All Forum Posts by: Kevin M Finley

Sorry- old thread, but I'm looking for honest reviews from folks that have gone all the way through a flip with this company. I'm considering them and like another member said, everyone has great things to say but few have actual experience. 

I like the concept of a Real Estate Line of Credit but I found with FAO commercial that what's on the surface doesn't translate. Basically, once these companies get to a certain size, it's just as tough as an FHA loan, but with worse communication.

I drove around to all the local carpet stores and then I found one that buys discontinued carpets in bulk and stores the giant rolls in the back in stacks. He measured the house and then walked me through and told me the price, all in, to do the house in any of the ones I liked. I was able to get a good quality carpet and pad for the price of home depot crap. Runs between $2.10-2.50/sq ft installed. 

Just a suggestion... keep turning over stones and you might find a worm

When considering additions or added scope to a reno, I like to make sure I have a two for one return on additional investments. 

For example, right now I am adding an entire second story to a ranch home. To renovate as-is, I would have an ARV of $149,900. To add a second story with a master suite, master bath, nursery, and walk in closets, it adds $26,500 to my renovation costs and about 30 days to my timing... However my ARV jumps to $219,900. If I had just done a dormer, it would've lessened the appeal and not cost much less than building a full 8' second story.

You've really got to pull good comps and understand exactly what you're doing... and then decide if it's worth it. Much of the time it is not. 

$25k to paint a house? Might as well reside it 

$1.50-2.79 sq ft to PAINT siding??

3000sq ft of siding is standard in my area, so they're saying that just to paint the siding, it should be $4500-$8300, before you even talk about trim and windows? 

The last house cost me $380 in paint and $1000 in labor. I like my numbers better. 

My personal property was like this, and I didn't take any chances. Once everything "soft" was removed, and prior to paint, I ran 10 gallons of zinnsser oil based primer through my sprayer. The oil helps lock everything in. I sprayed EVERYTHING, including the plywood underneath the carpet. 

Additionally, I took the window panes out and placed them in a kiddie pool full of bleach for a few minutes and then pressure washed them clean. I also did all new baseboard, casing, doors, and frames throughout the house. 

I haven't had a hint of cigarette smoke since, or any odors from the pet stained floorboards. 

I understand I'm chiming in a bit late here, but I've done A LOT of calling around to Hard Money Lenders... at least 2 dozen nationwide. Some will give you an initial draw. Some will not. 

My first deal using Hard Money:

$30k purchase

$28k rehab

$3k upfront draw. 

I used the $3k to pay my contractor some float labor, and then pulled a Menards Credit card for him to buy materials with. With this, he was able to complete the roof, siding, windows, and demo. It was itemized on my rehab sheet as $14,000 in work, so I took a $14,000 draw, DID NOT pay the credit card, and paid him an additional $7500 so he could order cabinets, materials, paint, more labor,etc. I waited until all work was completed and then took a draw for the remaining $11,000. This allowed me to pay down the card a bit, and then I paid for my countertops, garage door, and a few other subcontracted items net 90 after the property was sold and I cashed out. 

If you don't have a ton of cash sitting around, you have to be creative with it and leverage different options... It was cheaper for me to pay the 12% interest on the card than it was to take a few additional $200 draws, so I did that. 

Disclaimer: you can front load your scope... it muddle the water a little, and I'm not recommending you do it, but if you overestimate on items you will have finished first... roof, demo, etc, then you can take a larger draw upfront and help carry you through the next stages. 

Congrats! Being able to double your rehab time and still make a profit is admirable. All too often one-and-done flippers barely break even after a few "learning" experiences. 

on to the next one! 

I'm in the same boat... but looking somewhat long term. I've determined my qualifiers are: 

-Once my business can support taking my current salary +20% out every month. 

-Once my business can no longer grow without additional time commitment from me. 

-Once I can no longer do my current job to the best of my abilities due to time constraint. 

I'm analytical but also like to set goals. Most likely once I can cross two out of three off the list, I will sit down and make a tough decision. 

I'd stuff a small piece of bat insulation and then seal with scrap plywood. Surround the water line coming out with steel wool- mice hate steel wool. 

Should be able to do it for a couple bucks or just scrounge a flip after hours and grab stuff. I wouldn't even bother calling the landlord.