@Henry M. Thanks for the questions, I will try to answer them all in order.
So were most of these buy and holds? - We never planned to buy and hold; we needed $30K to pay for an adoption and flipping seemed like a good route to earn a chunk of cash. We will move more into buy and hold if the market for flips cools off.
What were some of your exit strategies? - Original plan was to flip, but since these are all cheaper properties, rental was the backup plan. Every house we have done would cash flow as a rental if we kept it.
Did they all make money? - Every deal has been profitable, $25K-$50K on each one sold so far. The six properties we have in the works are projected to profit us between $50K and $140K each. We are definitely getting more efficient.
What has been the lesson you've learned over the course of your career? - If you are a real estate investor or want to be one, tell everyone you know. Someone will eventually know someone else that has a deal for you. Also, save up money; buying and renovating real estate with zero cash is nearly impossible to do.
Why did you decide to do real estate from the crash and on? - It was fortunate timing. I graduated college in 2006 and didn't have enough saved up for a down payment until 2008. Then I started shopping real estate.
Most people would be cautious when a market crashes like it did... And there are others who see opportunities... What was the deciding factor that made you take that leap? - To me, everything was on sale. I also liked the idea of fixing up the town I live in while making money.
Where did you retrieve your knowledge from? Example: In the mid 90's, mine was from Barnes & Noble... True story, Lol. - After getting my bachelor's degree in finance, I worked as a commercial loan officer for 2 years, I picked up a lot of knowledge from customers. The Bigger Pockets Podcast has been great, but I didn't start listening until about 12 months ago.
What has been the hardest part about real estate? - Finding deals for sure! I make a good income at my day job and my wife and I are frugal. We have the funds available, finding deals is getting tough. New investors are out in the market and are overpaying. I enjoy the construction aspect and have a good group of subs to work with.
How do you stay motivated in a tight market? - We have a full-time employee now, my motivation is to keep him busy. If I can't find flips, I will buy vacant lots and put up spec homes. If the market is not strong enough for either of those, we will pick up some rentals and wait for the next appreciation cycle.
Is your market saturated with competition? - It is now, in the past 6 months I have only seen 2 or 3 properties on the MLS that I would buy at asking price. Word of mouth, direct mail, and auctions are the places to find deals now.
How many deals do you have to go through to find a good deal? - I check the MLS and Craiglist daily. There are probably 10 properties newly listed each day. I look quickly at each one and run the numbers on any that are under $300k and need renovation work.
What has been the most gratifying thing you've have learned or experienced since jumping into real estate? - Taking the worst house on the block and cleaning it up has been very satisfying. Neighboring homes of our properties have been very appreciative of our work. I drive by many of these houses daily and I am proud of the work we did. And, we get to make money doing it!
Licensed or Not Licensed? What benefits has it brought you choosing one way or the other? - Not licensed, not planning to be. As we buy more directly from homeowners, I don't want to deal with all the disclosure and compliance rules that realtors have. I will go to the selling agent if I see a house on the MLS that I want and I have someone that will list homes for me for a 1% commission.
What strategies in structure of a deal or creative financing if any do you prefer using? Or are you just a straight forward traditional? - We used traditional 20% down financing on the first purchase. After that, we have used HELOCs or private money and always made cash offers on all our flips. We just bought a new personal residence and got a traditional 20% down mortgage for 30 years.
