All Forum Posts by: Nicole Pettis

@Victor Olowu 

I see. I still wouldn't quit your job. You'd be doing yourself a great disservice if you quit. Also, even if you find a good GC, you still need to educate yourself on rehab costs, because otherwise you won't be able to manage the project effectively. 

As for the foreclosed and auction properties. That's all I visit as well and we have yet come across squatters and we take in our flashlights. But it might be different in Chicago. 

I got some great advice a few weeks ago when I was slow to take action on a house and lost it because someone had put in an offer that got accepted. 

She said when you see solid deals such as that put in an offer ASAP and when it gets accepted then go look at the property. As long as you don't send any earnest money you can back out of the deal. Now I am not saying to do this with every property, but if you see a property that you know is a STRONG deal, make an offer. Then get in there and do your homework.

Well good luck with what ever you decide. Wishing you the best. 

@Victor Olowu 

I agree with Brie. If you want to do flipping you are going to need your 9-5 to help you with funding. To flip you need capital and without a job it is very hard to get said capital. If I were you I would focus on building a team, work diligently on paying of any personal debt, save up a reserve of 3-6 months living expenses. Then quit your job when real estate takes over your income. 

The other thing I don't understand is why you can't look at houses during the week? I work full time and have a toddler and I still make time to look at houses during the week. Unless you mean you can't physically look at them until the weekends. But even then you still can look at properties in the evenings. Realtors don't work 9-5. Network with some investor savvy realtors and have them set up a daily search for you. Both for sold and active, that way you will learn your market and when you see something that you think is a deal have them check it out for you if you can't be there. 

You don't have to do it all.

Whew! Okay, just making sure:)

If this was me, I would really look at the property and ask myself if this house was fixed up and market ready would I buy it? Is there a buyer for it? Will the slope and the creek turn buyers off? Would it do better as a rental? 

As for flipping to another investor. Is this a wholesale deal? Or on the MLS?

I guess I am trying to understand if you can purchase and do the rehab yourself, why not sell it retail and make a good profit?

My thought is this, if you aren't feeling comfortable with the amount of money, time and effort that it is going to take to get this house market ready, then I would move on. As you know this will be a lot of work and I truly do not know if another investor would purchase it from you with it down to the studs. And if you can't sell it to another investor, then you are going to have to finish yourself. Which will cause you to loose time and money.

I hope all of this makes sense. If you have any questions, let me know.

Take care

@Belinda R. 

When you say do the rehab yourself, do you mean "yourself?" Because for mold remediation you have to hire experts that specialize in that sort of thing. Also, you don't want to do all of this yourself. You NEED to hire contractors, because the whole point to fix and flips is to get it done ASAP and get it back on the market. 

If you are really considering this property, I would find an experienced general contractor and have them go through the property with you to help you with a solid estimate on the cost to fix this house.

Hope this helps!

@Abou C. 

I would just do the vinyl in the main living areas and keep carpet in the bedrooms. If you were doing hardwood I would do it throughout, because that will bring much value.

I did a lot of research on luxury vinyl tile and it really doesn't increase property value. But I would also check out your market to see what they are using. 

Hi Suzanne,

I'm not sure. While there are many men doing it, not sure I would call it a male dominated niche and I am seeing more and more women wanting to do flipping. 

I myself have been working to do fix and flips here in Milwaukee, but have been slow starting because of hiccups along the way, but I am still pursuing. 

I'm with you, Ophleia's podcast was inspirational and I commend her for taking the huge risks of doing what she is doing. I think its fantastic, however I personally could not take on that much risk.

Wishing you the best on finding your partners!

If this is going to be a rental and you don't want to replace these, I would leave them as is.  These are laminate/melamine cabinets, painting them would be time consuming and it doesn't adhered for the long run, so sooner or later you would have to replace them.

I lived in a rental with these kind of cabinets, I didn't mind them because they were spacious and in solid condition. 

They look great @Sharad M. ! Do you have numbers?

Hi @Natasha Sadikin the most you should be contributing to your IRA is 15% and that is taking into account your employers contribution.

Do you have any personal debt(car loan, student loan, credit cards)? If so your priority should be paying those off.  Once those are paid off, I would save for a down payment on a home. Then start putting money into a ROTH IRA. 

However since you are asking what to invest your money in on a real estate investment forum I imagine you will get many who say you need to eventually purchase investment properties, whether its through "house hacking" or building a buy and hold portfolio.

But at the end of the day it's whatever you are the most comfortable with.

Have a great day!

@Jack Arnold Go get em! And remember its not forever. Just think when you become a successful REI you can get the car that you want!