All Forum Posts by: Matthew Marcelissen

The Houston MLS is a great source of deals, at the moment. You need to submit LOTS of offers. I remember one weekend, I submitted four offers at once. lol

Hello, BP!!!

Last month I closed on UG1 (Ugly House 1). I’m extremely excited to have landed my first project! Since I dived into real estate investing this spring, I have been on a non-stop learning roller coaster. After procuring my real estate license in March, I spent most days analyzing properties to visit. I spent the weekends driving around town visiting these properties. In case we need a reminder Houston is HUUUUUUGE. When I did find a property where the numbers aligned, I submitted an offer. However, with real estate investing at an all-time high, so did everyone else. After 10 failed offers, I realized I needed to move upmarket, where there is less competition. And, with my “lucky” 13th offer, I landed UG1.

For those who would rather read, some stats on UG1:

• Located in the Walnut Bend subdivision in Briar Forest
• One story, four bedrooms, two baths, 2,187 SQFT
• Buying price: $275,000.00
• Rehab budget: $75,000.00
• New Listing Price: $424,900.00
• Timeline: 10 weeks

The house is what I like to call a “Grandma special.” It was well taken care of and maintenance was up-to-date. The house has new double-pane windows, few roof, new furnish, new electrical box with a 175 AMP, and it even came with an EV charger in the garage. Did grandma have a Tesla?

As you can see from the pictures, the house needs a TOTAL remodel. We’re talking $35 SQFT remodel. We’re talking money. The scope of work is rather extensive. And, I’ll make a separate blog post on comping properties and knowing how to improve to reach maximum after-repair value.

After meeting what seemed like 10 contractors at the house, I finally settled on one that only works with investors. I like their approach, because investors focus on what sells; they don’t have to deal with sometimes overly-critical owner occupants.

The rehab will kick off next week. The journey will take approximately 10 week; I’ll be there to document every step. Stay tuned for weekly updates. I’ll share what went well, what hasn’t been going well, and we’ll learn together.

@Benjamin Portnoy Pretty scary how easy it is to obtain, eh? LOL.  I also obtained my license to receive the commission.  It allows me to make an extra 6% on the deal.  It was pretty sweet getting that $8,100 at closing.  I also found a broker in Dallas who charges $100 per year and $100 per transaction.  Score!

I got my RE license.  I couldn't imagine analyzing over the 100 properties I needed to, to find my first deal w/o it!

Thank you for the words of wisdom @Vijaianand Thirunageswaram

Hi All,

I landed my first flip in Houston! Since it's a grandma special, I secured a conventional loan for the home for just the purchase price. My friend offered money for the rehab, interest-only, 12%. Yay! How do I best protect her? She cannot be the first lien holder, as the mortgage company will be. Can I make her the second? If so, how is that done? Can it be put on the HUD at closing? What type of contract or document should we sign?

Closing 18JUL.

Thanks for the feedback and tips!

Thank you, both, for the reply!

Hi, forum!

After getting my real estate license, analyzing over 100 deals on MLS, visiting MANY houses (omg Houston is huge), submitting 13 offers in two months (!), I landed my first flip! It's a 4/2 colonial in 77042. It's what I would call a grandma special. LOL. It needs about $50k of work to reach it's $400k ARV. I'm having a the local flip reno guys bid on the deal (Fast Track), but I would like other bids as well. I'm trying to finish the SoW as quickly as possible, but I would like a GC lined up before I close mid-July.

Can anyone recommend me to investor-friendly (i.e. not retail) contractors?  

I appreciate the guidance and will keep you updated on the progress!!

Congratulations on getting started! I would suggest staying away from mentioning religion while describing your tenant. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it, but it's a stupid way to get in trouble with Fair Housing laws.

Matt

Could you give me more insight to differences between REICA and RENC? There is a REICA meeting tonight, but if all they're going to do is sell me stuff, I'll skip it.

Any members frequent Austin RENC?

Thanks,

Matt