All Forum Posts by: Liz Lynn

Hi everyone! I am looking into a property that is very interesting to me and would love y'all's input. It's been on market for 90+ days but has been overpriced. It has been droppings 30-40k per month, but the sellers aren't in a rush to sell it and don't want to lower further (according to the agent). It has an acre of land with a 4b3b house (2 bathrooms are unfinished), a studio casita with an unfinished bathroom, an unfinished garage and 2 unfinished workshops. It was listed with the 2200 square footage of the house only, not including the extra 500 sq ft that was added for the extra bath and utility room nor the casita or extra garage/workshops. With that finished the house would have 2 living ares, 2 beds with insuite baths, and 2 that share the bath in the hallway. Everything is outdated so I would need to rehab the kitchen, flooring, and other bathroom as well. All electric and plumbing seems to be in line, the roof doesn't look bad, the HVAC is broke but the window units work, and the foundation is iffy. The listing says it's slab, but it's clearly pier and beam. I saw a small crack in the ceiling, and a few big ones on the outside. 

So it looks like it will be a ton of work, but the ARV is looking to be higher up in 550k-700k because the area is great. It is in the medical center and it is in a fancier area of town. So I am thinking of a few different strategies. I could BRRRR it and get it fixed up while I live in it and then either sell or rent it out since the neighborhood is mostly rentals or open a dog boarding/daycare center (which is why I was looking at it originally), or I could wholesale it to a fixer upper. However, this is literally my first investment and I'm not sure if this is too much to take on as a beginner. I have been doing a lot of reading and watching youtubers, but I have been very nervous to actually get started bc of my lack of experience. I am working with a realtor who suggested getting a $350 inspection to see what all needs repairs, but I don't want to pay for it if it's not a good idea overall anyways. Thanks in advance y'all, I adore this community and please feel free to be blunt I really want some truthful advice.

Hey y'all! So, I've been watching in the shadows for a few years now, and I'm looking to finally get started with wholesaling and buying fixer upper rental properties. I feel like I just keep getting stuck with analysis paralysis and I get cold feet when it's actually time to try and call up the seller. I don't have a mentor or anything other than YouTube and BiggerPockets, so I feel like I will come across a situation where I'm completely unprepared and lose the deal. Even with that in mind, I know my goals are planned for this industry so I need to get over it and just do it lol. I don't have anyone in my circle that is into real estate investing, and I totally understand and agree with the idea of "being the fifth broke friend". I am hoping to change that by being here and making more valuable connections with y'all.

I am great with numbers and very teachable, so I am also hoping to find some type of apprenticeship where I can work under someone who's already been there done that so I can exchange my time and work for better experience. If anyone has any advice or is looking for an apprentice please do let me know! I love this community and am so excited to continue learning from you guys. Hope y'all are having a great weekend! 

Hi Rick! You're not wrong with that. I am on the search for a new realtor as I'm not really feeling it with them. Did you look it up on zillow? I got the code for the box so I was planning on visiting it. Now I am not so sure though. I believe it's under contract with a wholesaler, so I am not sure how much the price could get lowered with negotiation. Would I be able to bring in a contractor crew to give an estimate? I heard it's also smart to get an extra 10% for repairs that were unexpected. So, are you saying that the repairs might be up near 77k? the wholesaler is only knocking off 8k from the listing price. Thank you for replying!

 Hi Jason!

I am going with a hard money lender and I am hoping to get as close to $155k as possible. I haven't been approved yet, but I don't think it will be hard with this obvious high return. My realtor said it can end up near $200k ARV, she and her husband are a team where she works with investors and he is a contractor/flipper. I should look for multiple quotes right? The front units are available to show so I could have them come and look at it before we offer anything. Thank you for replying!

Hi everyone! I am working on acquiring my first BRRRR property and I am so excited to get passed the analysis paralysis stage and take the next step. I have set up a nice list of renters and I know that there's always people looking to rent, so I am fairly positive I will be able to find a good tenant and get this cash flow (: I found a triplex that is downtown and listed for 110k and I've been told it'll need 47k in repairs. There's a 2/1 unit in the front that has a nice view of the Tower and they said market rent is $950, there's the second unit which is a 1/1 and market rent is $850, and they have a detached unit in the back that is rented out at $500. Both of the front units need complete rehabbing, but the back was recently remodeled. Zillow estimates it currently at 120k and can sale at 85k-143k, and I'm waiting on comps from my realtor. I wanted to brrrr a multifamily and these numbers work really nice imo.

My question is, what now? How do I go about estimating costs, rents, and ARV? Who do I need to look for to flip a house and what should I look for when hiring? Is there a way to estimate repair costs without sending out a crew? I don't have MLS so I go off of zillow and so far there aren't any multifamilies around for sale and TX doesn't show sold prices so I have been stumped on ARV and rent value. Any additional tips would be appreciated! TIA

I'm still looking for my first property, but from what I have learned so far you aren't looking at it right. They should absolutely have a positive cash flow and the numbers should all work out. For my first rental, I want to manage it to save on the costs of hiring a pm, but if the numbers work well enough where I can still cash flow then why not have a pm? Eventually it'll most likely end up being professionally managed anyways so I look at it with and without that cost. I only hear horror stories about California's prices so I wouldn't look in that market, however if you want to stay close to home then you don't really have a choice right? If you do invest in remote markets that gives you an excuse to travel and it counts as a business expense if you register it as an llc (pretty much means free travel). I wouldn't think looking it as more than it is (a property) is a good idea because you don't want to get attached to it and end up ignoring the red flags because it's pretty. I am looking to BRRRR and I don't know what your strategy is, but I've heard to buy as low as you can (which means the house will be ugly, and you'll have to make it pretty) so you can sell later and have the highest ROI. If you buy rent ready properties that means you are paying the cost of repairs and the in between of what the flippers bought it for and that is what can really eat your profit. For example, if you're looking at some properties in the same area, same b/b etc. One is a pretty property at 183k and it ends up cash flowing $200/month as is. The other property is ugly but it's only 130k and it needs 30k worth of repairs into it. If you buy the fixer upper and bring it up to 180k value. You make 20k before you even rent it, plus you save $ on the mortgage payment and you end up with a higher cash flow. So you can look for vacation homes, but I don't know if it's ideal if you're focusing on roi