All Forum Posts by: Justin Sullivan

@Todd Pultz

This is going to be my last post because your not understanding what I am saying. Why are you telling me about these financings options and not him?

That example is market specific and he would have to have good credit along with not living paycheck to paycheck; also it’s not zero dollars. He got a loan for $45k which he is now a guarantor of. What about title fees and carrying cost? What about if the Reno goes over budget? Then he gets stuck with a loan and a house that he can’t pay or finish. But......

If he is smart and saves his money and has 10-15k saved up then he can weather the storm. That’s my point. Yeah you don’t have to use your money. But the money has to come from somewhere. You can’t buy a house with zero dollars!! I had a guy call me

The other day and ask that question. Because he literally believed that he could get a house with nothing at all.

Save your money, be smart with your money, don’t live paycheck to paycheck. Cut out unnecessary expenses and be smart with your finances. That will open up all your options for investing. If your broke and can’t manage money no one is going to give you

Money.

That’s my point to this post. Be smart with your money and manage it well and have some. Your on BP so if you listen to the podcast I’m sure you have heard Brandon say “money, time, knowledge” three things needed to make a deal happen. He doesn’t have time he has expressed that. He doesn’t have money otherwise he could already be investing and he doesn’t have knowledge either. So if he saves a little money and learns a little bit he’s got a better chance at being successful rather than believing you can invest in real estate with no money. The money comes from somewhere and someone.

@Todd Pultz

What you said is my exact point about no money down. I’ve been a contractor for 15 years and investing for 3 now. I understand the no money down concept trust me I do. But you have done millions this year so are you going to invest your money into a deal to partner with this guy who has zero experience? I know I won’t. He has to have something to bring to the table either a deal or to manage a deal or renovate it or something. That’s my point. Educate yourself first and save your money. He has a better chance of figuring things out on his own with his own money and learning first rather than running around asking everyone to give him money for something he has never done before. You and I may be able to invest with no or low money but starting out I feel it’s bad to hold the crutch and think that everyone can do real estate with no money experience anything. If that were the case then anyone could invest in real estate. My thing is don’t sell this guy a pipe dream. Has it happened before. Yes I’m sure it has but it’s not likely. If you can’t save or donate with a $100 then you can save or donate with a million. That’s why people making $250k+ a year still live paycheck to paycheck.

Get your mind right. Get your finances right and save your money. If you can use someone else by all means do it but don’t stay broke depending on using OPM for your deals. You made a great point about scaling. It’s common to use OPM to scale rather then to start.

@Jacob Walker

You would have to get a renovation loan which some

Banks offer usually smaller banks and credit unions. Then you would have to refi into conventional

Which most of these banks actually will do that in house. You should be able to get it done in your parents name and maybe you on it as well. Regardless options are there start making phone calls

@Ryan Guffey

Listen to poscast and audible so you can take advantage if learning on your drive to and from work. Also so analyzing deals in your free time

And watching you tub videos to learn about renovating. Now you have something to give in a partnership. This won’t happen over night. It’s going to take a long time. Save money also. You need something o start no matter what. I hate when everyone says no money down. That’s ********. No experience no money no deal. Save your

Money and take time to learn them branch out and just do a deal. The best way to learn is by doing. If you analyze enough deals you’ll find one good enough where you know even at worst case scenario you can’t lose. Th at a what I did. Now I’ve been investing for years and do pretty well.

@Gregory Cudzilo

My wife had a client who did this. He made a spreadsheet of twenty houses he wanted to make low ball offers on all of them. What he got was ignored and a pissed off agent. He then wanted to raise the price by $5k then $5k more. In my opinion it’s ridiculous and a waste of everyone time

For you to make low ball offers just to see if you can. She told him to pick his best and final for all properties. Some times “newbie investors” just try to force a house because they think that’s what they are suppose to do. In this market houses are selling above ask unless they sit on the market for a while. If it’s a stale listing yes offer below. But for newer listings you need to

Figure out what your best is and make that your offer from the start. Your just wasting your agents time just to throw **** at the wall and see if it’ll stick. Experienced busy agents won’t do that. You may find a few who don’t have anything better to do and don’t know better or don’t value there time and yeah of course they will just make a bunch of ridiculous offers. Know your market, know the market, figure out what you can offer and make your offer. That is how you invest.

@Jake Drappi

I’m in jersey as well. If you want to connect let me

Know. Short sales are perfectly fine just the process takes several months for approval from

The bank. You can actually get a

Great deal off a

Short sale. My wife just closed on a short sale

She had listed yesterday and my neighbor just sold his house short sale a few weeks ago. So no worries just know that you’ll likely wait 3-6 months just to hear back about if you offer is accepted or

Not.

Reach out if you want to connect.

