All Forum Posts by: Kurt Michaelson

Account Closed, I appreciate that very much. Let's connect and see when we can arrange a time to have another walk through the property.

Sam, thanks for your feedback. Lake Elsinore isn't a high income area although some people enjoy living close to the lake for recreation.

I included a figure for graffiti removal under miscellaneous. The electrical portion would also include new smoke alarms too since the entire electrical system would have to be repaired.

I agree, $250K is generous, so I offered him $200K Saturday afternoon.

As far as the length for rehab completion, would it be fair to say that it's different in different markets, including marketing to either sell, or rent? If planning is done properly by the buyer, by marketing and advertising with a good team should help reduce the time to flip for a profit, or acquire a new tenant.

Aaron, thanks for your feedback. Fortunately, I've connected with a few people who specialize in fire damaged homes, so their specific advice will be helpful as we discuss this further.

I agree that $400K is an unrealistic price that the owner is seeking, but there are a lot of people who think unrealistically about the current value of their home.

I don't suppose that you'd be disappointed with a $100K potential profit on a flip if this were your deal, would you?

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

The property has been vacant for at least a year and had suffered fire damage too (see link to pics). The previous tenants were trying to conduct a chemistry experiment with marijuana and something exploded causing the fire. It was renting for $2,200/mo. ($26,000 is lost income due to the fire).

The property is owned free & clear too, but the owner wants to sell it for $400K As-Is. It can be subdivided to add another 1-2 new construction homes on it, per the county planning department, but I still want to research this to understand it more clearly.

The owner said he wants to be "free of this headache," but I'm not quite sure it's a bad enough migraine for him at this time. He said he's willing to sell to me, but he talked also of fixing it up himself, but he'd consider selling it to me.

This house isn't worth $400K, but more like $200K especially with the rehab that's needed. 

I think he's thinking the whole 2.3 acre lot is worth $400K (to him) because he kept talking about the opportunity to build 1 or 2 more homes on the lot, which, if they were rentals they would bring in additional income.

Here is a link to the photos of the property from the visit:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CNjZZyLRyRNkmCRg9

The owner called me a few hours later on Saturday afternoon, to ask what I thought about the property and buying it. He didn't sound satisfied that an offer of $200K was good enough for him to sell it to me. 

Any suggestions?

@Jonathan Anderson Welcome to the BP community. You'll learn a lot here and from listening to the podcasts. 

As far as wholesaling goes, it does work and people do make money. I'm still working on getting my first property under contract, but I have a good friend in CT who just closed his first deal and profited $11K. Don't listen to the naysayers. The BP podcast regularly has guests who successfully wholesale real estate property and there are countless examples of success vs. one person who says it doesn't.

Continue reading and educating yourself through the books that people are reading and recommend. You can never read enough, so become a student of the books you read and the BP podcasts you listen to.

When I re-read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki a few months ago, it made me realize even more how much real estate can become a wealth building financial strategy. All the best to you as you begin your real estate investment journey.

@Hovik Pakhanyan There is a section on this site under Education and then Files. If you click on Contracts then type "Wholesale" in the search bar, there will be a list of results related to wholesale contracts.

I hope this helps.

@Robert Hall, I've been in the San Diego market since September and it's tough, but good. Good for learning and networking with other real estate investors.

I've used the Deal Machine app while I've been out driving for dollars and I'd send postcards to those property owners, once a month. I've also sent handwritten letters to these property owners too.

I can't say what works best in this market (San Diego) because each person's success and experience is different based on what they've done for their business.

@Adam Lowe

First, I would recommend finding a local real estate investment group to join and find a real estate agent within that group who would be willing to help provide comps for you. In return, you could provide their name to the buyer as a potential agent to represent them when they are ready to sell the property once it's been rehabbed.

Using any of the real estate websites is ok, (not the best), but if you look at the recently sold properties based on your subject property this will help you get an idea of the comps, once your new contact can provide comps to you. I've made contact with 2 agents near me and they are both very willing to help me out.

Second, have you used the wholesale calculator here on BP? That will give you an idea of what your MAO would be given the other components that need to be included in order to calculate your fee, your buyer's profit and what your MAO would be.

Third, consider watching/attending one of the webinars that are held weekly here on BP. www.biggerpockets.com/webinars

Lastly, I'm not sure about software that would help you close any deals, but there are quite a few CRMs out there that can help you keep track of the properties you've prospected and would like to wholesale, i.e., HubSpot, Podio, SLACK, etc... Some are free, some are paid services.

All the best to you.

Welcome @Chris Sullivan! BP is a great place to learn from so many different people who are gracious to share their knowledge and experience so freely. 

@Cam Jimmy Outstanding job on this property and all the work that you did! Thanks for sharing your success story and what you learned from it.