All Forum Posts by: Mark M.

@Michaela G. thanks for the input, thats what i was hoping to find out, just a rule of thumb type, ballpark figure.

Roughly speaking of course...

Howdy BP'ers from Houston Tx.

Just wanted to get some input. I found a house that looks like crap and its old, but its surrounded by $1-1,500,000 homes. Not all the homes are million dollar baby's but i'd say half of them.

I dont know what this house (or should i say "LOT"?) should be valued at because im finding conflicting info.

In speaking to a contractor he told me on average it should cost between $80-$120 to build an average 2-3,000 Sq Ft house, Maybe a little higher for a larger, higher end home (not sure how accurate that is).

But if that is the case, a 5000 sq ft house at $150 per sq ft comes out to $750,000, I know, i know there are a million other costs included and nothing ever goes completely according to plan, but i would imagine there should be enough room in there for a decent profit if you can build a 1.5 million dollar house.

Now Im not an expert, (far from it) Im just hoping someone could help me out and give me an idea of what a good offer from me should be. I will not be doing any developing myself, Im just trying to get it at a good deal so i can sell it to a developer for a good price, quickly.

Any and all help and advice is WELCOME. And if anyone needs more info about it let me know and ill fill you in as much as i can. If anyone is in the Houston area and would like to get together to discuss it let me know, its always good to meet like minded people.

Until next time, be blessed.

@Andrew M. Im really pretty new, so I think I would need to assign or maybe go in with a more experienced investor or developer. Thats what I mean when I ask which direction I should go.

I cant offer much in the way of knowledge or capitol, but i found this deal and I'd love to learn the necessary skills while putting in my "sweat equity". Or even just assign it and still help out with the project just to gain some experience.

And to kind of answer your question, my ultimate goal will be to have a mixture of investments. I definitely want to be a buy and hold investor with long term passive income great enough to cover all my costs of living, but I also want to be able to buy, rehab and resell. I imagine it would depend on the property, location and my financial status at the time. With all that said, i think it might be best for me to assign a few times to get a solid feel of how everything works. 

Thanks for the reply

Greetings to all,

Its been a while since I've posted or really even been on BP, I've been dealing with my full time work and taking care of family but i havent stopped pursuing real estate.

I recently got several calls and wanted to talk about one in particular today.

Its a small ugly house right next to nice, big, beautiful houses. You know the old adage, buy the worse house in the best neighborhood... 

The price for this house is in the 400k range and to be honest there is no way this house is worth that much, but the lot might be. Other houses on the same block are selling for 1-1.5 million. Now those million dollar houses are all new builds, but i did find a comp very similar to my house but in nicer condition for roughly in the 650k range. 

I would imagine that this properties saving grace is its location. I would also imagine the smartest (but hardest and most time consuming) move would be to knock it down and build a brand new house. Seeing as how little experience i have in this field I would say doing that would be way out of my league and should be pursued by a much more experienced investor and/or developer.

I really think this has potential to be a good a deal but I need some guidance and direction on which way i should go or who i should even be dealing with on this.

If anyone could give me some ideas as to the best way to approach this I would highly appreciate it.

Thanks for any input, I look forward to chatting with you guys and gals about this.

Until then, stay blessed.

@Account Closed awesome advice brother.

@Daniel Soto start listening to the podcasts if you havent already, they'll really give you a lot of info and the titles give you an idea of what theyre talking about in that particular episode.

There is a whole section of bp where you can download files like contracts, but be carefull to not download them willy nilly because as basic members we can only download like 4 a week ( I think).

As for double closing just start calling title companies in your area and ask if they'll do it for you.

And definitely reach out to other BP members in your area, some might help you out and give you advice or maybe you might have to partner it out, but like they always say on the podcast, "Its better to get 50% of a good deal than 100% of no deal".

Good luck.

@Salley Smith 30+ hours?!?!? Wow....

Congrats on getting it done so cheap and good luck with the house.

Just for future reference, my wife and I needed a fridge for ourselves and 2 weeks ago and we went to a sears outlet and got a brand new fridge (scratch and dent and nothing fancy but still had the plastic inside) for $345. It was marked originally at $1100, then $800 and for some reason they had it priced at $345 so we jumped on it.

Like i said its nothing fancy but for a rental, a brand new fridge at that price would be just fine by me.

Hey @Dylan Tettemer I would agree with @John Walker give yourself some padding for security on your numbers if you havent already.

If repairs SHOULD be $20k I'd tack on at least another $5k for unforeseen things.

Add a couple weeks to your rehab timeline and an extra month of holding costs, as well as figuring in for a lower rent... all this just to be on the safe side. 

If you can still be cash flow positive than I would think its a good safe deal.

Good luck.

@Julie Marquez I actually laughed when i read your reply because i was thinking the same thing "I havent made a dollar from real estate, I've only spent money".

Now I am brand new, havent done a single deal, But I do enjoy BP and listen to the podcast all the time and I think I'm getting a free education that could net me the lifestyle I want for myself and my family.

Congrats and good luck on getting your rental paid down fast.

@Jonathan Williams great advice, and congrats on buying 2 properties youve either already profited from or will profit from. As far as your risk level goes, I'd say you're actually being smart and disciplined (not buying anything unless you're making a profit as soon as its bought) which what i believe you NEED to do in order to not only survive in this business, but to thrive.

As for my farm area, No, i havent decided that or figured that out yet. I really dont have enough knowledge or a preference yet. I wouldnt mind if i could stay close to home, but I also have no problems going out a distance. My current business affords me the ability to go where i want when i want and the time to do it, so Im completely open. I guess I'd just have to try to make a deal happen SOMEWHERE and take it from there.

Concerning my plans for the auction Im not so much interested in going to the "circus" (LOL) as I am learning the process and more important meeting people who are actual cash buyers. Get their info and possibly do some business with them in the future.

My intentions for RE investing right now is to assign contracts. Hopefully after I've assigned a contract I'll have built enough of a relationship with the buyer that maybe they'll let me watch or observe what and how they do with the house after they buy it from me, maybe even act as a semi - quasi project manager so I could learn some skills to apply toward my own investing. Ultimately I want to buy enough houses that i could choose which ones I want to flip and which ones I want to hold for long term passive income.

The way i figure it, once I buy my first property it'll be smooth sailing from there and the money will just start rolling in........right?