All Forum Posts by: Saban Becirovic

Find a good real estate agent who is willing to do that for you, and don't that ask them about 19 properties a  day... You have to show them you are serious about buying!! They have a lot of people asking them to do these kind of things.

Don't send them every property that comes your way, they will likely get tired of looking into them for you if you aren't capitalizing on the opportunities. Always, do some quick due diligence and if you are seriously considering buying the property, then ask them to come up with an ARV based on comps. They can usually give you a pretty specific, accurate range. If you do end up buying the property, don't forget about this realtor when it's time to sell!!

If you go on realtor.com/soldhomes you can search and filter through homes that have recently sold in any specific area. I usually filter with the same number of bedrooms/bathrooms/sqft as my potential property and I go right to the same street. If there is nothing on the street, then I look at the next few streets over using the map, etc... I typically do this very quickly myself, before I waste anybody else's time.

Hope this helps. 

On top of what everybody else said, I'd advise you to be very cautious of some wholesalers' rehab budgets... Do your own due diligence and come up with your own rehab budget, don't just believe when they say it needs 20k rehab.

Same with ARV...

I did the same thing 3 months ago, left the high pay and the long hours in CT and moved to Clearwater, FL and I honestly couldn't be happier. I'm just here to tell you that you will not regret it. Just make sure to not quit your W2 until you've secured the properties you want to buy in Daytona. Good luck and great choice!!!!!!! 

I have a question to add on to this, since I've been going through similar things. How are you guys refinancing these? Every HML I speak to wants to loan to an entity not an individual which requires you to set up some type of entity. In my case, I went with an LLC. Now that I own a property in an LLC, I can't seem to find a lender who will do a traditional mortgage on it. Are you guys taking out shorter term loans or how are you getting around this?

Thank you all for the responses. Yes, we will take care of the lighting, flooring, and painting. We just could not decide what to do with the kitchen. Based on your responses, we will try to clean it up with new hardware! I will keep you guys updated with results! The gap to the right of the sink was a dishwasher, so yes, we will be putting one back in. You guys are also great for the specific product recommendations for cleaning – very appreciated!!

As far as the comps, most of them have basic white shaker cabinets with level one granite. But all of the comps have original bathrooms reglazed. Our house will have a fully renovated, tiled bathroom. I think with these cabinets cleaned up and a brand new bathroom, this house will be valued more than white shaker cabinets with an 50’s bathroom... But that’s just me.

Again, thank you all for the advice!

Originally posted by @Bruce Woodruff:

If you can get a GC or really good handyman to look at the property that is beat. All of the estimators are guessing...heck even the GC and handyman are guessing...

But this is a guessing kinda business we're in....you just have to guess right most of the time.

 To add on to this, I had a handyman come give me a quote on a full interior rehab last week. We finished walking through the property and he goes - "you know, there are always two prices - one when we are walking through it as is and one after we rip everything out and see the real issues." 

I would recommend that you read "The Book on Flipping Houses" and also "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs", both by J. Scott. There is a lot of information regarding this topic. I don't know how hot your market is, but where I am by the time I can get a GC out to a property it is typically sold already.

Create some type of checklist that you bring with you to every property you look at, take good pictures and video if possible so you can review afterwards. Don't just estimate numbers for a rehab, but get actual estimates for labor and materials. I've found that a lot of contractors or handymen will give you a decent price range based on photos and your description of the project. Then, go from there. Trust your gut - if you have a bad feeling about the numbers, either don't buy it or lower your offer. As a beginner, if you are unsure if something needs repair, ask somebody with the experience or just add that cost into the rehab. Finally, as a beginner they always say to add 10% to the rehab estimate. Even if you think you estimated everything, you will still somehow end up using that 10%.

BP Community,

I'm in need of some guidance. Finally closing on my first flip and I am stuck on where to go with the kitchen. This was a hoarder house in a lower end neighborhood, owned by an older gentleman. The cabinets are actual wood and other than the fact that they are dirty, they seem to be in good condition. Looking inside them, I wouldn't say they are over 5 years old. I definitely would replace the sink and maybe the granite - depending on how it cleans up. I just can not decide on whether I should rip the cabinets out and just install brand new ones, or if I should leave these in place, clean, and potentially paint them.

What would you do?

Thanks in advance!

I was actually in a similar position as you are now. I used the network tab here on BiggerPockets and reached out to a bunch of hard money lenders. Ended up going with HouseMax Funding and it was a smooth process. Went from signing a contract to closing in exactly 2 weeks. But yes, as said earlier interest rates typically begin around 9% with points depending on your level of experience. Also was able to do a construction drawback as part of the loan. I pretty much just needed to come up with 20% of the purchase price. Good luck!!