All Forum Posts by: Justin L.

Hey @Kenneth McKeown, were your properties in North Dallas recently purchased? I'm very interested to hear about how you're sourcing your deals since nothing on the MLS seems to make sense from a cash flow perspective. Haven't seen a whole lot from the wholesale distributions I'm on either. Feel free to PM. Thanks!

Hi all - I posted this over in the Starting Out forum which I realized is under the Investor Basics section, so perhaps not the best place. But here goes it again:

I'm currently looking at a new construction home as my primary residence. This will be my first home purchase so I'm hoping those with experience buying new build properties can weigh in here. Background: the contract takes place well before construction even starts and there are no model units to walk through. Some questions I have:

1. Do new home builders typically allow for negotiation around the refundability of the deposit (earnest money)? I've been reading mixed comments around the web about this one.

2. What are some common items that a buyer/agent should try to negotiate on? (e.g. deposit down, upgrades, etc) I'm aware that purchase price is pretty tough to get a discount on since it sets a bad precedent, but I'd like to make sure i don't leave anything on the table.

3. What are some standard protections a buyer should look for once the project is complete? (e.g., years of warranty, maintenance, etc)

4. Any other tips or advice?

5. This will be in the DFW/Dallas area so if anyone knows of a good agent/realtor/resource in the area to assist with the contract, I'd greatly appreciate any referrals.

Thanks for your time!

@Shawn Lowery Thanks for sharing your story and the details of your projects. Congrats on all your success so far.

Hope to hear more about your future endeavors!

Hi - I'm currently looking at a new construction home as my primary residence. This will be my first home purchase so I'm hoping those with experience buying new build properties can weigh in here. Background: the contract takes place well before construction even starts and there are no model units to walk through. As part of the contract, there's a deposit (earnest money) required which I believe is non-refundable. Some questions I have:

1. Do new home builders typically allow for negotiation around the refundability of the deposit? I've been reading mixed comments around the web about this one.

2. What are some common items that a buyer/agent should try to negotiate on? (e.g.deposit down, upgrades, etc. I'm aware that purchase price isn't usually something the builders are willing to go down on since it sets a bad precedent but I'd like to make sure i don't leave anything on the table.

3. What are some standard protections a buyer should look for once the project is complete? (e.g., warranty, maintenance, etc)

4. Any other tips or advice?

5. This will be in the DFW/Dallas area so if anyone knows of a good agent/realtor/resource in the area to assist with the contract, I'd greatly appreciate any referrals.

Thanks!

Thanks @Neil Aggarwal. Will send you a PM 

@Bryan Arnold Looking to do my first one this year!

Hi all,

I began my REI journey in the second half of last year. I've spent a good bit of my free time educating myself - read some of the highly recommended books (RDPD, MREI, etc), monitored my local market closely using the MLS, drove around neighborhoods, attended open homes, read BP once a day, and finally caught up on all of the podcast episodes recently. I'm ready to take bigger steps and to connect with more professionals in the area. I'm currently seeking referrals for investor friendly agents as well as an attorneys to work with for purchasing buy-and-hold properties. 

The ideal first investment property would be a multifamily which I can househack...however, my constraints for that would be within the area bounded by the highways 35, 75 and PGBT (slightly outside is fine too) due to my work commute. From what I've seen on the MLS, this seems unrealistic given the growth in the area (happy to hear otherwise). So I'm open to exploring SFRs, condos, and MFs within 45min driving distance of central Dallas. I'm also interested in learning more about how to access off-market properties so I think working with a savvy agent and/or wholesaler would be the right path.

I'd greatly appreciate any referrals or tips. Thanks!

Regarding the ~40k units you're seeing in Dallas...are you referring to the ones around the northeast area? If so, those tend to be C~ neighborhoods from what I've seen. And from some analyses I've done, they actually don't cash flow that well, especially after the HOA fees. Not to mention, the vacancy rates for those <$70k condo units around Dallas seem pretty high (ie, lots of units for rent on craigslist). I've been spending a lot of time learning and driving around the neighborhoods north of I30 so feel free to ping if you'd like more info

@Bryan Arnold Welcome to BP! I'm a newbie myself but finally finished all the podcasts to-date not too long ago. One of the recent ones that briefly covered subject-to (vs assumptions) was Ep 184. I also recommend episodes 2 and 70 as well. Good luck with your investing!

Very inspirational. Congrats @Michael Rogers!