All Forum Posts by: Owen Dashner

@henry 

@Henry Clark, thank you for posting this information - I have been wondering about costs for new storage developments, so I really appreciate the insight!

Hi Andrew, welcome to BP and investing in Omaha! We have a couple of really good networking groups with both newer and experienced investors. Check out the Omaha REIA and the Omaha Real Estate Meetup groups on Facebook. The next Meetup event is this Wednesday evening at Site-1 Brewing on 25th and Farnam at 6:30 pm, and the REIA is every 1st Tuesday of the month at Anthony's Steakhouse on 72nd. Hope to see you at one of them!

Mogul in the making - nice job!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Council Bluffs.

Purchase price: $130,000
Cash invested: $22,000
Sale price: $220,000

This was a smoky, cosmetically distressed single family home built in the 90's in an older (but good) area of Council Bluffs. The seller was having health problems, could not afford to make the necessary repairs to the house, and needed to sell quickly, as-is.

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

Good area, mainly needing cosmetic updates with good upside potential.

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

The seller searched for "sell my house in Omaha fast" and found our website. We gave him close to his asking price since it left plenty of room for good margins.

How did you finance this deal?

We used our line of credit.

How did you add value to the deal?

We had to use 3 coats of Kilz to neutralize the smoke smell, replaced all the carpet, new granite in the kitchen and bath, new appliances and flooring, new fixtures and switches/plugs, and a little drywall work.

What was the outcome?

After closing costs, interest and commish, we will make around $60,000 profit. We had 6 showings the first day and accepted an offer $10K over asking price.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't forget about appliance lead time and delivery/install challenges. It has become routinely challenging to get appliances ordered, delivered and installed in a timely manner due to supply chain and labor shortages. I spaced off ordering appliances and cost us a week of market time.

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

Jay Kathol with Berkshire was our agent and did a good job negotiating, getting us some extra profit.

Check out the Bridge Real Estate Investing Meetup Facebook page as well, lots of activity there.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment in Council Bluffs.

Purchase price: $136,750
Cash invested: $2,200
Sale price: $170,000

Contributors:
Brandon Tauber

"The Warehouse". This was a PPC lead that came in from an owner who had a new home under contract and was out of time and money to get this one ready for a retail sale. We called it "The Warehouse" because it is gigantic and has a weird layout, with kind of another unit, a huge garage and some mystery tunnels/storm shelters as an added bonus. Not a bad house, just a really bizarre layout.

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

This was an off market deal from a very motivated seller. We offered cash with a fast closing and delayed possession, which made them very happy.

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

This was a PPC lead, we were able to quickly reach an agreement on price and timing that worked for both sides.

How did you finance this deal?

LOC

How did you add value to the deal?

All we really did was clean it out and clean it up. But the cleanout was LARGE. It took $2,000 to get everything cleared out.

What was the outcome?

We listed it as an as-is fixer, and we got a cash offer over asking price of $170,000 with a 2 week closing. Done!

Our net profit will be right around $25,000 on this one.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Honestly, we kind of took a flyer on this one, not really knowing how to price it when we went to sell, and knowing that we were taking a bit of a risk since it was such a unique house. Fortunately, the hot market prevailed.

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

Jay Kathol with Berkshire listed it for us and helped us get it sold for over asking price.

You are not ready to do this yet if you are asking these kinds of questions and are trying to wholesale off of the MLS. Hit pause and spend more time learning the right way to do this business before you get into trouble doing something you are not supposed to. Get yourself organized and educated, then you will be ready to start buying. The shortcut is to partner with or work for someone experienced and learn from them.

It is not possible to time the market, period.  You need to focus on buying at a good discount relative to whatever the current market is, at any given time.  Buying good deals can be achieved in any market.

Make more than one offer - that's how you position seller financing as an attractive offer.  Make normal offer based on what you can make the numbers work with, and make a seller financing offer with more money involved for him, with better terms for you.  Your goal is to get a counter offer here, so that you know what you are really working with.

If he doesn't like either offer and won't give you a counter, he is likely not that motivated and you should move on, following up with him as time goes on.

The market is full of unmotivated sellers.  Just because a property is free and clear doesn't mean the seller is motivated or has any interest in seller financing.  Make your offer(s) and move on to the next deal, making sure to follow up later.

Good luck!

You are going to have multiple applicant choices. Reject this one and move on to one that better fits your screening criteria.  Make sure to have set criteria that you use for screening every applicant.