Hi,
I am New to Bigger Pockets after learning about the book Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat by David M. Greene. That book led me to The Book on Flipping Houses by J Scott, and I am now in the process of reading The Art of the Slow Flip by Scott Jelinek. My formal education in business management and marketing led to my MBA in 2005. My skilled trade education started at 7, working alongside my Dad, who in addition to a thriving electrical contracting business, always had side projects. I have always been more comfortable wearing my work boots than I ever have been in a suit. I have owned numerous businesses spanning 37 years, including marketing and management consulting, lawn care, landscaping nursery, horizontal directional drilling, heavy construction, and reclaimed wood. I did a 3-year corporate stint managing a marketing department with a multi-million dollar budget, but I'm not too fond of 9-5. I value schedule flexibility. With all of that experience, I only really found my groove in the past year.
In 2023, I started a part-time remodeling service business to supplement the income in my consulting practice. I got my formal residential builder license in October ‘23. The demand for home services is way higher than the supply, so in 2024, I shut down all other projects to focus 100% on the remodeling work. My business name is Mister Remodel. My Dad and sons are my crew when available. My Dad is also a licensed residential builder, licensed Master Electrician, and licensed Mechanical Contractor in the state of Michigan. We are only missing a plumbing license, which I plan to hire part-time soon.
I am currently booked about 2-3 months out with a potential 3-4 months for the studs rehab project in the works. I like to be hands-on and don’t enjoy the financial responsibility and management of W-2 employees. Clients love to hire me because I can do the entire job from start to finish, no matter the project. Since I am doing the work, I have no quality issues and believe in doing the job right. We mainly work on bathrooms and kitchens and restore what the restoration companies tear up when they mitigate water damage. I am an early adopter and love technology. I am using the latest software to manage my business, including Houzz Pro and Hover, both providing imaging technology to scan and measure homes while providing 3-D modeling technology accurately. The 3-D scans are quickly turned into renderings. The technology allows me to measure an interior and exterior in less than 10-15 minutes. Changes can efficiently be designed, and 3-D renderings can be completed. I see the technology being applicable in real estate investing as well.
I am drawn to and have always loved real estate. I bought my first real estate when I was 18 and built a 6,000 sq ft building to rent out to businesses. Since then, in between all my other projects, I have built several homes, remodeled and sold many houses, and home-hacked. Most recently, I flipped a home after getting remarried in 2020 for a $30k profit.
The most appealing concepts I have learned about are flipping and slow flips. I enjoy the process of turning something that is entirely run down into someone's dream home. I know the risk of a solopreneur business is me, so I am looking to start the rehab business to fund my future retirement or open to having the flips be my full-time business. I am researching the investor relationship to finish writing a strategic business plan, and I want to learn more about Investor-Rehabber relationships and how they work. I am mostly here looking for cash investors to partner with and begin purchasing properties to rehab and either flip or hold the paper. I found a $20k property that would have been a perfect flip, but I also have identified several $30,000 properties in my area that could be great projects. I want to ensure I have a relationship before spending too much time looking for properties.
I look forward to learning more about others here and finding others with similar backgrounds and real estate investors. Jimmy
