All Forum Posts by: Matt Lowery

@Whys C. I'm a little bit north of Wichita, but have been considering getting active in that area. I'd love to talk to you about your goals and what you're interested in, especially why Wichita is an area you're looking at. My little college town has a major shortage of rental SFR and low entry level prices. I'm looking for some investors to work with in this market and some larger cities in Eastern, Ks.

@Brandon Proctor Did you ever make any progress on this? The licensing process in Kansas is a mess, but I had the same thought you did, especially having a real estate license too. I'd work my tail off for an appraiser that would take me in as a trainee, but it's tough to find one that will.

I'm curious if anyone here has a real estate appraiser license. I'm certain it's they direction I want to take my career while building wealth through the BRRR and Rehab & Resell. My market area already needs one or two more appraisers and two of the other three are already in their late 60's.

The state board freely admits they have a problem with the licensing process that is going to make a massive state-wide shortage, because licensees must spend at least a year under another appraiser. The local appraisers won't take me on, because they don't want the responsibility while training future competition. I wouldn't have an issue relocating or (preferably) commuting for a year, then returning to my market. My problem I'm running into is finding how I can offer value to an appraiser to take me on. I have approached a few non locals, with almost no response, although I'm sure my experience as a Realtor and rehabbing a few homes would make my highly competent and a quick study.

Anybody here have any ideas? This is something I really want.

@Sean Daugherty Are you wanting to buy in the Akron area, or somewhere else? I can look for a new agent for you to work with that is more service minded than what you may have encountered so far.

Congrats on getting ready to take your next step! As a Realtor, I wanted to comment on that side a little for you. Don't take it personally if he's wanting you to have a little more solid funding in place. I'd say if 1 in 20 people who contact me that want to purchase something actually follow through, I'd be fortunate. There are a tremendous amount of people convinced they can make easy money and get a steal that they shampoo the carpets, mow the lawn and make an easy $25,000. Most agents have a filter and flags that help them know when someone is serious or ready. It's never 100% accurate though.

The clients that I have the best relationship with, and the ones that pop into my head when I see a great deal are the ones that understand we are a team and don't just leave me with a broad range that I would spend days sifting through or even worse "I'm just looking for good investment deals."

What you want to be to that agent is the guy in his head that knows what he wants, how he's going to fund it, what he's going to do with it. If I know I have someone who has been looking through the MLS, trims things down to 5 legitimate options (instead of asking me to show them 25 different properties), none of those may fit, but I'm probably more interested in getting to know you and seeing how you react to what we look at so I know the right ones for you as they come up later. Your agent should love working with you and get a rush out of finding you properties to help you accomplish your financial goals. Just remember that they want to be a part of your team, but that doesn't mean they should be doing all the work. Lazy, unmotivated buyers get fired all the time by agents.

For lenders, I strongly encourage you to be talking with smaller banks and especially Credit Unions. Look for someone that has a younger loan officer that has a couple years experience to be competent, but still eager to get your business that may take a little extra work.

I am a Realtor and that's a conservative estimate on ARV, but I couldn't see it going much higher. The foundation estimate is from a contractor that I use often and trust. He understands my goals and would take a loss on a personal project rather than lose the other jobs I send him as a realtor.

I'm curious if anyone has developed any controls for when they might be forcing a deal that they shouldn't. I know the calculators and info is all here to make safe decisions, but there are also personal goals and situations that have to be taken into account.

I've found a property that is FSBO 4 doors from my front porch. It has been a rental for a long time and an older home built in 1920. Which is appropriate for my neighborhood, my experience working on property and my primary interest in rehabbing.

Numbers are:

4 bed - 2 bath with 2 car garage 1,780 sq/ft

ARV: $80,000

Asking Price: $20,000

Foundation work: $15,000

Roof/Soffets: $15,000

Interior Remodel: $10,000 (with me as the hammer swinger)

Carrying/resale costs: $4,500

With a net profit of $15,000, that's actually 40% of the median household income in my county. So, it's not something to ignore. As a single parent raising two grade school children, the idea of a home so close to ours is incredibly attractive. But, I'm concerned about that much work, which means that much risk and money I need to find, may be being clouded by the idea of convenience.

So, my question is: Does anyone here have benchmarks or flags when they say, "I'm to going to much on emotion and making to many trade offs."?

That's an interesting zip code, especially considering the first link that pops up when you Google it. I'd be curious to hear about your property @Elaine Bright there and what kind of rent it brings in.

I've lived in Emporia almost 40 years, went to college here and have been a Realtor here for over 3 years. 

The quality of life here is tremendous compared to similar sized towns. Emporia is often considered one of the top small towns to look at when your town is trying to improve their downtown. 

With the average home selling at a very affordable $104,000, it's easy to find low risk projects for under $60,000. New construction is stuck because of lack of land and utilities, what little there is are 2-3 times average price. Home sales here are consistent over the last 15 years  regardless of external forces. This year, number of listed homes are half what we've seen in previous years.

SFR rentals are also in huge demand. I can lease a house within a few hours most days. There are several quality property management companies to choose from as well (including me).

Emporia State University is a great college, especially teachers. The downtown is a historic district, which allows for incredible tax credits on projects. Veterans Day was founded here and it's a big deal throughout the year. We're home to the premier gravel cycling race in the world that hosts 1,000 badass cyclists for a brutal 200 miles. The top disc golf brand was founded here and is growing like crazy, including hosting the world championships. Every Twinkle you eat is made here and the odds are whatever your dog eats was probably made here too. 

I could keep going, but you guys probably get my point. 

How many beds/baths, how many sq/ft is it? Is this the first time it was rented out? If not, what are previous rents? Age of roof? Has foundation been inspected?

Your numbers compare to my personal SFR and I'd love to have more similar ones.