All Forum Posts by: Bryan Casteel

The most junk I ever ran into was in a single family 2-story with full basement. There was STUFF everywhere up to my waist. There was a path throughout the house to be able to move around. All 3 floors (basement, 1st, 2nd) had this stuff piled up about 3 feet. It was increadible. None of it was any type of rotting food or anything, it was all dry and didn't smell. It would probably take a crew of 3 guys about a week and 10 dumpsters to clean out.

There was an open space in the dining room where the table was. On the table was a plate with some rotten chicken and a couple of bones. The agent that was with me said that the lady died at the table - choked on one of the chicken bones.

Wow, a chicken coop. That is a good one.

You reminded me about flees. About every 5th house I inspect has flees. So I carry a can of deep woods off in the car at all times. If you see them jumping around in your clothes, you can spray the OFF on at that time and they jump off. Also, I always wear long pants and I try to where boots - even in the summer. Flees suck and my wife isn't too happy when I bring them home.

Marc,

You say that you have your rents "higher than normal". I understand wanting a better quality renter, but how can you charge a premium? Are there certain amenities that you include in your units?

I have a 6 unit that I just got a week ago and I am discussing with my partner how to get the rents up a bit. Thanks.

Hi Jared,

Good to hear from you. Please help keep things going here and add your own experience to the questions.

I really like the quote in your "signature". What would be possible without fear?

Hi kstone,

Welcome to the site. Looks like you are off to a GREAT start. There is a lot of great info on flipping in this site.

I am a big believer that you MUST move beyond the MLS when looking for deals to flip. You have to start marketing on your own to get people to call you first when they want to sell their home.

I created my website specifically to help you and everyone like you. Take a look for more info beyond the great BiggerPockets.com. (link is below my name...)

Originally posted by "Rvalles":

The problem with pulling out a home eqity loan on your house to puchase another property in now your stuck with two mortgages. The home eqhity loan as well as your primary residence. Too make matters worse, if your new property that you purchased is at a negative, your losing there as well. The only way this would be able to be pulled off is in a highly appreciated market.

I really don't agree at all with this viewpoint. Real estate investing is all about leverage. Unless your investing all of your own liquid cash into a deal, a debt is a debt is a debt. If you can use the equity in your home to get started you should. It is usually the cheapest money you can get your hands on. Also, you can get you hands on it quickly and you don't have to go through long approvals.

If you are going to use your own home equity, I would still advise getting to know the people at the local banks and the hard money lenders. You can talk to them about investor financing and that you have some home equity that you will use in the deal as well.

Ultimately, it is on you to make a good deal or you can lose money.

Hi Dale,

I took a look at your website and it looks like you guys to good work. It is great to see the progress in the pictures instead of just before and after.

Your question is a little unclear. What type of financing are you looking for?
Hard money, private lender, money partner or something else? Also, is the funding for new homes that you don't own yet or ones that you have?

Hmmmm...a public negotiation. Is Josh going to bite or is he going to go to PM?

I clicked around and ended up at The Jersey Shore Real Estate Bubble blog and there is a phone number for Senetor Rice listed as (973) 371-5665. On The Norther New Jersey Real Estate Bubble blog, an anonymous comment stated that they called the Senator's office and they confirmed the initiative by Senetor Rice. Guess it would be best to get the info from his office.

Great question Sam. This is one of the more shocking realizations that I found when getting into the rehab business. When you hear other people talk about how to do it, you only hear about the best stories of the best deals. Many people leave out the dirty little details.

Last year I gave a presentation to the local REIA called the "Gator Presentation". I called it that because I wanted to point out some ways that investors can avoid "alligators" that bite you in the deal. I got a lot of feedback from people saying that they were glad to hear about all of my mistakes and troubles because all they ever hear about are successes. I pointed out that all of the deals that I talked about ended up being successes but not as big of a success as I had planned because of the troubles that I ran into.

I summed up some of my learnings with the following rules to investing:
[list]

Never, never, never fall in love with a deal

Remove emotion completely by focusing on the system and not the deal

The numbers ARE the numbers – don’t change them to make the deal work

You make your money when you BUY, you get the check when you sell

Make LOTS of offers[/list:u]