All Forum Posts by: Kellen King

@Bryan H. is right on! 15% is a good profit goal. 

@Leon Cumberbatch

Welcome! It's never too late to get involved and find something you love in life. My advice is to stay true to yourself. It's easy to get caught up in all of the big talk around you and get out of your comfort zone. If a property feels too scary to dive into, then it may not be right for you. There are a lot of opportunities out there, so don't jump on the first one. 

Especially in the beginning, do flips with cosmetic fixes needed and not much more. Go through the process of hunting for the house, estimating a value for the house post-renovation, estimating a budget, trying to stick to that budget, hiring people around you that want to help, and learn from all of it.

Learn from those around you and from yourself. Take bits and pieces of advice from everyone trying to help you and create your model. 

Good luck!

Patrick,

Sure, no problem. Yea, $10,000 is tough no matter the house. Even if you can't stay that low, just staying conscious of the low budget all the time helps. If it's an up and coming urban renewal area then it could be a good idea to rent it out. I would be really curious to hear what input the long-term investors have.

Welcome! To answer some of your questions....I would consider being careful with the money you put in this house. Considering the neighborhood and home values, you don't want to invest too much in a house that has such a low value ceiling ($55k-$60k). I would try to stay as close to that $10,000 as you can. Do as many basic fixes as you can to make the house move-in ready and safe, but don't worry about making it sexy... (Paint, carpeting, fixing cracks, etc...) I would flip the home if it was me. 

And also, it's probably best if you try to work out this project first before you take on the next one, especially considering most of your funds are tied up in it. It can become a slippery slope quickly. More great opportunities will be down the road once you sell this one. 

Good Luck!

It does sound like a big project, but making money isn't easy, so that doesn't mean you should walk away so quickly. These are the properties no one else wants, because they look scary at first sight. But, you put insulation and drywall up and things quickly look better and you start to see the potential. I could see this reno costing $100k. If it's an auction then maybe just be more conservative and bid up to $175k or so. That being said, you'd have $275k in it, you would need to be very confident your comps are $350k and not $299k. 

I'm not sure exactly what type of investing you're looking for, but no matter what you want to find a realtor that will have no hesitation when it comes to working with investors. If they seem to be on the fence about it then just move on. I would consider looking for an agent in your area that is on bigger pockets because it is showing they are definitely interested in working with investors. Search BP for an area realtor. Good luck!

Sorry, but to add to what I said...we would not put beds in the rooms...we felt it was pretty self-explanatory when you walked in a bedroom that a bed would be there...most people walk in a bedroom and say, that's nice, and walk out. The money is usually made somewhere else in the house...focus there! (Also, it's just a pain to haul a bed) 

I believe in staging! Consider buying some main pieces...maybe 10 or so and using them in every flip you do. Consider renting a storage unit when they are not being staged (if you can't fit them in your garage, etc). Try to find couches, chairs, barstools, rugs, towels, accessories that will fit most styles of homes (whites, beiges, etc). You don't have to go all out, but from my experience, staging helps so much. We even had people wanting to buy the furniture with the house sometimes...this is a great sign! I will show a few pictures of some old projects we had...just a few ideas.

I'm also interested in this.

@Mark Shaffar from what I keep reading it seems as though some of these websites (such as Juwai.com) require that you have a listing and submit it to their website. Are a lot of the Asian buyers already represented on the buyer side? I'm interested in representing them on the buyer side, but do not have a listing...is this possible? 

Thanks Dmitriy, Jeri, and Cornelius! Looking forward to exploring!