All Forum Posts by: Ryan Taft

I live in Whitmore Lake and have 2 single families and a triplex there. Supply is almost zero right now on MLS. Anything fixer upper sells within a few days at more than what it's worth. I was able to scoop one up last fall that was profitable, but definitely had to pay more than I wanted and was multiple offers within a day of it hitting market. I haven't been able to find anyone to supply wholesale leads consistently.

If anyone wants to chat about investing in Whitmore Lake or surrounding towns, let’s talk! Open to working together. 

I buy single or small multifamily fixer uppers with the intent to rehab and keep long term as rental. 

 Thank you Alora!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Whitmore Lake.

Purchase price: $91,000
Cash invested: $28,000

2nd flip! So much better of an experience than my first flip. Really happy with how the place turned out. Feels good to fix up a place, improve the community, and offer a home people can be excited about. Most satisfying, this place was a SLUMLORD rental. There should not have even been someone living in this place, it was so gross. I'm glad I had the opportunity to get rid of that terrible situation and do my part to give us "landlords" a good name!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

5 min from my house, SMALL property (control the rehab costs). 1 mile off highway, 15 min to major cities South (Ann Arbor) or North (Brighton). Bones were good - electrical and plumbing had been replaced 20-30 years ago, Breakers installed, PVC and pex plumbing. The house was structurally good to go, just SMELLED and was UGLY. Perfect rehab potential for me!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

-Moved Fast
-Offered high

Realtor told me about it 4hrs after it hit market. Drove down there at 10 O'clock at night on Thursday and looked at it in the dark. Walked through (and inspected, myself) on Saturday. Offered 2k over asking, with no inspection, on Sunday. Way overpaid, but right now if you want to buy something off the MLS, that's what you have to do. Multiple offers on within days, highest and best was called for Monday. Monday afternoon we got the email saying we got the deal!

How did you finance this deal?

Finance:
Used traditional 20% down 30 year mortgage, paid 5k rehab material cost with credit cards. Did all the work myself, no labor cost. Plan is to HELOC the money back.

How did you add value to the deal?

Fixed smell issue, gutted and made place pretty again. Added lots of light. See description for more detail.

What was the outcome?

Numbers:
91k purchase, ~23k to close, 5k rehab, (prob 2k more in spring to paint the exterior).
Monthly cost $650, expected rent $1500.
New appraisal not completed yet, expecting $140-150k value. If it appraises right I'll reduce cashflow with the second payment, but get all my cash back!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned I suck at mudding LOL. Biggest revelation, or affirmation I should say, is how much easier this whole thing gets with practice. This whole project went 100000000x faster, cheaper, easier, almost zero stress -vs- my first flip from a year ago (NIGHTMARE!!).

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Realtor - Marilyn Handloser (Whitmore Lake, MI)

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Whitmore Lake.

Purchase price: $91,000
Cash invested: $28,000

2nd Flip! Offered 2k over asking. Way overpaid, but right now if you want to buy something off the MLS, that's what you have to do. Multiple offers on it within one day, within 4 days of it hitting market we had a signed offer!

Rehab:
Place smelled so bad I almost threw up during the walk through. YEARS of animal filth and water leaks rotting the floor. After cutting out the rotten subfloor, pulling up the carpets, 5 gallons of vinegar through a pesticide sprayer, 1 gallon industrial cleaner, and an ozone generator for the night --> Smell gone!!
Gutted it, kept the existing drywall. Dragged 16 gallons of mud over the ugly as can be (and painted) ceiling to smooth it out. Lot of work but man what a difference. Fixed the rot problems, paint and flooring. Added a lot of lighting (this is best bang for you buck I think). Tinkered up and painted the original cabinets, they came out pretty good but was a TON of work. Pinterest "add molding to flat doors" hack, about $6/door and I love it!

Finance:
Used traditional 20% down 30 year mortgage, paid 5k rehab material cost with credit cards. Did all the work myself, no labor cost. Plan is to HELOC the money back.

Numbers:
91k purchase, ~23k to close, 5k rehab, (prob 2k more in spring to paint the exterior).
Monthly cost $650, expected rent $1500.
New appraisal not completed yet, expecting $140-150k value. If it appraises right I'll reduce cashflow with the second payment, but get all my cash back!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

5 min from my house, SMALL property (control the rehab costs). 1 mile off highway, 15 min to major cities South (Ann Arbor) or North (Brighton). Bones were good - electrical and plumbing had been replaced 20-30 years ago, Breakers installed, PVC and pex plumbing. The house was structurally good to go, just SMELLED and was UGLY. Perfect rehab potential for me!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

-Moved Fast
-Offered high

Realtor told me about it 4hrs after it hit market. Drove down there at 10 O'clock at night on Thursday and looked at it in the dark. Walked through (and inspected, myself) on Saturday. Offered 2k over asking, with no inspection, on Sunday. Way overpaid, but right now if you want to buy something off the MLS, that's what you have to do. Multiple offers on within days, highest and best was called for Monday. Monday afternoon we got the email saying we got the deal!

