All Forum Posts by: Mike V.

I sell with a full service realtor who cuts the commission to 5% (he takes all the cut, still offer full commission to the buyer agent.) I have worked with him for several years and use him to buy all my properties. I'm pretty low maintenance and fairly consistent so he is ok with the lower commission.

Sure, pm me and I will send it your way. Although it is a spreadsheet I don't use it to automatically generate numbers but more just to quickly note the necessary repairs/improvements based on condition and types of materials present. Without this systematic approach I find myself getting distracted and overlooking areas of concern.
Once I get back home I can quickly add dollar values to each category based off past rehab experience.

Over the last two years I am averaging 1 accepted out of 7 offers all from the MLS (there was one from a wholesaler but it was previously on the MLS - he beat me to it and wasn't too greedy). I look at every house that I bid on and I bid on almost every house that I take the time to look at and analyze. The only contingency I have is financing if its too big of a project to do with cash. I typically spend 30-45 minutes at a house with a four page spreadsheet that covers more than a typical home inspector would ever look for.

BS in Mechanical Engineering and minored in Econ. Helped in developing troubleshooting skills and analytical analysis. Also provided a decent paycheck to help save up money to get started.

I have used them once for pre-finished 2 1/4 x 3/4 red oak. The wood was very nice but had a lot of short pieces but for $2/sq ft. it was worth it.

Hey Mark,
I have bought a couple HUD homes and bid on countless others. If it is that good of a deal expect a flood of offers when the OO deadline expires and expect it to go for over asking price. If it qualifies for FHA that means it will need less than 5K in fixes to qualify and HUD will place the necessary amount in escrow for the buyer (only for owner occupied not investor).

Yes, balloon is very typical. My bank allows for another 9mo extension or they will refi in-house at 5.5% with a 3 year balloon amortized over 20 years.

Hey David,
I have used construction loans on 5 flips that I have done over the last 18 months. I believe if you can find a bank to do one its a great way to go. Here is my latest example: Purchase price 24K, rehab cost 56K. I had to have ~5K down on the purchase price (20% of 24K) and the bank lent the rest. My bank did not require any formal quotes from contractors - just an excel spreadsheet listing what I planned to do to the property. The appraisal is done based on my completion of the listed items and the bank loans up to 75% of the appraisal.
6.5% interest only payments with a balloon payment at 9mo. I usually pay anywhere from $500-$800 in additional fees to the title company but they handle all payments and 1099s to contractors.

Great topic, I am struggling with this question right now. I have flipped 5 properties and have 3 rentals - 2 of which I am putting up for sale in the next week. I have decided to sell the rentals to free up more cash to fund more flipping. Am I taking a step backwards on my rental income goals? Yes I am but feel that I need to do this to be able to meet my capital goals. The banks I deal with used to only require a signed lease to document rental income against debt, now they want to see that particular property on the last 2 years tax returns or they only count the debt not any of the income. Since 2 of my 3 rentals are only a year old it will be another nearly two years before I can count that rental income. I would rather not sit on the sidelines for the next two years to the rentals must go. Once I have sufficient capital I will jump back into the rental business.
I don't necessarily agree that flipping is a short term strategy. It has many short term payouts but if that money is reinvested back into financing more flips with a long term strategy of capital accumulation, it can lead to other opportunities of producing passive streams of income such as hard money lending.

I use a masterlock box from lowes/hd that has a 4 digit dial. So far no problems and they are only about $20. I only leave one key - some of the subs complain but that way I don't have to try and collect keys at the end of the job.