All Forum Posts by: Michael Volek

@Stephen Spradley, a grand or two, more like an arm or two ;)

This article may not be the exact same scenario as yours, but it still has a lot of really good info on the subject. Hope it helps, good luck!

@Kenneth Swartz my wife has a pretty high student loan. We decided it's a part of life like you said. This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't let the loans keep you from investing. You stand to gain so much more by investing it, should you invest intelligently.

@Alfred Edmonds, I don't have any experience doing this, but that sounds like a pretty good idea. I've heard of some using their mailman to point out distressed homes on his route. Others fish online using listsource, and filter potential leads by age, equity, foreclosure, etc. Heck, I even heard a guy on the podcast talk about filtering by criminal records, haha.

If there's any kind of inspector-client confidentiality rule or law, perhaps you could just ask him about that before moving forward. I don't find any ethical issues with asking. It shows you're a creative thinker.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

-Michael Volek

@Lisa C. you're on the right track with the books. I liken reading them to having the world's best mentors teaching me invaluable lessons one-on-one. 

When it comes time to speak with the sellers, you may have to flex some negotiating muscles. I won't recommend a book here, instead you can check out episode #260(?) of the BP podcast with guest Chris Voss. He was a hostage negotiator for the FBI. This episode is chock full of relevant negotiating tactics you can use to help you acquire this deal. It's solid gold. 

Anyway, good luck and I hope to hear more about your adventure. Take care.

@Account Closed it's my pleasure. I agree a home equity loan will also be a nice option and a valuable tool in your arsenal. I hope to find out what you eventually decide. Good luck and take care.

@Tony Ogden I'm delighted to hear that. I'll send you a PM now. Thanks!

I look forward to doing some of the dirty work. I don't care what anyone says, there's nothing wrong with getting down with the get down and creating some sweat equity. If you can paint and you enjoy it, then save the 2k-3k it would have cost and paint yourself. Sure you wont scale as fast, but who said that's the only goal? Do you and the reward will be so much greater. Just my two cents.

@Lisa C. your first step is to read some books to familiarize yourself on the process. I'd recommend J Scott's Flipping Book and also the Book on Estimating Rehabs, both of which are absolutely invaluable. You can find both here on BP. I promise you these resources will answer so many of your questions moving forward. Good luck.

Just my two cents, I would do a cash-out refinance. The money does nothing sitting in the form of equity. The reasons why I'd do a cash out refinance are:

1) you keep renting out the property for a monthly cash flow,

2) you can invest the money into less expensive markets for additional gains.

The 1031 exchange route is also pretty enticing since you can defer the taxes, but since you have owned the duplex for longer than 2 years, you wont have to worry about the big bad capital gains tax.

Honestly, as I'm sure you're aware, it depends on what you're comfy with. As Mathew stated, you're current cash flow should be really nice, it just isn't doing as much as it could for you.

I hope to hear what you decide. Good luck.

@Mike Ojo anytime. It's always a good idea to put yourself out there, so I hope everything goes well for you. Take care.