All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Makovsky

@Account Closed it's a great question and I had the same question - except I was on the other side of the equation (I was the Realtor, acquisition and finance partner) and when I first started I couldn't understand why a contractor would want to partner with me. Funny to think of it like that, right? :)

But I still prefer partnerships rather than going on my own. The reason I love partnerships is because everyone's goals are aligned: we all want to sell/rent a property for the most money and find ways to reduce expenses where possible, and I want to partner with people that I lack expertise in.

You hear all the horror stories of terrible contractors that runs off with the money, does terrible work because they don't care, etc. Well I know when I have a partner (that I trust - which should not be minimized) I am comfortable that he is going to perform her/his task best and I can focus on mine - which is not babysitting contractors.

Hope this helps and if you find a good partner I really recommend staying with them as long as possible, and not to get greedy. Complimentary skill sets are great.

(Last thing I will say is TRUST, personalities, and set expectations upfront so there are no surprises.)

Best of luck!

Thanks @Jon Q. for asking this. I'm following and would like to learn more about this too.

Many folks in REI like Podio, we have not used it yet, but is something that we will likely be adding.

Been mentioned by many on the BP podcast including the one from 3 weeks ago with LA condo investor.

@Tyler Standish, it's not unreasonable to ask for it. However, you might want to pick your battles. Is there an origination fee of $500 or $1,000 or an appraisal fee? If so, I might try to get that waived rather than busting chops for the $75 fee.

Good luck on your purchase.

@Tracy Stingley you should make sure to write the city and state you're posting for, because other investors have keywords set-up that will alert them when posted in the forum. Since you have the city in the JPG/or similar - local investors that have keywords set-yup will not be able to find it. I'll help you with the first one:

Cash buyer for deal in: "Country Club Hills / Chicago, Illinois"

Best of luck!

@Rob Sa try speaking to local developers in your area that have done similar size deals, and tell them about the deal and see if they have an interest in including you to a level. 

@Account Closed such admirable plans and amazing how far you've come! Can't wait to see you succeed and give back.

Keep on inspiring!

@Terrance Clark great question!

1) First and foremost get a good attorney and a rock solid Operating Agreement.

2) There is no hard and fast rules for how it should work. Do whatever works best for you guys, where you both feel that you are getting a good deal. Personally, I split my deals 50/50 - sometimes I work harder, other times my business partner does, it depends on the deal.

3) Make sure to outline all responsibilities in the partnership. For example, is he taking a GC fee in addition to his split of profits? What are your roles of the flip?

4) Will he be writing checks directly from the account? If yes, make sure that you are comfortable with that arrangement! If not, maybe fund the account as the work is getting done.

Keep us posted!

@Charles Coaston

I have no idea why a state bureaucratic process would be taking a long time. [Sarcasm.] :)

Good luck!

@Kevin Kohler from your assumptions, this looks like a very good deal. 

The only thing I noticed is that the 3/2 house that you are pricing out at $200K is 1,350 square feet ($148/SqFt); and the homes that you're saying sold for $280K are 2,000 SqFt ($140/SqFt).

Often times smaller homes do have a higher price per square foot, so your analysis may be spot on. However, some times smaller homes may NOT have a higher price per Sq Ft in which case make sure that you are comping similar homes.

For approximate HML costs, you can multiply the principal amount you intend to borrow ("P") x interest rate ("I") x time ("T") listed in amount of months divided by 12 [e.g. 6 months/12 months] + Points (as a percentage] x Principal borrowed.

Equation: (P x I x T) + (P x points)

Example: $100K loan; 12% interest & 2 points, and 6 month timeline

[$100K loan x 12% interest x .5 year(s)] + [2 points x $100K loan] = 

$6K + $2K = $8K

Good luck!