All Forum Posts by: Phil Leighton

Hello, looking to connect with anyone who owns rental properties in Truro, Nova Scotia. Thanks in advance. 

Hey @Account Closed, I'm in Dartmouth as well. Based on your numbers it looks like a great deal for the area- anything close to downtown has and will continue to appreciate extremely well. Feel free to reach out if you want to connect sometime. 

So I was about to close and the buyer backed out last minute as there were roots discovered in the sewer line which I understand is a common problem.  The sewer pipe works fine, haven't had any issues.  I was quoted 7k to get it lined and 16k to get it replaced.   At this point I'd rather just take it off the list price but I'm hesitant to take 7k off as the pipe is in working order.  

Does anyone have any experience with something like this?   Advice/thoughts/suggestions?  Thanks.  

Awesome, thanks @Steven Darrow

Hey everyone, closing on a duplex and looking for some solid contractors who won't overcharge in the Halifax area.  Some of the jobs looking to hire out for include replacing back deck, replace a ton of drywall, electrical, 2 bathrooms, couple windows, and some duct work.  Ideally someone who I could potentially work alongside with during the renos to learn and who will price around me doing some of the work.  Any recommendations? Thanks!   

@Trevor Gaal- Thanks for the info. I was actually going to shoot you a message, I'm meeting with Igor this week because I saw you recommended him in a previous post and so did my realtor. Looking forward to talking more with you! Maybe at the next REI meetup?

@John Teachout Yes this is in Nova Scotia, Canada. 

Didn't expect this many responses and suggestions! Thank you.  Also, am I noticing some fake accounts on here?...

@John Teachout- Correct, still haven't sold. The room above the garage is a good space.  I'm at the point where I don't want to over improve for the area, and was advised by my realtor to keep that as is for now.  The hold for another year is something I'm considering, my concern being if I rent it out then I wouldn't be much cash flow if any at all and still currently looking into how to acquire another property with financing if I do so.  Meeting with a broker next week, open to any advice!

@Raushanah Morgan- Not putting on MLS right now because I have a few other things to figure out including financing for my next property. I worked with a credit union and it didn't have an amazing experience, so want to get my other ducks in a row first before I put it up.
@Jay Kadlec- Thanks for the advice, you're more patient than me. I'm eager to get another one to flip or BRRR.

@Jacob Kenneally- There were a ton of things that came up during the rehab.  Some of them were projects where we decided 'ok, we should do this instead', or 'we should add potlights to the kitchen', or instead of repairing the front deck completely replacing it because all of the wood was rotted.  We refinished the upstairs floors as they were painted, thought this would be fairly quick (It was not, the floors were uneven which made sanding them extremely difficult).  So to answer your question, I think it depends on the property, but plan for the worst because it WILL happen!

@Account Closed- Funny enough there wasn't a ton of analysis involved. After we did the inspection it was determined that the house was in pretty good shape overall and most of the rehab was cosmetic. There is also a detached garage with an unfinished loft above which made it more dynamic so my analysis was really just knowing we could at least get 260k ARV. Didn't have to pay for two places so yes, that helped with the costs.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $212,000
Cash invested: $13,000
Sale price: $275,000

First flip bought in May of 2018, this was a lived in flip and went slow. Did as much work as I could learning from YouTube and hiring out for the bigger jobs like taking down a load bearing wall. About to put up for sale, on track to make a decent profit.

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

Was ready to purchase my first home but knew a rehab was a good idea. I first saw this house and it was so ugly that I was immediately turned off. After looking at several others, it stuck in my head for the size, area, and the bones of the house were good. I knew there was a lot of little things that could be done to make it look great. Didn't really know what I was getting into but it all has worked out (so far).

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

Found on MLS and used a realtor. Didn't have a great experience with the realtor but loving the one I'm currently working with now.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional and received a purchase plus loan to assist me with some of the rehab costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Rehabbed everything that I could myself, got help from some family and friends with the labor. Hired out for a load bearing wall to open up the kitchen/living room.

What was the outcome?

Outcome has been great but still have to sell. Not putting it on MLS just yet as I'm still looking around for deals.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

My next project I will approach with much more organization. Went into this flip sort of winging it and tried to deal with problems as they came up, and tried to do most rehab jobs to save money. It was cheaper but took longer. I have a much better idea now on what to hire out for and hope to find contractors that I can trust and continue working with.