All Forum Posts by: Mark Sewell

@ Jorge De Jesus

Maybe, maybe not.  Depends on your situation.  I say damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.  What I don't recommend is doing this on your own, or doing it with zero marketing budget.  

Going forward, if I invest another dollar in a flip, it will be working/partnering with one of these other local guys I've meet on BP, or somebody else that has demonstrated some skills and a track record.

And anyway, none of that matters now.  It's all behind you.  Focus on where you are going!!

A lot of us want to be like you, remember that!

Great question.  I am aware that the city inspectors are active in certain areas, slapping violations on houses that haven't been raised.  Will keep my eyes/ears open for some useful resources that can be shared here.

Sara, you are on the right track. Go to some REI meet ups and talk to people. Might not happen right away, but there will be a good fit.

You have a car?  You have time after work in the evenings?  You can find these houses.

Here is where you find them... go on Trulia/Zillow and find all the foreclosures/pre-foreclosures.  Go drive those streets, and note those subdivisions.  I have found that this month the house at the end of the street is going under, but there are more to follow, and sometimes you can spot the neglect when you drive by.  50% of them (I run a list) that I find are vacant houses, with tired landlords.

People want these leads.  Go do it.

I had some positive experiences with a couple guys, and some less than positive experiences with a couple others.  One guy in particular is a really talented handyman, works in West Houston and Katy, primarily.  not that expensive either. Paint, flooring, carpet, tile, doors/trim, minor electrical stuff, that kind of thing -- ideal for rental property make ready.  Hit me up on private message or whatever, and I'll share his contacts with you.

Darrion, around here folks are looking at that $200K mark. ARV above that are (probably) going to be better for a flip, and ARV below that are going to be suitable for rental properties for the buy & hold crowd. Not true in all cases but a good rule of thumb.

The 1% rule is your quick & dirty yardstick for rental deals. If you can rent it each month for 1% of the money you have sunk into it (purchase plus rehab), then it is probably going to be a nice cash flow deal. For example buy for $80k, pump $20k into to get it ready to rent out, then you want to be sure you are able to get it rented for $1000/month, at least, if not more. Of course you still want to run the PITI and break out the BP calculator and all that, but this is just something simple to use on the fly. This is probably a more relevant rule of thumb than the 70% of ARV rule is anyway.

Give me some time, buddy, I'm right behind you.  I'll get into the buy & hold scene just as soon as I can.

Wholesalers are everywhere -- more of them than there are decent deals.  Way more, at least in Houston.

But I wouldn't say there are more investors out flipping than doing buy & hold.  Maybe they are just quieter?

Not clear to me -- are you talking to the sellers agent working for the individual (try to avoid foreclosure) or the agent representing the bank that has already foreclosed?

I sure love this forum -- so many good points.  My biggest fear is the low/slow resale values.  They just don't seem all that liquid.  Would never work as a flip.

Cash flow looks nice at first glance, but there again, I don't see how much the HOA gobbles up. Property managers will take their chunk too (well deserved). You could factor in the turnover, collections and evictions, with some experience or at least some good assumptions -- but that would eat up whatever is left, I am sure.

So yeah, probably need to just steer clear. 

I was relocated here ten years ago.  Trying to remember the name of the relocation firm that the company used.  Paragon I believe.  And hey look at this, their HQ is in DFW.  

I won't say they aren't there, but I will admit, it is starting to feel like winning the lotto.  Can't win if you don't play, I suppose.

Once last summer I looked at an old 1940s house in Waller.  Places like that, with new businesses moving in (Amazon is expanding somewhere over here), are probably where the opportunity is.