All Forum Posts by: Christopher B.

Tennessee stinks, don't want to go there. 

They're under construction right now. PM me if you're interested and I'll provide more details 

I lived in the Cherokee at Westcliffe condos for a couple years while attending UT. Very convenient. Really enjoyed it. Seem to be reasonably priced but haven't evaluated as a rental. 

I know of a 2 unit condo build currently under construction in the Parkridge area. Fees are $25/month as it is just 2 units, concept is being so small two owners can more easily work out the common area costs  It's east so may not meet your criteria but it is in a revitalizing neighborhood near UT and downtown.

Absolutely agree with your last point about the bottom feeders. That's smart business. 

You're ultimately right as I think about this more. I can't recall a time I have ever asked a sub or contractor for receipts to verify their costs. I have had them voluntarily provided to me though. I have asked for material pricing to help me better estimate expenses for future projects which has never been an issue to my subs. If a contractor wanted to be secretive about that it would turn me off a bit. I don't care what my subs make as long as my pricing is fair and in line with market rates. Having open communication with them about pricing helps me properly budget for their services on future jobs so we can continue to work and prosper together.

So you hide your receipts and expenses from your customer because you don't want them to see your markup, right? I am a licensed GC but also hire contractors for jobs as I'm busy. Secretive contractors are a HUGE red flag, I would walk soon as one implied it is an issue with me wanting to know what things cost and tried to hide receipts from me. If you can't prove the charge then what are you hiding?

Welcome to the wild west.

Flipping can be a real PITA. If I could go back to my 26yrs old self when I got into this biz here is what I would do. I would pick a business to start that is infinitely easier to systemize, process, and scale. I would build that business up systemizing and processing it along the way as I scale. Then use the cash from that to buy my residual income. 

Another GREAT option imo is to buy a business. There are many retiring baby boomers who have small businesses with established customer bases and basic systems, processes, and teams in place already you can leverage. It is much easier to buy a business than build a business. Trust me, I've seen both. 

Lastly, you are young. Buy recurring revenues. A mistake I made was being greedy here. I liked rentals but wanted 300-500/month in cash flow and would pass up 150-200/month properties... how much do you think those would make 7-10yrs later? MUCH more than 150-200/month and the equity appreciation would have been through the roof! 

Basically what I am saying is don't get caught on the never ending merry go round of "I need cash, I need income, I need cash!" 

To specifically answer your Q. Find a partner. Better yet, find someone flipping. Ask them if you find a deal and bring it to them will they fund it, flip it, let you help and learn. They get 70 you get 30 and the education. Don't be greedy on what you make. The education and resume experience are the most valuable aspects of the deal for you here. 

My .02 cents. Good luck.  

1yr home warranties are required by law for new construction here in TN so we don't offer anything above that on our specs. For rehabs it depends on the level of rehab we do. If the house has been gutted to the studs and has new MEP, insulation, shdetrock, finishes, etc then I will not offer a home warranty and will resist it in negotiations. If it is a lighter rehab then I will budget for it upfront and either offer it with the listing or use it as a negotiating tool on the back end. 

Ditto what Wala said. Very strong #'s there. There is no such things as too much or too little really. Not in the context you are asking here anyways. Your rehab is determined by looking at houses that have sold at the price point you are targeting. Don't overthink this part, simply mimic the finishes and quality, fix things that need to be fixed. Work your #'s backwards from there and whatever it costs it costs. 

I don't know any engineers in Texas and their recommendations will be dependent on your specific house. One of the negative things about this business, to me anyways, is that there is no standard answer to most everything. You can call three different engineers to your house to look at the foundation and they each will have a different opinion.