All Forum Posts by: Dan N.

Thanks Patricia, i definitely understand your point. I don't have quite enough revolving credit to buy and fund a purchase and rehab with credit cards. i have a decent amount available, but not enough. Ultimately the payments would get made for the heloc regardless of whether or not the flip was a flop. Both me and my wife would have to lose our jobs for us to go belly up i think.

OT - Did you landscape your house yet?

@Ali Boone Thanks for the welcome Ali! You have a very nice site. good luck with Nicaragua.

@David Beard Man, i feel like you just handed me a nice check reminding me of the tax deduction for the heloc, thank you. That makes swallowing the risk a little easier. Any thoughts on a particular order as far as acquiring these lines? heloc first then the unsecured lines or vice versa?

@Paul Tschetter Thanks Paul. I completely agree. The ability to make "cash" offers definately seems like a good edge. In order to do that i may have to go heloc. guess i can triple check everything during my due diligence period and hope for the best.

I have been considering my financing options for my first flip now and haven't been able to determine the best course of action, any input would be much appreciated.

I'm figuring my first project will have a purchase price of around 75-100k, and will need 20-35k worth of work. It seems likely my first deal will come from hud or a fannie/freddie reo based on what i've seen so far.

So. Our house is paid for, i'm sure we wouldn't have issues getting a heloc, but at the same time we would be putting our biggest asset on the line and i'm not exactly jumping for joy to do that. Another possible option would be credit cards? We have a lot of available credit on cards with rates in the 6-7% range, maybe using that as a down payment or to finance rehab costs? Another option that might work is my wife has an old ira and has never purchased a home. i think i read somewhere once that you can use ira money without taking the early withdrawal penalty if your a first time home buyer? she would fit that bill, but i wouldn't. That could probably cover a 20% down payment in my expected purchase range. I don't think i have the stomach for hml's.

I realize that not knowing our exact financial situation and having minimal data makes this a difficult task to comment on, but any thoughts may help. I do plan on sitting down with our banker in the coming weeks to discuss options.

Thanks.

Let me start out by saying I am not an electrician, and this is just my opinion.

A couple weeks back I(and by I, I mean my wife) decided that our circa mid 80's medicine cabinet and vanity light were in need of replacement. This was one of those combo deals with the lights attached directly to the top of the cabinet, its all one piece.

Anyway, the romex wasn't long enough to run above the new cabinet and into a box, leaving me a couple of not so great options . I could have put an accessible blank "jumper" box in with the wire that i had and then ran it to a second box at the correct location. (unsighlt) I could rerun the wire which would have required cutting drywall and added substantial time to the otherwise simple project. (headache) I could have buried a splice, which would not be code compliant and just isn't worth the risk.(dangerous) Since i didn't particularly like any of those options i decided to hit the web.

After some research i came upon a new product that is apparently suited for renovating existing construction and claims to be NEC approved. It's a bit pricey but it worked like a charm and seems to be a great solution for this type of a situation. Installation was simple, and after i had it all together I tried pulling it apart for several minutes till i was satisfied there is no way it was going to pull apart in the wall.

Anyway, i won't post links since i'm new here, but the product is made by Tyco and is called a romex splice. Google those keywords and i'm sure you'll find it. Do your own research and check your own local codes. Again, i am not a certified electrician, nor do i play one on TV.

Hello Bp'rs and thank you for such a great community!

My name is Dan and I, like many before me, have spent much time reading these forums and considering the perspectives of many of the members here. I thoroughly enjoy the topics of discussion and it is very clear that there are many successful RE investors. I will be joining those ranks in the coming years.

So about me... I am a 33 year old Lancastrian (if anyone wants Amish quilts, my wife loves a reason to shop) looking to leave a legacy for my family. I went to a trade school for landscape design upstate and after graduating spent many years working in the automotive industry as a salesperson. (makes sense right?) After some trying times in my young life and ruining some excellent opportunities I took a modest position working for one of the national window treatment companies in the states, where I still am today. I have also been managing the maintenance on about 10 rental properties for a friend of mine who now resides in Chicago.

My old man was a successful realtor/investor/small builder in our area for many years when i was young, so i was kind of born into the business. Unfortunately he retired long before i was of age to appreciate my advantages. nevertheless, a fair amount of knowledge was mashed into my skull from a young age. I can remember totally renovating rentals with my father and my uncle from the time I was about Five.

I'll stop now so this post doesn't get out of hand.

Thanks for Reading

Dan