All Forum Posts by: Mike Trzaska

Yeah I’m with you, not sure if the benefit is there with all the time I spend. I thought I was doing things better this time by trying to order a couple big drops but turning out to be another s***show.

Has anyone had a good experience ordering from Home Depot through the Bid Room? Would anyone be willing share their systems to make ordering material more efficient?

I'm a newer investor, on my first BRRRR most of my time was spent making runs to Home Depot or Lowes to pick up material or on the phone ordering through the Bid Room or talking with customer service about my order. I vowed to improve the process on my next two properties, but the same thing is happening. I created my SOW and Material List, then built my order on HD online. Of course you can't just put something through the Bid Room online, so I spend 45 minutes on the phone with my local home depot placing the order. Only for them to find that most of the stuff is out of stock and the cabinets would have to be ordered online anyway and picked up in store. The kicker is on a $2100 order I ONLY saved $5 bucks on an exhaust fan by going through bid room?

Is there a secret I am missing here? I'd really like to make a coupe large orders per project, have them dropped by HD at the property, and save 10-20% by going through bid room. 

Thanks Ryan. Appraisal was for $128k, took out 96k which covered all expenses including loan closing costs. Now in full transparency, there is a lot of my own labor and time away from family not accounted for. 

I also think the fact it took twice as long to Reno helped me because COVID took prices up which were accounted for in the appraisal. First time anyone probably said doubling a timeline helped them.

My goal for the next BRRRR is to buy it even better on the front end and eliminate as much of my time as I can from the Reno.

 Happy to help. Shoot me a DM and we can talk more there. Biggest thing for you first is letting go of your  notion of perfection and just doing it. Run your numbers and make good decisions, but how I got myself to Move was by telling myself if I leave less than 25% in the property I’m more successful than just getting a bit and hold. Not to mention the learning and momentum you get from doing your first deal.

Thanks. I painted the exterior, new siding would have put me in trouble in terms of budget

@Frank Hinck exactly. I'm actually under contract on #2 and #3. Should be less work than this one. Recycling that capital, the beauty of the BRRRR!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $41,000
Cash invested: $89,000

This property was a BRRRR deal, completed during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renovations took twice as long as expected, but was able to stay on budget by using a great handyman and doing alot of work myself. Spent 2-3 nights per week at the property and a full weekend day for the better part of eight months, but it was all worth it.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Wanted to do a BRRRR as my first deal to recycle seed capital and keep momentum. House was owned by same family since 1920.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS. Was on market for 2 weeks in very hot market. l I presented a cash offer 20% lower than list right before Christmas, and settled slightly above my offer. Wrote a personal note to the family, explaining my plans for the home. Love house shopping in winter...

How did you finance this deal?

Cash - My Own

How did you add value to the deal?

Full renovation. House was listed as a 4/1. Added a bath to the second floor, as most homes in the area either only have one bath or second bath is below grade.

What was the outcome?

Perfect BRRRR. Refinanced all my investment out and rented for almost $200 more than I ran my numbers at.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

-It is my responsibility to build a process and timeline for my contractor to follow.
-Picking up tons of material from Home Depot is no fun. Have everything delivered in 2-3 drops.
-Should have started sooner.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, Mark Deeter of Keller Williams

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $41,000
Cash invested: $89,000

This property was a BRRRR deal, completed during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renovations took twice as long as expected, but was able to stay on budget by using a great handyman and doing alot of work myself. Spent 2-3 nights per week at the property and a full weekend day for the better part of eight months, but it was all worth it. Was able to pull all of my money out, including closing costs on the loan, and renting the property for $1125/month. Projected to cashflow $220/month after accounting for vacancy, cap ex, and repairs.

Lessons learned:
-It is my responsibility to build a process and timeline for my contractor to follow.
-Picking up tons of material from Home Depot is no fun. Have everything delivered in 2-3 drops.
-Should have started sooner.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Wanted to do a BRRRR as my first deal to recycle seed capital and keep momentum. House was owned by same family since 1920.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS. Was on market for 2 weeks in very hot market. l I presented a cash offer 20% lower than list right before Christmas, and settled slightly above my offer. Wrote a personal note to the family, explaining my plans for the home. Love house shopping in winter...

How did you finance this deal?

Cash - My Own

How did you add value to the deal?

Full renovation. House was listed as a 4/1. Added a bath to the second floor, as most homes in the area either only have one bath or second bath is below grade.

What was the outcome?

Perfect BRRRR. Refinanced all my investment out and rented for almost $200 more than I ran my numbers at.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Need to build my processes around renovations.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, Mark Deeter of Keller Williams

@David Lyons curious to hear how this process went for you and your experience with the delayed finance? I'm a local investor in Cleveland and am planning to do a delayed finance for my next BRRRR.

@Jenni Utz that sounds like a really effective process. Mind sharing what technology you use to execute the process?

I went ahead and did listed using Calendly to pre-screen leads coming through email, so far it has been working well. I have the ability to see when submits the questionnaire and schedules a showing.  Based on the questions I can see if they meet the minimum qualifying standards and reach out if they don't.