All Forum Posts by: Wayne Woodson

I must admit that those numbers are from rehabbers in my market and not nationally. Although I did survey rehabbers nationally I didn't use their numbers in my calculations here.

Like J I am also in a cheap market in terms of labor and materials. Houses here are a lot cheaper in than in CA, or NY so the rehabs will be cheaper. Also it depends on who is doing the rehabbing because everyone will give you a different number and each house will have a different use; rehab, sec 8 etc.

As corny as they look they surprisingly do work. It's kind of like bandit signs. The nice professional looking ones that you would think work don't but some hand drawn sign on posterboard that says "we buy houses" does.

May I suggest excel. Is simple to use and doesn't cost a monthly fee.

I was passing through and saw this thread a thought I'd give my 2 cent.

Ever Investor/ Rehabber will give you a different number so there is no way you can be truly accurate. All you need to do is be in the ballpark and the way I do it is with ranges. When I estimate rehabs I have 3 criteria: Good, Bad and Ugly based on the condition of the property.

Good = 5k to 10k
Bad = 10k to 15k
Ugly = 20k to 40k

I got these numbers by surveying different rehabbers in my area and nationally. When I did that and this was the average that came out.

Good = 10k
Bad = 15k "average rehab cost"
Ugly = 30k

Beyond 40k the property may be a BER (beyond economical repair or knock down) or need very extensive repairs. Once you talk with a few or your buyers you can determine an estimate pretty quickly. Also you can go back to the seller to negotiate the price further if needed.

I would say ALWAYS mail the attorney. A lot of times the petitioners will not get the letter due to a misspelled address or a recent move, etc. The attorney's have an obligation to contact the petitioners regarding ANYTHING with the property.

Also they can be a great source of leads too.

Update: I called the collection agency(*67 before I called from my phone) and spoke with someone and asked what I should do. They advised me to fill out what is known as a "Not Me Affidavit". I will send that out today 1/31/13 and see what happens.

The mistakes that I have noticed and corrected in the beginning of my business are as follows.

1. Making offers that were not low enough.
2. Not marketing a property thoroughly (or not at all except on Craigslist).
3. Not evaluating properties correctly (use the right comps).
4. Not enough marketing pieces to make a deal (100 yellows letters a week vs. 50 or 10).

if you are looking for some great rehab and rental properties check out my site and subscribe.

If I were to do this business over I would have jumped right into wholesaling and rehabs. No one ever told me you could do rehabs on a subject to or even do "light rehabs" that don't require much money or work. Also I would have started my LLC so I could have built up my line of credit by now.

I had a partner but me and him split ways. It's hard to work with someone when you both have different speeds and different business ethics.

Welcome to BP Charlie, what Ave of Real Estate are you looking to get into?

I would recommend "My Life & 1000 Houses" and "Rich dad Poor Dad" for starters. Sadly in RE there is no 1 book that has all the answers.

About 4 years ago I lost my drivers license and really didn't think much about it. I went online and just ordered a new one and got it in the mail with no problem. About 3 years ago I started getting letters in the mail for payment of a $180 fee for reckless driving in FL. As it turns out someone went to Florida and got a ticket under my name using my license. I thought this was just spam or someone trying to scam me so I just kept throwing the letters away. Now they are threatening to take me to court and I don't want to drive down to FL just to that.

There has to be some way to prove that it wasn't me that got the ticket. They haven't entered anything on my credit report as far as I know and I hope they don't. Is there any way I can get out of paying this $180? Anyone got any experience with something like this?