure you have a good screening process. I have rentals in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and there seems to be a shortage on rentals.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $65,000
Cash invested: $30,000

Our first fix N flip!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We've been involved with helping with other people's fix N flips. We figured, why are we making them the money?!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

we actually found it on the MLS!

How did you finance this deal?

We refinanced one of our rental properties.

How did you add value to the deal?

We paid $5,000 over asking.

What was the outcome?

It's a work in progress

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This is another chapter.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

We did work with a real estate agent. We don't have any one person that we work with. While she was okay to work with, we probably wouldn't use her again. We found that communication was lacking.