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All Forum Posts by: Nicholas A.

Nicholas A. has started 3 posts and replied 9 times.

Post: How many realtors to reach out to

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5

I have bought 2 rental properties and seen other realtors, and I have never once been presented with an exclusive buyers agreement. Maybe its me. I appreciate all the info though. I just don't want to start working with a realtor and waste time and end up with no real solid prospects for buying.

Post: How many realtors to reach out to

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5
I am trying to invest in a certain market and I am curious as to how many realtors i should be reaching out to and trying to establish relationships in that particular area. Can I just go crazy and just contact all of them over there and whoever has the property for me wins?

I apologize if this is posted in the wrong thread, I didn't know exactly where to put it.
Quote from @Robert Ellis:
Quote from @Nicholas A.:

Hey Everybody,

I created this post because I have been hearing about all these rising costs of living and investing in Florida and I want to see what is true and what isn't. I would appreciate any opinions and input!


This includes:

-Home insurance. Is it going up? If so, how much? Is it hard to get good coverage now?

-Flood insurance. Is it mandatory now? What's the cost?

Can you actually live in the Miami metro area and avoid floods and hurricane damage?

-I hear condos are now charging outrageous amount of money for association fees and costs and people are selling their properties on account of this. Is this true?

Again any input would be appreciated. I want to actually hear it from people who have experience with the area and who know what's going on. I suppose I don't trust hearsay and the media as much as I used to.


 the condo HOAs are responsible for it not you as an individual. the newer the development the better. a lot of the older associations are worse and are having to do special assessments and pushing condo fees way up. I'd look at new construction over existing in miami for condos. yes you can live and avoid both. I live in a Highrise and it rained for a week straight nothing even touched me


What if I bought a house in the area? Would I still be able to avoid flooding and hurricane damage?
At some point I will want to raise a family.

Hey Everybody,

I created this post because I have been hearing about all these rising costs of living and investing in Florida and I want to see what is true and what isn't. I would appreciate any opinions and input!


This includes:

-Home insurance. Is it going up? If so, how much? Is it hard to get good coverage now?

-Flood insurance. Is it mandatory now? What's the cost?

Can you actually live in the Miami metro area and avoid floods and hurricane damage?

-I hear condos are now charging outrageous amount of money for association fees and costs and people are selling their properties on account of this. Is this true?

Again any input would be appreciated. I want to actually hear it from people who have experience with the area and who know what's going on. I suppose I don't trust hearsay and the media as much as I used to.

Post: Tips on how to do a successful BRRR

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5
Quote from @Nicholas L.:

@Nicholas A.

happy to help - can you give us more info as @Jonathan Greene pointed out?  i've done several BRRRRs, including one that just 'failed,' so i sold it as an accidental flip, and here's the deal.  i am not going to sugarcoat it.

in no order:

-BRRRR is really, really tough overall right now. tougher than advertised. there is lots of competition for deals; good contractors are booked up; materials are expensive; and interest rates are high.

-you generally have to buy a severely distressed property at a steep discount. if your ARV is 200K, for example, and it needs a medium or greater rehab, you probably need to buy under 100K. 150K won't cut it, you'll lose money.

-you likely won't cash flow at all when you refinance, and you might even be negative. if you use a DSCR loan expect your closing costs to be 5-10K and your rate to be in the mid 7s to high 8s. new investors are ALWAYS surprised that there are closing costs. since a BRRRR involves a purchase AND a refinance, you'll 'close' twice and likely pay 10-15K just in closing costs.

-it's much harder to 'add bedrooms' than David Greene says in all the podcasts.  if you found a property where it's straightforward, great.  but it may not be.  you can't just call something a bedroom.  you have to look at your building code and talk to GCs who have done it.

-your refinance will be dependent on your appraisal, and appraisals are inconsistent.  the appraiser couldn't care less how much you spent on the rehab, or how shiny your countertops are.  they are going to go by COMPS, and if the comps are all over the place, they will round way, way down.

hope this helps

not trying to be negative, just realistic after doing 5 myself and 'messing up' the last one =)


Hey man I appreciate the insight. Are you investing in Pittsburgh?

Do the appraisers always round way down when the comps are all over the place?

What are your thoughts on investing in another area? Cant there be another area somewhere that is doing better than others?

Post: Tips on how to do a successful BRRR

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5
Quote from @Jake Baker:

@Nicholas A.

It is easy to underestimate your rehab budget. - make sure to get bids from multiple contractors and have adequate reserves.

It is easy to overestimate your ARV. - Have an agent pull recent comps for you

It is easy to underestimate the timeline. - whatever a contractor says, add 4 weeks.