@Edgar Ehrsam

I’ve known I was going to invest in real estate since I was 15 and first read rich dad poor dad but I didn’t start investing until 27-28. I didn’t go to college either and I wish I would have. You’ll

Gain so much life experience and have fun and it’s something every kid should do. Definitely not rack up massive debt over it but if it’s paid for

Than by all means go!

The best way to invest in real estate is to have money knowledge and confidence. So go to college work save your money and learn about investing. Then when you graduate or even before you do go ahead and start.

@Kevin Klaas

I am in southern NJ and have been in construction my entire life and investing the past 3 years. I own a contracting company who does all my remodels and other local investors remodels. If you’re looking for an area close by but out of state you can direct message me:

My best advise is to just jump in and do it. Pick your criteria and stick to it: and buy a deal. Don’t hesitate. I jumped in and now I am

Happy I did

@Simon Obas

If the agent is telling you to waive the inspection then I wouldn’t waive the inspection. To me that’s a red flag for problems that can’t easily be seen. That house may have been renovated but I see

Things like this all the time where something is

Renovated fast and cheap to hid the imperfections. I have see many properties where knob and tub has

Been hidden junctions behind closed walls. Mold and moisture covered up or painted over, which will appear down the road. Unless you are very skilled in inspections or contracting and know what your looking at I would never waive the inspection. I never get them just because I know what I am

Looking at but If I see something I am

Not

Sure of I call someone. Don’t waive get the inspections

@Laura Williams

Couple things...

First, can you change your thread title to "deceived by crooked handyman" one of the reasons contractors get a bad rep is because in a situation like this, where that man doesn't deserve any right to be labeled a contractor, he is thrown into our field and gives us a bad name. That guy is a handyman plan and simple. I once hired a handyman, twice actually, and both times he couldn't keep up with my pace or work load. Handyman like to take their time and only work a couple hours a day. They do best with small jobs like switching out a ceiling fan, or installing a new faucet. Large jobs like painting and tile work they can't manage. Why should he spent day after day working on your job when he can just go install a ceiling fan and make a buck or two in cash on the spot. That's why your job took so long, especially if he is on drugs. He is more worried about getting cash that day rather than doing your job and spending days without cash. So everyone who reads this remember that handyman are great for handyman tasks. Anything larger than a few hours isn't meant for a handyman.

Second,

I understand that he came highly recommended from several other individuals who used him but did you vet him yourself? If everything checked out and you suspect drug use mid way through your job than that's probably what happened. Did he finish the work 100%? Did you pay him everything agreed upon? You said this was done before he even knew how much money he was getting, maybe he just expected to be stiffed because he knows he screwed you over with shotty work because he is on drugs. Future reference demand a drug test on the spot, if denied then fire immediately. Also all the extensions should not have been given. He took advantage of you compassion and kindness. You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because he came highly recommended from others but fact is that he lost it with your job. I have came up over my deadline on a handful of jobs in my career. Each and every time I gave my client my clients the reasons why, employees quit, fired or didn't show, I underestimated the time needed, ran into issues with material delivery, doesn't matter the reason I always let my clients know and gave them a new deadline, which on the second time around I would 100% make sure I made. I even have a clause in my contracts giving money back to my clients if i fail to meet my deadline. That clause is for your protection so maybe you can keep that in mind for future. After the first time you saw a decline in his demeanor, work, appearance anything you should have known it wouldn't have gotten any better with more time. Extensions are just giving him time to think of more excuses for why it still isn't done. Stick to the contract if he doesn't make the deadline and doesn't come to you in advance with quality reasons why and owning up to his part he played then terminate agreement and pay for what was completed.

This doesn't seem like a scenario where you were trying to be cheap and save money or didn't properly vet this guy. He came highly recommended by several people which is unfortunate that this happened to you. Like a few other people said there are two sides to every story but I highly doubt his story holds any weight. Anyone that has the nerve to pour cement down your drain pipes has some serious problems and zero respect for ownership of anything. After all of this I hope that you take from it to stick to your gut. If your suspected something was wrong early on he should have been terminated on the spot. If he needed one extensions and had a bunch of excuses then you should have terminated him then. Drug use is nothing to play with and makes people very unstable. But I don't want this to be another screwed by my contractor story because that isn't the case here. A single handyman dropped the ball. Not a reputable company who performs large jobs and handles hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the problem is that no one wants to hire those type of companies because they come at a higher expense then the single handyman or small remodeling company. I'm not saying you are wrong for hiring him but this is what happens when you don't hire someone with the proper credentials, license, insurance etc. If he was licensed you could contact them and get some help. But in this situation there is really nothing you can take from him. You could leave reviews and civil suits etc etc but guys like that will just operate with cash for years and years until it goes away. I wish you the best and hope you find a good fix for this! No one deserves to have this happen to them no matter what the situation is!!!