All Forum Posts by: Katherine Robbins

Happy to help if you still need! I'm a virtual designer that specializes in working with investors (I flipped for many years in Boston). I'm fairly familiar with Austin (and the funky designs they love) as I've spent a lot of time there. I can do 3D renderings, furniture sourcing etc. Let me know if there are any questions I can help answer! Heartwood Homes 

Definitely design for the market and price range you're in. It depends on your skill in choosing design materials and/or your GC. If neither of you have much experience in designing then it will show when you try and put together cabinets and tile that don't necessarily match. As a designer and a Realtor, I've seen so many flips on the market that have obviously been done by a male (sorry guys) with no experience in design concept. These tend to sit and you lose money. You can hire a designer that works specifically with flippers so they understand the need to keep costs low and what needs to be handed off to the contractor (like mentioned in the above comment). 

Happy to help if you have any questions!

I've used Architectural Designs, they're great and have many options!

Usually FHA loans are for people with challenging circumstances so you should be okay. As long as you have the money and a steady income. It doesn't cost anything for you to get evaluated by a mortgage broker. You should find someone local (not at a big bank like Bofa etc) and see if they will look at your file and pre-approve you.

All that information is public. You should be able to get into the public records of the county and look up deeds and liens. Just google the registry of deeds (or land registry depending on what they call it) for the county or town (again, depending on how they organize this info) and you should be able to find something. Be weary of the fake websites that offer this information at a cost. 

You can also work backwards and look up foreclosures, divorce or death certificates and find an address to contact. Usually people in those circumstances are looking to sell a property and if they've been an owner of it for a long time then maybe at a discount. LA is tough because its flooded with a million other people trying to do the same thing. That's why its a good idea to try an get creative with the way you find properties. 

If you do have cash in savings, you should consider using Hard Money to flip your properties rather than using all of your savings. All of the investor seminars and courses advise using OPM or Other People´s Money when it comes to starting out with real estate investing. Connecting with HML (Hard Money Lenders) is a good way to get your foot in the investing world. You'll also want to start an LLC to protect yourself. Lots of things to consider before just diving in!

Hope that helps! Good luck. 

Here !! I'm a designer, Realtor and investor (tons of projects over the last 5 years). We are outnumbered but I think our quality of work and standards far outweigh the men :) 

As a designer, I would suggest scrolling through Pinterest and saving things you like to a board for the house. You need to figure out what the aesthetic is that you're going for - traditional, modern, farmhouse etc.. Pick a color theme and try to maintain in throughout the house. You need to figure out how much you want to spend on the renovation as what you choose for materials and design elements will depend on the budget you have. If you want to change the layout, you should definitely have an actual designer do that. There are building codes to follow and if it's major wall moving, you will need an architect or engineer. The contractor you choose should be able to walk the property with you and tell you what you can and can't do. 

Feel free to message me if you have any design questions! Good luck. 

@Rita Dourado, I would be happy to! @Nick Avola feel free to send me a message if you're still looking for help! 

Hi! Yes, they do. I worked on one out in Topsfield MA and there were restrictions on the colors you could paint it (inside and out) and not being able to do anything structural like changing the walls and layout. You also had to keep things as original as possible, floors and doors etc. 

If it's has good bones and just needs to be cleaned up then there are some people who will pay top dollar for a nice historical home. Your renovations might just come in the way of updating electrical (they usually have knob and tube if they haven't been updated yet), plumbing and the heating HVAC systems. You can update the lighting and plumbing fixtures, fix any drywall or plaster repairs and do your best to keep the finishes and design to the era of the house as possible. If it looks like it's already been updated to modern day standards then someone might have already gone through the trouble of requesting to update it then you most likely don't need to worry about these things. You can also talk to the city hall and registry of historical homes and see if they have any information for you on what can be done. The town hall where our house was had all of the information on the property over hundreds of years which was also really cool to see. 

Hope that helps some! 

I would recommend wholesaling it as well. You would basically be selling the contract you have with your friend to someone else for a slightly higher price and you'll pocket the difference. It's called a contract assignment but you usually need permission from the seller in order to do this and sometimes they don't like the idea of you making money off of them. You could also do a double close where you close on the property and then immediately sell it to someone else for a slightly higher price. Or maybe a simple way would be for you to arrange with your friend to give you a referral fee for finding someone to buy it from him. In some states this is illegal so you'll just have to look into how to make it work. 

I think your idea of subdividing it would be a good place to start too. You would most likely need to close on the house first though. But check out land prices in the area and see if you can get a surveyor to check it out. I would also recommend having a real estate agent run comps for you. I wouldn't rely too heavily on what Zillow says since it's never seen the house and it just based on algorithms. AND in today's market, the tax assessment doesn't always reflect the value either so maybe you have more room than you think you do. 

If you still want to consider buying it and flipping it you could look into hard money lenders. If you can find someone that will give you some cash and be a second lien holder on the property then you would be able to flip it with hard money. I've flipped most of my houses with hard money and had someone put down the cash for me and just be a lien holder so you have an agreement with them separately that if something happens to you or the property, that they get their cut first. When you resell for a profit, they get their cash back plus a little interest and you get to pocket the rest. 

Hope that helps!