All Forum Posts by: Robert Laird

@Steve Morris I believe you are correct, but isn't it also a complaint based system? Where the only time someone would be reprimanded for taking a fee for assigning a contract (aka wholesaling) is when someone has reported them for doing unlicensed real estate activity? This is currently my knowledge of how the system works, but please correct me if I am wrong.

I always thought of it as the old saying, "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound?". You could technically do 100+ assignments in Oregon, and if you are never reported, there would be no penalty. I know real estate agents who have bought assignments and multiple federally licensed title companies that have never raised any red flags or prevented an assignment transaction from going through even when it was clearly communicated that it was an assignment to all parties involved.

Now I agree with you Steve, technically "wholesaling is not legal in OR", however that does not stop wholesalers from making large assignment fees from assigning contracts every single day in OR. Your statement is like saying it is illegal to storm the Capitol building, but as our country saw on January 6th, just because it is illegal doesn't make it impossible. At the end of the day, I am curious how many people will be held accountable for their actions and/or see repercussions from them. 

@Ryan Plummer I would be interested if you end up doing more zoom events. Thanks in advance!

@Rebecca Silva congratulations on taking the steps from desire to action!

I can say from personal experience that both @Mike Nuss meet-up Investor Lab, as well as @AJ Shepard's UpTown meet-ups, are awesome! Both groups typically have regular guest speakers addressing various real estate topics. When COVID is not relevant those are both great places to rub shoulders with Portland real estate peoples. 

@JR Hinds and I have organized very informal meet-ups in the past at BaseCamp Brewery, but again due to COVID circumstances currently that is not going to happen anytime in the near future.

I would recommend in the meantime continuing to connect with people here on BiggerPockets, ask lots of questions, and stick to your 90-day challenge. Keep us posted on how it goes and excited to see you around when things open up! 

2021 hear we come! Stay positive and test negative. 

@Anthony Surach These are all great strategies. Teaming up with someone else who has experience in what you would like to do is going to be the fastest way to get there because you won't have to reinvent the wheel. Bigger pockets or local investor meet-ups are a good place to start networking with like-minded individuals who can assist you in reaching your goals. 

Driving for dollars physically or virtually is a great way to identify distressed properties and potentially motivated sellers on a budget. If you do not have a lot of time or resources I would recommend you get creative. Things like weekend garage sales or estate sales can sometimes signify that a person is going to move and might have a property to sell. Websites like Craigslist or your local newspaper might have advertisements for people holding garage sales or For Sale By Owners (FSBO) where you can check out a couple on a Saturday as you drive for dollars. In the end, the deal will come from being in the right place at the right time and negotiating the seller down on price.

Congratulations @Chris Blackburn! That looks like a very exciting property. I am interested to hear how things work out. Thanks for the share!

Congratulations @Chris Gould! Let us know how the sale turns out!

Congratulations @Gabriel Graumann! Sounds like another case of the early bird gets the worm, or as @Christopher Hill put it, when opportunity meets preparedness is when you get "lucky". Keep up the hustle!

Wow! Congratulations @Blake Wehling! Can't wait to see the final product, please keep the info and photos coming. Big moves in 2021!

@Account Closed, kind of. The foundation had a minor crack through the slab and there was some minor settling. We could have "floated" the floor with concrete for around $5,000 but instead decided to pay a local foundation company $18,000 to put multiple helical piers under the house to give the foundation a "life-time guarantee", since we were worried this could come up on an inspection report during the selling process ultimately killing a sale or driving the price down.

In the end, we needed to recoup an additional $18k on the sales side that did not change anything cosmetically to the house. In hindsight, the extensive foundation work was overkill and an unnecessary cost that did not end up helping the sale of the house but hindering it. The house was not in a flood zone, the settling was natural, and not more than 3/4". Floating the floor would have been a reasonable solution, we could have listed the house for less and sold quicker.  

This is obviously very specific to this house, but as a general principle: although structural improvements can be necessary, they do not ultimately increase the value of the home, choose where to deploy your remodel finances wisely because some may help you out on the sales side more than others. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Milwaukie.

Purchase price: $185,000
Cash invested: $85,000
Sale price: $355,000

Contributors:
Justin Leithem, Carlos Carbajal

Fixer single-family home we completely renovated. Since we fixed the foundation and the remodel was more intensive than expected, we listed in fall. Unable to get the sales price we were hoping for, we refinanced the property and rented it out. Finally sold 7/7/2020

How did you finance this deal?

LendingHome

How did you add value to the deal?

Whole house remodel

What was the outcome?

Purchased the property, renovated, rented the property for several months and sold.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Do not over remodel