All Forum Posts by: Louise Jackson-Marquez

I work as both a contractor with investors and as an investor.

I could never deal with an investor purchasing the materials.
Here are some reasons why:

An average rehab of 30k takes us about 2.5 weeks to complete with us buying the materials.
The same 30k rehab would take double that time with an investor who isn't available daily when we need additional paint or maybe anothr box of tile, or wait, what if the faucet he bought won't fit the undermount sink or what if the extra gallon of paint didn't match, etc, etc.... I would NEVER work with an investor who insists upon purchasing his own materials.
Next, I never buy anything at home depot or Lowes... I get materials 50% cheaper than what the HD or Lowes cost is. I do add 15% on to my price but the investor is still saving $ by allowing us to get materials.

I don't want anyone to know my sources for materials because it is how I always win the bid... If I told every investor where to get the materials then why would they need me? They could just hire cheap labor and totally cut me out.
Sure, they would probably suck at it and not do nearly as good of a job at managing the rehab as I do but money makes people do stupid things.....

We charge our investors 50% down, signing a waiver of ML, and 25% at the half mark of completion and the remainder at completion. It works well for us and we have their property back on the market in less than 3 weeks...

Most of my investors trust me completely to design the rehab, as well since I have always went with the thought that if I treat them right and do an outstanding job at a fair price, I will have repeat business and volume is what counts in construction. Plus, I know what sells... 75% of my projects go under contract within 30 days, the other 25% within 70 days, I have never had any go for more than 90. Numbers don't lie and if it ain't broke then don't fix it.

To each their own...

As an investor, I pay my company to rehab my projects and go along the same method of payment and cost as I would with any investor. Of course, it is in my best interest to do so for taxes but even if it were not, I would still do it that way because it's the right way.

there are a ton of stories about him being arrested all over the net. I know a lot of the people personally affected by his deceit. I wouldn't make falso accusations about anyone. This guy is a real piece of crap.

As long as we have SHEEPLE there will always be "recessions". All it takes is one idiot on the tv telling everyone that they are going to lose all of their cash and *poof* you have a recession. It's all planned, if any of you have ever taken a basic economics or marketing course you would understand the S curve and why we are where we are right now. It's a necessary "evil". No, it's not over. Yes, it will get worse but if you are resourceful, you will use the so called recession as a foundation to build your business... I love when the economy is like this...

DFWREIN was run by a guy who just got snagged by the FBI for stealing investors cash... this isn't a joke, it's the truth... in Dallas you can go to the Roddy Roundups and there is also another REI network www.opendoorrei.com which is a great place to meet people in the RE investment circle. If I can help you out at all, let me know. I work with a lot of the people in the "circle".

It definitely needs some foundation work... also, you need to look for someone who can dig out that filler they put in there and then refill it with a matching color to the rest of the home, being here in Dallas, we deal with this all of the time and for most people, it is a huge scare and run and never look back scenario but I have open arms to homes with foundation issues. I have a great foundation repair team that, when they are done with the job, you can't even tell there was ever an issue. Call a few places and have them come out with their electronic level and go room by room and then draw you a bid which will have a plan on it where they need to put the piers... it's not as scary as it seems. My guys do piers for $200 a piece and they go down until they hit rock so I know the piers are sturdy... as far as the inside is concerned, is it pier and beam or slab foundation? If it is pier and beam, you are in luck because it is much easier to fix if there are inside issues, if it is slab, interior piers are the suck but still nothing to make you run from a project... the walls are easily fixed AFTER the foundation is fixed and sits for 7 to 10 days, depending on the soil.

Typically, I would say to ditch the pool but having ben raised in Philly, I know the area and the people and firstly, the home doesn't look like a Philly Home, it looks like a suburban home and people in the suburbs don't have access to public pools like city people do so that above ground pool ,with some cleaning and ditching that awful lattice it will add value, not much mind you but some. It is obviously a family home, families want pools and you want their kids to see it when they come to look at the property. That pool could get you a buyer. They suck to maintain but you don't have to maintain it. The home looks like a first time buyer home, too so they will want the experience of having a pool... just look at this from their perspective and not yours or mine or anyone else's and you'll be fine... next fix the wood floor, again, this isn't your personal house, don't make it personal. Make it look marketable. Finally, don't go the tan and black way on the paint, I would do a bone white with black shutters... tan is out now... it shouldn't have ever been in