How did you finance this deal?

Finance:
Used traditional 20% down 30 year mortgage, paid 5k rehab material cost with credit cards. Did all the work myself, no labor cost. Plan is to HELOC the money back.

How did you add value to the deal?

Fixed smell issue, gutted and made place pretty again. Added lots of light. See description for more detail.

What was the outcome?

Numbers:
91k purchase, ~23k to close, 5k rehab, (prob 2k more in spring to paint the exterior).
Monthly cost $650, expected rent $1500.
New appraisal not completed yet, expecting $140-150k value. If it appraises right I'll reduce cashflow with the second payment, but get all my cash back!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned I suck at mudding LOL. Biggest revelation, or affirmation I should say, is how much easier this whole thing gets with practice. This whole project went 100000000x faster, cheaper, easier, almost zero stress -vs- my first flip from a year ago (NIGHTMARE!!).

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Realtor - Marilyn Handloser (Whitmore Lake, MI)

@JD Martin agree! Don't get me wrong, it was hell getting through it. Working till midnight after my day job for months on end. However, now that it is done I'm SO EXCITED to get to try this again with everything I've learned. I feel that this nightmare will make me 1000x more likely to win on the next deal. Now if I could just figure out the "deal" finding part of the game... LOL! 

@Joshua B. sounds good, will do, thanks!

Totally agree with @Joshua B.. I have a triplex and a single family in Whitmore Lake. Great place! Also looking in same  areas you mentioned. Let me know if either of you find anything. Single family 100-130k w rehab potential, ideally cosmetic only /no huge problems. Thanks! 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Whitmore Lake.

Purchase price: $89,000
Cash invested: $60,000

1st flip. Total nightmare!! Learned everything the hard way. Paid too much, got ripped off 20k by a conman "GC", project scope expanded non stop. However, I learned SO MUCH. I ended up doing a large portion of the work myself and am so very excited about how it came out and getting an opportunity to take what I've learned into my next rehab. In the end even with overspending, the house came out beautiful and the rent I'm getting is making it worth the trouble!!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

All the podcasts about BRRRR!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A FSBO sign popped up on a house walking distance from mine. I paid asking price as there was a lot of competition for it and I got emotional and decided I had to have it.

How did you finance this deal?

Private Money short term, credit cards, cash, refi 30 year conventional after rehab complete.

How did you add value to the deal?

Gutted and replaced almost everything.

What was the outcome?

It's worth what I have into it, was not able to pay all of my costs with the refi.
The rent however, is $200 above market rate, so that's been great!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So many!!

1. Give SMALL JOBS to new people. I signed a 34k contract and gave 20k to a man I didn't know and it was a HUGE MISTAKE. Hire hourly, give small tasks, and fire them FAST if they don't perform.

2. Get educated on rehab. Watch youtube vids non stop to get an idea of what needs to be done and how.

3. Don't buy a house that needs tons of work for the first deal. This was a HUGE project and I had no idea what I was doing. If I could start over I'd go with a paint and carpet deal.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Agent - Marilyn Handloser (Whitmore Lake MI)

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Whitmore Lake.

Purchase price: $89,000
Cash invested: $60,000

1st flip. Total nightmare!! Learned everything the hard way. Paid too much, got ripped off 20k by a conman "GC", project scope expanded non stop. However, I learned SO MUCH. I ended up doing a large portion of the work myself and am so very excited about how it came out and getting an opportunity to take what I've learned into my next rehab. In the end even with overspending, the house came out beautiful and the rent I'm getting is making it worth the trouble!!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

All the podcasts about BRRRR!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A FSBO sign popped up on a house walking distance from mine. I paid asking price as there was a lot of competition for it and I got emotional and decided I had to have it.

How did you finance this deal?

Private Money short term, credit cards, cash, refi 30 year conventional after rehab complete.

How did you add value to the deal?

Gutted and replaced almost everything.

What was the outcome?

It's worth what I have into it, was not able to pay all of my costs with the refi.
The rent however, is $200 above market rate, so that's been great!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So many!!

1. Give SMALL JOBS to new people. I signed a 34k contract and gave 20k to a man I didn't know and it was a HUGE MISTAKE. Hire people to do one little task, when they get it done, move to another.

2. Get educated on rehab. Watch youtube vids non stop to get an idea of what needs to be done and how.

3. Don't buy a house that needs tons of work for the first deal. This was a HUGE project and I had no idea what I was doing. If I could start over I'd go with a paint and carpet deal.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Agent - Marilyn Handloser (Whitmore Lake MI)