All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Erin Elam

About 3 weeks. Not a painful process but not as fast as they state. I add at least 2 weeks to any lenders “we can close in as little as X days claim.”

@Erin Elam

I’ve never heard of them, so I can’t add any perspective.

Most of my deals are joint ventures with other investors or we purchase in cash.

I’ve used Groundfloor for financing before on Ohio deals. You may want to check them out. Good luck on your Euclid purchase!

@Clinton Straub - I have customers from California, Washington, Texas, Florida, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wyoming, Virginia, among others - and even a few from right here in CLE. Lots of activity from out of state investors.

I wanted to share some thoughts from what I think is a fairly unique perspective. As both a real estate investor and a contractor whose business is built almost entirely on working with and for out of state investors, I get to partner with and learn from a wide variety of people from all over the world. Below are some observations I think could be useful as we all continue to pursue our goals.

The most successful people I work with and for have a few things in common. First, they are all more organized than most people. Some understand construction, some don't. Some are very active in the rehabbing process, some are not. Some are very particular about finishes/colors/materials, some aren't. But all my most successful partners and customers are organized. They know what's going on, they set goals and deadlines for me and themselves, and they take action and make decisions. If you struggle with this, you may want to regroup and check your processes before you push forward. It will make your chances of success much greater.

The most successful people I interact with don't live or die by the numbers. I see a lot of people who spend hours crunching numbers, churning out spreadsheets, and analyzing deals from every possible angle. The most successful people I work with are certainly driven by a particular set of financial objectives - but they don't get wrapped around the axle about them. They do their math, review their options, and then go like hell to make their deal work once they make the call. I work well with those types of folks, because rehabbing distressed properties is NEVER a linear process. It is imperative to put a plan together when starting a project, but I have yet to do a project (I'm well over 100 projects/deals for perspective) that went the way we drew it up. Which leads me to my next observation...

Successful people roll with the punches. Things are going to go wrong. Sometimes because you screwed them up, and sometimes because of things completely beyond your control. The successful people I deal with understand this, take the standing 8 count when things go sideways, and then refocus on the end game and try to get back on track as quickly as possible. I have had crazy stuff happen that I had no control over that had to be dealt with - like a tenant trying to grope me when I went to fix her furnace. And I have had to deal with stuff that I screwed up that was 100% my fault. I put the wrong tile in a customers shower last week - completely my fault. I offered to redo it at zero additional cost to make it right with my customer. They expressed their displeasure and moved on to get the project done without drama. Successful people recognize that not every thing that goes wrong is major, and they focus on the bigger picture and fight through issues.

Successful people develop relationships with people they trust, and then lean on those people to solve problems without second guessing every detail. I have one customer who will call me and tell me when he is closing on a deal, and ask me to have a crew there to start work the day after closing. No contract, no scope of work, no discussion about anything. He trusts us to do the right thing for him based on a history of us looking out for him. Once we start, we work out the details. That said, the same guy is a tough negotiator, and is always challenging me to cut costs, find ways to get done faster and more efficiently, and leaning on me to help him reach his goals. He has a few realtors and other folks he leans on in a similar fashion. He's no pushover, but he also knows that continuing to work with people he can trust, even when things go wrong (and we have screwed up stuff on his projects plenty of times) is a recipe for success. He knows we will always make it right, and we recognize that his success is our success. The thought process is not to try to get a bigger piece of the pie - it's to make the whole pie bigger so everyone gets a bigger piece.

Not sure if all this rambling makes sense, but I wanted to share what I have learned from all the folks I have been fortunate to work with. If you read through the traits above that all my successful customers and partners share, I think there is a lot of value for any investor, regardless of how much or little experience you have. The best part of my career is learning from all the talented people I get to develop relationships with, and I look forward to continuing my education!

Feel free to share your thoughts/observations about what traits you or other successful people have in common. It helps all of us. 

Good luck Kyle!

I’m certified in mold remediation and removal. Lots of bad info in this thread. Mold is a naturally occurring organism. It’s how nature breaks down dead organic matter. There is always mold in any place you are unless it has been specifically removed - like a hospital or a mold remediation company using proper techniques. The only way to know what kind of mold is in an area is to have it laboratory tested. You also need to take indoor and outdoor samples from the property and compare them. If the measurements are similar indoors & outdoors, no issues. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have mold growth removed from inside your property if it exists. Unless you are trained and certified in safe remediation techniques, taking your own measurements with a moisture meter is pretty useless and self diagnosis and removal of materials that are suspected to be contaminated is a bad idea. Have a professional come diagnose the problem and recommend solutions. Use those recommendations to deal with your tenant issue.

My boy @James Wise says the same thing!

Good, fast, cheap - pick the 2 most important to you because no one can provide all 3. That's any business - not just rehabbing!

@Dimitri Metropulos - When you close your hard money loan, they don't write you a check for rehab funds. They put those funds in an escrow account, and they are available for you to withdraw as you complete the work. Once you finish work, you contact your lender and submit a draw request. The lender sends out their own inspector to verify what is complete, and they allow you to draw money from the escrow account to cover the repairs that have been made to date. You will be charged for both the inspection and the draw itself - Typically between $150 - $200 for each separate draw and/or inspection.

Hi Catherine -

Sorry about your situation. I hope things work out well for you. 

Since you are selling to a retail buyer, it is hard to determine what color schemes and updates you should make without looking at the entire property. On rentals, colors, finishes, and functionality are less important than making things clean, safe, and economical for the owner. When you are selling to a retail buyer, like we do on flips or in your current situation, you need to assess the entire home to see if the kitchen matches the bathroom, which should match the wall colors, which should match the floors, etc. 

The point here is without looking at the whole project, I don't think you will get great direction from anyone. I can tell you from experience that kitchens and bathrooms sell homes, and women generally make the buying decisions when it comes to home purchases by couples. As you look at your project, keep those things in mind. For a nominal price, I'm sure you could get a designer to take a look at it and give you some ideas on what choices you should think about. If you give them your budget, they can prioritize which items are most important, so you can maximize the impact of your updates and budget.

I suggest you work with a contractor who has experience in selling to retail buyers. Contractors who flip or build houses are good options.

Best of luck to you!

Joe Canfield