All Forum Posts by: Mike Shahi

Hi BP,

New to the forums. Great information here. I live in Washington DC and moved here 4 years ago. I bought a home in a “hot” neighborhood and got a great deal on it. I renovated the home (cost me 40k) and after a recent appraisal the price of my home has doubled and I’m sitting on some nice equity.

I have excellent credit and no debt (except for the mortgage). I have a stable 6 figure job with great security. I’m thinking of purchasing cheap homes in the Detroit or NC area. The DC area is just way to expensive and competition is very high. I’ve seen homes in the Detroit and NC neighborhoods for as low as 10k. I don’t know much about the neighborhoods (still researching) but my thinking is if I can get them cheap enough and paid off quickly (5-15 years), that can create some passive income.

Anyone here have experience investing in Detroit and NC?  Am I taking the right approach? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Mike

Hello BP community,

My parents currently own a home in Bethesda, MD. For those not familiar, its one of the most prestigious cities in the US (rated best place to live by Forbes not to long ago). 

Most of the homes in the city are older homes built in the 50s/60s with upgrades made over the years. The homes are not popular, the land is. Developers have poured into the neighborhood; purchase the homes as is for 600k-900k, tear down and sell for 2million+. Most of these homes have contracts on them before they even finish the project.

Now, my parents. They've been offered cash deals by developers over the years anywhere between 700-850k. (They still owe money on it). They have a huge emotional attachment to the home and the idea of someone tearing it down and making a huge profit doesn't sit well with them. Their thinking is, we can do it and pocket the profit ourselves. The problem? No money to do so. My parents are not new to renovations/flipping. They flipped in this neighborhood back in 2006 and walked away with a cool 600k profit. But over the years, health declined, bills stacked up and they hit a road block. Their credit has taken a hit over the years and a bank loan is a no go at this point. 

We don't know where to start. Our thinking was to find a private investor to put up the money but they have to little collateral for anyone to even think of giving them a $1 million+  loan. 

Help? Advice?