All Forum Posts by: Ray Hurteau

@Mark Nolan - hire these tradesmen separately and get 3 bids for each otherwise you're going to overpay for someone who does all this coordinating for you.  try searching google maps and x-ref yelp, angies list, google reviews, etc.  verify their licenses online and ask them to show proof of insurance.  there are a TON of people out there, but you may need to sift through a few to find the person you like.

Hello Boston Area BP!

We are hosting a FREE on-site event at our rehab project, a 3 family condo conversion in Somerville.  There will be no up-selling, MLM, or any pitching of any kind.  Guests looking to pitch or sell are encouraged to not attend and will have donuts tossed at them if they do!

We host these meetings for you - check out a local rehab, ask any REI question you'd like, and network with other local professionals.

This is our Phase 2 meeting.  Phase 1 was right after demo and Phase 3 will be when the work is complete.  For this meeting, you will see the house during/after board and plaster.

Light refreshments will be served.

Come learn about REI happening right now in our local market - no big time guru is going to give you the details we provide:

1) How we found it

2) How we funded it

3) What's gone well and what hasn't

4) How we visualize the final product

5) Estimated financials

6) Q&A session - ask us anything!

The event is hosted through meetup here:  http://www.meetup.com/Networth-Investors/events/22...

While we encourage you to RSVP through the official meetup page above, if you don't want to, just reply here so we can keep an accurate headcount and we look forward to seeing you then!

Please note:  parking on Rossmore St is resident only (they will ticket on Saturday), but Washington St is available without a resident sticker.

@Ralph Corgain - welcome! you may want to reach out to @Samson Kimani

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/55/topics/275...

Hi @Axel Ragnarsson - Gaudet Home Inspections did ours and he was very thorough and helped identify hidden, active knob and tube - saved us some $$ on the purchase price.  Very easy to work with also.

@Rich Hupper - can you give a more specific location? also, if houses there are selling for 540k, why would you say the ARV is probably 600?

Your name/entity and/or nominee is all you need to write on the buyer line of an offer to purchase to be able to wholesale it.  

you can tell him that you find properties for other investors in your network, so while you won't be the one closing on it, one of your partner's will.  talking about assignments and fees will generally confuse the seller and potentially cause it to not happen.  keep it simple. 

That's all you need at this point - you still need to see if he would agree to a number like 400k.

depending where it is, i'd be interested in looking at it Friday with you.

the seller's attorney could hold the EMD once he signs the agreement. also, the EMD can be any amount, so it doesn't need to be huge - if they question it i tell sellers that 5% is the typical amount because in a normal transaction the listing agent puts that amount into escrow so they know they can collect their 5% broker fee. since there's no broker, it just needs to be $1 or more for it to be a valid, enforceable contract.

put a condition in there like subject to buyer's partner's inspection (not a home inspection) or approval

explain that you would like to close in 60 days because you/your buyers get bank financing but will not put a mortgage contingency in there - in other words, you know you'll get financing or wholesale it by that time

if you do get it under agreement, you want to market it immediately.

ditto, can provide a referral - PM if needed

agree with @Joshua Poitras 100% correct - you touch too much of the building sq footage and get ready to add at least 30k for a sprinkler and patching all their holes in your ceiling (if you can even salvage it at that point)

long form vs. short form  - you only need a short form.  long for is for major work - e.g. structural or full gut

http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/building/shortform...

A short form application is for MINOR alterations to an existing building that will not change the use, egress, or increase living space or fire protection of the existing building.

Examples: Changing out a kitchen or bathroom.

http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/building/longform....

Here's a helpful hint - if you know you're going to need a long form, you can pull a short form to get demo started and the framing (nothing structural!!!!) and file the long form at the same time.  by the time the demo work is done and you're ready to tackle the bigger parts of the job, the long form will be approved.

You won't be able to pull a permit unless you have a license.  if you own the property and want to do it yourself, sure you can do it, but honestly, you're opening yourself up to liability.

1010 mass ave isn't terrible like many think, you just need to become familiar with the processes.  and if you aren't sure about future work, just list what you're doing now and you can always get another permit if you expand the scope (or have them expand it on the existing permit - they just want the permit fee $)

@Tim Wilkinson - if you're finding good deals and your investors are making good returns on their investments, they should be telling their friends!  or you should give them an incentive to do so - like a referral fee.

the money will find you...  that said, try looking for more partners at REIAs - also saw your other BP post and think it's a great strategy.

@Eric Hathway - I managed a 2-family rehab (not quite a gut) and found all the subs on my own.  I had trouble finding a reliable carpenter but could give you some referrals for electrical and plumbing/HVAC.  I hired a window company to replace them and usually find that hiring specialists is more time consuming (when building your team) but typically results in faster project turn-around and better control over each aspect of the rehab. i.e. fire the ones that suck without impacting other subs.

@Stacy Davis - if you don't mind sharing, can you PM me the names of the GCs/subs who worked out well?  I focus mostly on MA, but feel manchester can be a great buy and hold location.

@Jerry Agbon - nice advice! when you say ROI, are you referring to the time it takes to recoup your initial investment (in years/months)?

@Mike Hurney - we've got a couple 4BR rentals in dorchester near Ashmont and have been successful in finding market rate tenants, also professionals/grad students.

@Colby Mulry - if you have yet to buy a house, you can qualify for a number of first time home buyer programs and increase your ROI (we calculate this in terms of years based on before-tax cash flow) due to lower down payment requirements. it is difficult, if not impossible, to find something on the market, so you may need to look into various ways to get off market properties. you can network with others and let them know what you're looking for so if they get a lead that doesn't meet their criteria, you can be the first to know.

we are building up a list now, so feel free to send me a PM with your criteria/locations - we currently send marketing materials and get off-market leads in Dorchester, South Boston, and Somerville.  We will continue to expand our marketing over the coming years to other locations in the GBA.