All Forum Posts by: John Hickey

@Jon Schoeller your sure it’s the worst area? At least 50% vacant good neighborhood close by?

K.

so what are the prices for SFR and MFR. How much is Rents. Taxes etc.

Drug dealers shooting each other? Got Hookers? Is there a big percentage of homeless crazies and drug addicts.

What do the locals say about the area.

Most important of all. How long has it been this way. I Personally think I can turn any block around. But from experience I can tell you it’s a lot easier if you find an area that’s been long burned out. Low population density in the area is good. Vacant lots, parks, parking lots, cemetery’s are all good places.

When I look for a bad area I don’t what to be on one of the worst blocks among 20 bad blocks. With rows upon rows of occupied houses.

I want the neighborhood to look like Detroit(no offense Detroit I love you)

So let’s hear about it. Are you willing to share info?

If the area is really that bad your not going to have to fight with buyers. If you want give me an adress I’ll look it up on some of the stuff I use.

@Bill Plymouth your the listing agent? Too bad your not closer.

We’re at 6 mostly around here but I do that.

I would do that all the time.

Few years ago House was listed at 60k multiple offers. He knew some stuff. Told me to make my offer at 47 cash. I think I gave him 10%.

A month later I was drinking coffee and a broker asked me how the hell I got that house for 47 when she had a buyer at 59k similar terms...she was yelling in the coffee shop like a lunatic.

Last year an agent called me with a deal. 75k 2 family. ARV 250

No one was finding deals.

I had told him a few weeks before that I was looking and I would pay 500 cash on top of commissions for cheap houses like this. At the closing.

Everyone always asks me how I got that one.

In those markets investors should figure out what makes agents happy and do that.

For what it worth 500 wouldn’t do it around here now. But shells are 200k now. Lol. Hot markets.

@Melanie Jones

Hard work and persistence will get it done.

One thing tho.

It sounds to me like your margin for error is tight. Nothing wrong with that to me. Thats my life. I’ve done deals where I don’t have Deposit money after closing to put with the utility co to turn on the lights....but i figured it out. You will too.

It’s good to have alternative exit strategies. Be able to flip it to an investor....or owner occupant. No need to spend a ton of time on a plan for this but just be thinking as you go along I’m doing this for me but I want to make sure it’s good for other folks too.

@Jon Schoeller

Vacant buildings. Lots of em. That’s the way to start. Need drug dealers and hookers too.

Identify an area that is hopefully close to a nice area....say within a mile or two.

I like at least 50% vacant or distressed real estate. 80%is even better. But....you have to own all the vacants or at least be able to control them.

Property needs to be cheap enough that you can accurate a decent percentage of the area....and you especially want to control the worst buildings.

Bc it’s funny what happens in bad areas. You fix up all the bad ones you own...and the junkies will move to the one house on the block....sometimes the formerly nicest house and set up shop there.

Ps I figured out my ulterior motive...I wanted to talk about what I do bc as you can see all Conversations with me end up on my investing strategy.  

So after hijacking this thread I realized I should just start a thread on my investing methods.  

  How to tame a war zone.

I’d like to share my strategies here to help others make money and turn the worst war zone, vacant areas into safe spots for families to live.

I’m by no means the only one doing it. It’s just hard to find people talking about it. 

I think if we talked about it more more people would take the risk and the worst crime areas could turn very quickly into homes.

Some of them aren’t going to be pretty. 

Some are pretty simple.

Welcome all to advise and share here.....

Especially those who have successfully taken stuff from war zone to secure housing.

So I’ll start it out.

Buy the worst house in whatever area your going to purchase. It might be useful to ask the cops what house they goto most often in the city.

Try to buy at least half a block. Getting a corner with 100’ in each direction is helpful.

See a bodega? Get that too.   Don’t let a single commercial or residential property within 500’ get sold to someone other then you or some one you can trust that will assist you.

@Cin Suan Khai

@Tyrone Hood

Can you access this? If not let me know   Might need your email to share it   

Anyone that need it can use it. Juts keep in mind that those properties were bought years ago. Those prices 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16pnpZW_rK37Al7RwBeJmE1C-KPGkGxxEGH-5rnV1zd4

@Matt M. good stuff.  

@Account Closed you def have your POV.  While above from My POV Jerryll crushed your posts, 

But i love that you did it.  And still like you saying what you think.  But I like Jerryll.  Never did biz with him but he’s a positive guy and he just started from scratch a few years ago.  

If he has a Wyoming co you won’t be able to see that he owns anything.  I don’t know that you should trust that source as absolut.  

Even a trust in NYS ppl can’t peirce.  

That Splitrock/gregg s thread that i was talking about above was a different topic.  It was an epic battle of the keyboard.  

@James Wise up not down??? Just BC your big doesn’t mean don’t watch the little guys.