All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Makovsky

@Philip Pape 

Google brokers in the area where you want to flip and call them to discuss it with them.

@Philip Pape if a wholesaler has a good deal, why not buy it from them? I'm not sure as an  end-buyer what legal issues you could face, but run it by your attorney for advice.

@Philip Pape great question!

Like most things in real estate, there is no black and white answer to getting your Connecticut real estate salesperson license, but here are some considerations you might want to take into account.

Pros:

Savings on back-end Commission (This should actually be the easiest calculation for you to do - and really a question only you can answer: You will probably pay a Listing Agent 2.5% - 3% of the resale value of the homes you intend to flip. If you become an agent, remember that a portion of that will go back to the brokerage house. If the homes will be re-sold for $1M that savings can be significant, if the homes will be sold $100K it may or may not be worth your while.

Earn money buying the house: You can make a percentage when you buy the home.

You can run all of your own comps (and still run it by your own broker for an expert opinion)

You PREVIEW ANY HOMES YOU would like so you can A) see what you should do to your flip based on what comparable homes are doing, and B) get a good idea of pricing on homes . This to me is huge (and got it from@J Scott's THE Book on Flipping Houses). How many Realtor's are going to spend hours with you looking at comparable homes that they will never sell you.

You will learn some good information at the real estate course

You can possibly make ancillary money in real estate doing a lot of other things.

Cons:

Spend 60 hours of your time, in addition to taking and studying for the exam

Financial cost from: the State of CT, the MLS, joining a Realtor board, and possibly brokerage

There is some information that you will need to know by being your own agent and putting a house back on the market, so are you capable of it? (It's not too difficult, but does require a skillset of science & art)

You may or may not have an agent that will be at your beck and call to lean on.

Hope this is helpful in your decision making process.

Hi @Lisa Canosa and @Owen Clancey, the SoCT REIA is a good place to find local whoelsalers, and we also have a local meet-up in Fairfield that you might find wholesalers attend (link below):

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/335133-july-27th-connecticut-real-estate-investor-meet-up?page=1#p2151327

Welcome @Louis Roggeman!

I totally understand why you're looking to get the most bang for your buck on a $200K max investment. But also pay attention to the town and class of tenants you're going after. 

There are plenty of places in Connecticut that you can buy multi-families for $200K or less. But if you're a first time landlord you should also take into account (as mentioned above by @Elisha Brady) that some towns have prohibitively high taxes which will severely restrict cash flow and some towns in CT are rough areas and when you analyze your numbers you might find those towns have higher vacancy, lower collection rates, and higher repairs than in other places. Also like @Christos Philippou mentioned, each town can be so different block by block, so make sure you are working with an agent that understands the intricacies of the town you're looking to invest in.

Best of luck and keep us posted!

Great to see all the CT investors here! @Elisha Brady @Nelson Del Castillo @Jason Arcuri

The July Fairfield Real Estate Investor Meet-Up will take place on Wednesday, July 27th!


Date: Wednesday, July 27th, 2016 (it's last Wednesday of every month - so please mark your calendars)

Place: Anna Liffey's (a cool Irish pub) located at 1494 Old Post Rd, Fairfield CT 06824 NOTE: We are in the back room (http://annaliffeys.com)

Time: 7PM mingle. At 7:30pm we go around room to introduce everyone so you can let everyone know what you do and who you would like to meet at the event (brokers, lenders, wholesalers, investors, attorneys, insurance agents, and more.)

No Cost: It's FREE! Okay it's almost free - please buy a drink(s) from the bar.

[Important Side Note]: There is a Happy Hour from 4pm - 7pm before the event starts. I think it's half-off most drinks ($3 craft beers).

Happy investing!

@Ryan Keenan Yes, you definitely can find cash-flowing homes in CT. 

A few things to think about:

• What returns are you looking for? 
• Where in CT you are looking?
• What type of tenants you are comfortable managing? The lower the class of tenants, the "potentially" higher returns. (I say potentially because you will likely find with lower class tenants: higher vacancy, less rent collected, more eviction costs, more damage to the units, higher property management costs - or more headaches for you if you self manage.) You shouldn't necessarily be scared of these, just make sure you account for it in your underwriting. 
• Also, getting cheap financing can boost returns.

@Account Closed welcome and we've all been there. Try networking with local investors to see where they are investing.

I would be happy to chat with you and give you our criteria , if you're really serious about wholesaling.

Looking forward to it.

All Connecticut investors tonight is our meet-up. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

For clarification, have your rentals been vacant for over a year? If yes, I am not sure. If not (or even if yes), message me and I will be glad to give you some lender names.