All Forum Posts by: Karin Crompton

I haven't bid on a HUD property in over a year, but I think the closing date is just part of the process in filling out their bid form. I wouldn't really read much into it - until you have a signed Purchase and Sale Agreement - and 184 other items that HUD will require along the way - nothing's really happened. They could be negotiating with a dozen other bidders or they could be negotiating with just you. It's impossible to say.

Welcome, @Dwight Ketelhut - it's always a pleasure to meet other CT folks here, and doubly so when they're in SECT! You don't see many NoSto mentions around this site. ;-)

There are several BP meetups happening monthly in CT, including a newer one in East Lyme hosted by @Mat O'Grady . I look forward to meeting you, and best of luck reigniting that fire!

Welcome, @Zachary Deane ! I'm not all that far from you (East Lyme) and I also have in-laws in Middletown. I haven't done buy-and-holds just yet, but it seems a good city to do so. Just make sure you understand the neighborhoods when deciding what and where to buy. Good luck!

There are a bunch of threads on BP as well as discussions on some of the podcasts related to this very topic. I think it all boils down to your motivation for getting a license, and I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer.

I got my license because I wanted to be able to get into a property quickly - not having to wait for my Realtor, who in this case is my business partner (and Mom!) and who lives an hour and a half away - and I wanted to be able to write up an offer asap. I also wanted my own access to the MLS and the ability to run comps myself (though we both usually run them and then compare notes). So speed and autonomy were my major motivators. I also enjoy the educational component and the continuing ed classes, which help my understanding of some of the technicalities involved.

To my mind, that's about where the benefits end. Sure, we save on commission - but so what? This is one of the current conversations in our personal business. It can be quite time-consuming to sell a property, and I wouldn't mind paying another Realtor - a GOOD one - to do the marketing, create the listing, do negotiations, attend inspections, etc etc etc. It's the old question about what your time is worth. If you know you're going to pay a commission on the resale, you factor the $$ into your initial purchase. Again, personal preference. Mom says she doesn't mind being the go-to person on our sales, so for now she handles that and we typically list our own properties. (As for the purchase, we could earn a commission there, and we sometimes have. But whenever possible, we offer up both sides to the listing agent to potentially sweeten the deal and make our offer stand out just a little bit more.)

On wholesaling, there's a quite a bit of debate on this topic as well. The concern, as I understand it, is in something called equity stripping. As a licensed professional, some folks feel that you could get yourself into trouble if you offer the seller one price to purchase, then turn around and wholesale it to an end buyer for something higher. The potential trouble? Your duty as an agent is to get a seller the highest price possible. The flip side of this argument: you're not acting as the seller's agent, you're acting as a wholesaler, and so long as you disclosed everything you need to disclose, all is good. That's an overly-simplified summation from someone who's not an attorney nor an expert on the topic - search around for a bit on BP and you'll find much more, and much better. And you of course can always check with an attorney.

Sorry for the long-winded reply, but I hope that helps!

@David Clay - check the comps in your area. In general, if comparable houses all have granite, you go with granite. If not, you don't.

If your comps show a mix of granite and laminate, I'd go with the granite if my budget allowed. Our goal is always to make our house the best one in its price point, while at the same time being careful not to over-improve (i.e. putting in unnecessary flourishes).

Welcome, @Ted Randolph . What's your niche?

Ditto what everyone above has said. I would love to work with wholesalers but also haven't found any around here yet. All of the flippers I've met around here find their deals themselves.

I say no harm in asking these folks to send you info on their deals. In my experience, that's helped me weed out probably 90% of wannabes. You'll be able to gauge pretty quickly whether they have a clue what they're doing just by asking them to email you some info; do they have photos to share, a rehab estimate, a basic breakdown of the rehab components (not just, "It needs 20k in work"), and an accurate ARV, maybe even some comps? Do they understand the basic math involved in a flip, or do they tell you something like, "Property is worth 150k; Purchase price 100k, rehab 20k, make 30k profit!"

Bottom line: I figure it never hurts to ask them to send me info, but I don't waste time driving out to the properties until they prove some knowledge.

Welcome, @Ryan Bergeron ! I don't know of any NECT meetups, but we've had a couple of meetings here in southeastern CT. @Mat O'Grady has organized those.

CTREIA is a statewide group that meets in Meriden once/month and has some subgroups, but the only location-specific ones I last knew of were in Fairfield County.

@Daniel Raposo - great info, thanks! I am totally going to use a photographer next time. That seems a very reasonable price and it seems to add another level of polish to the listing. Great first impression.

And wow, I knew Fairfield County was pricy, but I didn't realize 489k was considered entry level! That's more than twice the price of entry-level houses in even the nicest towns in SECT.

Congrats again!

@Daniel Raposo  what a great story! Congratulations and much success in the upcoming year.

That's not a price point very many investors start off with. Did you go into your investing career thinking you'd look at a higher-priced property, or did it just sort of happen that way? What kind of days on market was it with a property like that? And is this the type of flip you're planning again in 2015? Also, what's the approximate cost of a professional photog? (I'm also in CT so it'll be similar.) I'm pretty good with my photos, but yours are a whole different level. Nice stuff.