Can I trust the comps the realtors give me? 

Post: Tips on how to do a successful BRRR

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5
Quote from @Jonathan Greene:
Quote from @Nicholas A.:

Hey Everybody,

I am trying to get started doing BRRRs in northwest Indiana, but I have never done a BRRR before. Really, I want to get started but there is so much information out there that I am trying to make sure I get the right info, but also not miss anything important or get outdated info. Its a bit overwhelming if that makes sense. I was presented with an off market deal in Hammond with the potential to rehab it and add another bedroom, so I am trying to size it up as well and see if its worth it. I can provide more details if somebody wants, but really the focus for now is for somebody to provide some structured steps so I can create a plan and put it into action. Anything would be appreciated!

Because there are people on every forum who do this, for all the haters out there that are about to moan and gripe in an attempt to make me browse the forum for hours on my own time for answers and provide nothing more than that, I am not talking to you. Unless you own or moderate the forum, I don't owe you anything, and your complaints will be ignored. Asking people for advice has its place, and if it bothers you that I am doing so, you can ignore my post.


Really? 

"Because there are people on every forum who do this, for all the haters out there that are about to moan and gripe in an attempt to make me browse the forum for hours on my own time for answers and provide nothing more than that, I am not talking to you. Unless you own or moderate the forum, I don't owe you anything, and your complaints will be ignored. Asking people for advice has its place, and if it bothers you that I am doing so, you can ignore my post."

What you are saying in your post is that you tried to do research, but there is a lot out there and you don't want to take the time to do the work so you want someone else to tell you exactly what to do. But also, if you don't want to be super friendly and give away everything to a stranger that you are bad? Confused here. This is like going on a dating site and putting in your profile that you have a lot of baggage so tread lightly.

BRRRR are the steps. The key to BRRRR is to buy right, that starts the cycle. If you are new to renovation, don't let people trick you into thinking things like adding a bedroom is easy or warranted. That just means the rest of the house will be smaller. Bedrooms definitely help on a BRRRR for appraisal, but the square footage is still the same.


So I am trying to get started in northwest Indiana, and also have been heavily looking in Birmingham Alabama. I have about 100-110k liquid I can use to BRRR. I was thinking of going to Gary, Indiana to invest and do BRRRs with my own cash instead of getting a hard money lender involved. I would be open to doing section 8. I would be open to other areas of Indiana as well. I fear using a hard money lender is an easy way to screw yourself over, although I don't know. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated. I have a lender who can give me good interest rates on conventional or DSCR, I do not have any contractors lined up yet though.

Regarding your last comment, I fully welcome links to other posts on the forum that are recommended from somebody. I am telling the grouches who say nothing more than to "go use the search button on the forum" for answers to my questions and nothing else. Whether or not they comment something like that wouldnt matter since those responses are just negative and meaningless anyways.

Post: Tips on how to do a successful BRRR

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5

Hey Jonathan, 

Thanks for the info. 

Also to your question, I don’t want anybody to do hours of work for me. I’m asking for somebody who already knows some answers and can just point me there. I would assume that entails an 2-5 minute post? I suppose that’s the ask here. There is so much information online, that it’s overwhelming. I don’t know if what I run into is a bad source of info, outdated, or subpar. I also don’t know exactly what to look for, nor do I want to miss anything important. Research alone may not be good enough. I didn’t say anybody is bad because they don’t want to talk to me nor did I imply that. If somebody doesn't want to give me any advice that’s fine. I like talking to people as part of my research journey, and in my experience there are some people who don’t mind and are willing to help. This is a question for them.


Post: Tips on how to do a successful BRRR

Nicholas A.Posted
  • Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 5

Hey Everybody,

I am trying to get started doing BRRRs in northwest Indiana, but I have never done a BRRR before. Really, I want to get started but there is so much information out there that I am trying to make sure I get the right info, but also not miss anything important or get outdated info. Its a bit overwhelming if that makes sense. I was presented with an off market deal in Hammond with the potential to rehab it and add another bedroom, so I am trying to size it up as well and see if its worth it. I can provide more details if somebody wants, but really the focus for now is for somebody to provide some structured steps so I can create a plan and put it into action. Anything would be appreciated!

Because there are people on every forum who do this, for all the haters out there that are about to moan and gripe in an attempt to make me browse the forum for hours on my own time for answers and provide nothing more than that, I am not talking to you. Unless you own or moderate the forum, I don't owe you anything, and your complaints will be ignored. Asking people for advice has its place, and if it bothers you that I am doing so, you can ignore my post.