All Forum Posts by: Barry Pekin

I am starting with Wholesaling.  I will move on to multi-family rentals.

I am just getting started. I've formed a company, COU Investments Group, LLC. I have registered both COUInvestments.com and COULLC.com. Now I have to decide which would work better for my email and website addresses.

Which do you think would be better, and why?

@Daniel Hyman, my father used to say, “There are givers and takers in the world, and the takers don’t know what they’re missing.”

@Kevin Whisler, don't skimp on snow removal. You want to be on top of that for liability reasons. It can cost us an arm and a leg in Virginia.

@Logan Mayberry, you just need to get it under contract.

But, more importantly, is it truly a good deal for you and the ultimate buyer? Can you sell it to them at 70% ARV less rehab expenses and still make a reasonable fee? Have you come up with a good rehab estimate? Is this truly a motivated seller?

I guess what I’m saying is not to grasp at the first thing you find, but rather make sure it’s a deal that would work for everyone - the seller, the buyer, and you. If not, move on.

I'm just getting ready to start my REI business. I've lurked for years doing other things, and now I'm looking to get started.

I was reading a local paper last night (which is new for me, too!) and found a legal notice about a property where the county is looking to do a judicial sale of the property for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes. The owner died 6 years ago and left the property to a friend. That friend, her heirs, or anyone else related cannot be found despite having a last known address. If I'm reading the notice correctly, it is ordering that the friend, her heirs, and "parties unknown" (who it appears are some people interested in potential ownership of the property) appear in court to "do what is necessary" to protect their interests.

I did a drive-by to check out the property. Someone has mowed the grass, but it is in dire need of landscaping work. The hedges are out of control compared to older pictures of the property. There's what appears to be an abandoned car in the driveway, which is somewhat overgrown by tree limbs and weeds.

My question is, what would you do if you wanted to look further into this? I'm not exactly looking to make this my first deal, but more of an educational opportunity. The court date is still about two months out.

@Gabriel Stephens, it’s the last R... Repeat.

Put $X into deal 1. When you finally refinance, get $X back out. At this point, that investment is recognizing a positive cash flow, including paying for the financing, and you have your original cash.

Take that cash and start deal 2.

When you get your cash back out again, repeat again and start on deal 3. Hopefully you’re also growing that cash so you can increase the size of your deals.

@Daniel Jewell, go for it while you can.

I am 56. I am pretty successful, but I am staring down a future where I need to build some independence. There’s no way on earth I could abandon what I’m doing as there’s no way in the short term I can replace my much needed income.

My only option, which I am pursuing, is to work this business part time until I build up reserves and cash flow.

@Jacob Walls, I’ve been wrestling with this myself for the last couple of days. Every time I think I have something unique, it’s been taken. The problem is that a million people have registered companies with “holdings” or “investments” or “group” in the name.

That said, I'm going to register a general/main company through which I will do all of my legwork. For each deal where I'll be holding a property, I will create a new company (for asset protection) that will be something like "123 E Main, LLC".

Looking for something fun, professional, memorable (I want people to easily remember me) is the challenge.

Good luck!