All Forum Posts by: Robert Blanchard

@Monika Haebich  What was the purchase price of the Investment Property in Palm Springs?   

I stayed in a Beach House in Virginia Beach for my Nieces Wedding and was surprised that they were going for $1.2 M. They were getting $3K for a week on off season and up to $6K for on season. Slept 22 and was 1 block from the Beach. Still a decent ROI but highly competitive, at least in Virginia Beach.

Hi @Craig Stephens

Note buying is a fairly safe way to get returns higher than investing in the Stock Market.

My question is,  how much risk are you willing to take?

I do not know the AZ market at all, but duplexes and triplexes sometimes can get you a decent ROI if you buy and hold. Also, if you have a vacancy, you still have some income coming in from the other half or units. If the property needs improving, could always improve a unit when the lease is up. Then you can raise the rent. It might take 1-2 years, but if you improve the property and make it more desirable than the other duplexes on the market, you could sell it for a decent profit. Not near as fast as a typical flip but can be a way to go to the next level of investing.

How did you find your first two flips?  

Please keep us updated on what you decide to do.

Hi @Jade Graue  

One other thing you might consider is to go to a REIA meeting and see if there are any Bird Dogs bringing deals to Investors. Similar to a Wholesaler, but the Bird Dogs do not put the Property Under Contract.

Tell any one who will listen that you are an Investor looking for a House to purchase below market price.   Sometimes, leads come from someone that knows of relative or someone that needs to get rid of a "problem" house.  

Usually someone doing their first flip limits their renovation costs to a smaller percentage of the purchase price of property.  

If you could get a partner to go in with you on a property that needs a large amount of work, the payoff can be larger but the risk is also larger.  

Are you planning on living in it while doing the remodeling?  

Have you put your team together yet?   

Good luck on your  hunt, and make sure to tell us about it in the Success Stories section of this site.

To get the quote options you have mover your  mouse over the 3 greenish dots on the top left of each post.   Took me a minute to discover this feature that was discussed by Steve .

Have they listed the house with a Realtor or just keep saying that they want to sell it?

If they have listed it, the Realtor should have told them what a realistic price to list it at.

To be able to give them an Offer that is not too much, you will need to have a Contractor go with you on a tour of the house.   That Contractor should be able to give you an estimate for all of the remodeling needed to bring the House back to a decent condition.  

Then get a Realtor or go online to get an idea what the same type of house , with the same size of yard, and the same amount of bedroom/ bathrooms are worth. 

After all of this due diligence  and research, you could offer him something like 60% lower than what you think it is worth.  Then his counter offer might be 80% , and your counter to that could be around 70%.  Most Investors try to get around a 30 discount on Houses.  

The worst he could say is , No, and tell you that he will get $XXXX for his house.  After it sitting on the Market for 3 months or even till Fall, you could approach him again with the same offer or something a little better.  

Do you belong to a REIA that could give you some referrals for Contractors or Brokers?

Here is a link to the ones on BP for your area:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/michigan-real-es...

Congrats and a great job. 

How long had the prior owner had the units?  Why do you think she kept the rents below market?  I suspect that she had good renters and did not want them to leave.  The Springs seems to be a stable market.  How close to the Base or Post is this property?   Is the Air Force still bringing in more Airmen?   I had read a few years back that they were increasing the force down there.

@Phi Bui  That is great that you got off of the Couch (or Computer Chair) and went to a Seminar.  Were you able to do any Networking?  It is always better to surround yourself with like minded individuals and groups.   Have you looked up your local Real Estate Clubs?  Many of them have seminars that they sponsor or screen.   Here is the link to the page about them on BP:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/real-estate-club...

You can also go to local Meetups.  There are many listed on this site and also at several meetup sites on the web.

Good Luck to you and your RE investments.

I have been back in the area since 1990 and have seen developers build on plots of land that had been left vacant for years.  I was born in the state and grew up in Littleton.  Before C-470 and Southwest Plaza was built. 

Anyone here remember Cinderella Twin Drive in that was located off of Hampden?

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8780/

It is now an Apartment Complex.  Not a surprise that it closed down but the road noise from Hampden must be quite noticeable. 

Does anyone think that the "Big Slab" , a new North -South Highway and Rail line going from Pueblo to Ft. Collins will ever be built?   I doubt it will since I have not heard any current news about it, but I could have missed it. 

Here is an old article about it:

http://newwest.net/main/article/big_slab_slams_int...

It would alleviate some of the heavy traffic on I-25 north of Northglenn and might bring some larger Companies to the area, since land development would be less costly than even along the Boulder Turnpike.

I agree that the climate and strong economy makes the Denver area very desirable.

Will Franktown and Elizabeth eventually end up like Longmont and Loveland?

In less than 25 years, I expect to see no open land from Denver to Ft, unless the Big Slab gets built. 

@Sammy Patel How "strong" is the HOA? Some investors detest having to deal with a HOA in a Condo Complex due to the possibility of a special assessment.

How many units in the Complex?

How many are Rentals/ how many are allowed to be rentals?

Does the complex look to be maintained well?

If the HOA has enough put away for larger repairs (roof, parking lot repair, etc) then it might not be an issue.

Usually Condo's do not appreciate as fast as SFH but that might be different in your area.

Do you think the Bank is motivated to get this property off of their books?

Please let us know what the Bank counter offers.

From the BBB for one of their entities:

150 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 75 closed in last 12 months

That is just the ones that made it to the BBB.  Probably a lot more unhappy Customers than that. 

Good luck on getting your money back.  Hurt them where they will notice it.... on their bottom line.