All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Excited to share that my dad and I finally have a home under contract in Colorado Springs CO! We were looking for a live-in flip and finally got one! Bid as owner occupied (my dad is living there, property in his name) just above list price, but under recent sale prices in the neighborhood. Only needs a little love - mainly flooring and detail work - so not a ton of investment needed for repairs. Potential for 30K - 50K back at resale :). Bid accepted, contract executed, now officially under contract! Next step: closing. Wish us luck!

Sorry for the confusion. We have 2 ebooks you can download, both available from this page - http://www.biggerpockets.com/toolkit. The one on the left (in gray) is the Ultimate Beginners Guide.  

The html version of the Ultimate Beginners Guide can be found here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

They have a very detailed process but they give mortgages to people who cannot otherwise get them. It is basically a financial counseling program + lender relationship and requires way more than a simple application. 

One example of volunteer work is hosting/leading informational events, but there are other things you can do. My dad is currently going through their process so I can check the giant booklet he has and see what info could be useful to post :). To be continued.... 

1. Depending on how much work the house needs, you may or may not be able to purchase the home with financing. If it needs too much work, you may not be able to use any of the money you are approved for as @Larry Turowski said. Check with the lender who qualified/approved you for a mortgage to find out exactly what requirements the home needs to me. EX: if there is structural damage or it needs a roof, will they still lend you money? If its only cosmetic you should be fine.

If the bank will lend to you given the state of the property, keep in mind that Conventional and FHA loans typically only lend money for what the house is worth, not what it could be worth after the repairs (also known as ARV after repair value). So unless you can prove that the house is worth more than the 20K you can get it for (via an appraisal), then they will only lend you the price it costs to purchase the home.

2. Aside from Conventional and FHA loans, there are other kinds of loans that are specifically for rehabbing. Here is a blog post on one such loan - http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4380/blog_posts... Again, check with the lender you are working with to see what kind of program they offer. They may offer something that lets you use some of the money you are qualified for towards the rehab cost. 

3. Alternatively, you can work with hard money lenders. There are many posts on the site about pros and cons which can provide much more information than I can contribute. If it is an option you are interested in we have a directory of some such lenders: http://www.biggerpockets.com/hardmoneylenders

One of the recent videos from the new #askbp podcast is about this topic. 

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/04/21...

My thoughts:

The good = access to listings, knowledge about contracts, save money on transactions, able to make additional income by finding properties for other investors

The bad = time, cost, administration (you save money on transactions b/c you have to do all the paperwork)

Some people want to focus on what they do best and outsource the rest. But if you think it might be something you like / could be good at then I think its worth the time and costs associated. 

Can't make tonight's but I just put May's on my calendar! Thanks @Anson Young for listing out the dates!

Good response rate! Would love to see an image of the creative you used.

One thing you can try with Direct Mail is using a unique campaign link as a call to action (ie. Go to honoluahomes.com/campaignname for more info! Or to get started on your deal right away, call XXX-XXXX). This will help you track engagement rate for those who don't want to call quite yet. Plus, you can put an email capture on there as well and get them on an email list. 

Trello is a great free tool, although its hard to see/plan for dependencies. 

I've also heard Podio is a good paid tool that allows for a lot of customization. You create templates to manage your projects and you can also use it for CRM.

There are certainly pros and cons of setting up a business or LLC for your investments, as has been debated on previous threads. For those who want to set up a business, what all needs to be done? Legalzoom looks to be a great resource for setting up an LLC, however, there are lots of add-ons and upsells in the process. Which of those things do you actually need?

Legalzooom LLC add-ons:

- Registered Agent Services

- Compliance Services

- Legal Services

- Business Licenses and Permits

- State Tax Licenses

- Web domain 

- Checking account

- Business credit card

Aside from the legal entity, what about financial reporting. What is required for the accounting/legal side of the house? 

Are you an investor who finances flips? Are you a flipper who received financing from investors? In either case, what factors help to build credibility as a flipper?

The obvious answer here is a history of successful flips. Are there other things people look for? Are there things a newbie can do when they don't have a flip under their belt yet?

To get the convo started, here is a list of potential factors. Which of these things increase or decrease credibility? By what magnitude? 

- History of Successful Flips

- Flipper is financing part of the Flip

- Flipper has an LLC

- Flipper has website / business cards

- Flipper has "team" in place

- Education/experience of Flipper / Team (not directly in flipping)

- Network of flipper

- Gut feeling about the competency of the flipper

- Documentation of the numbers for the deal