All Forum Posts by: Mark Lynn

I'm in SC and I got a call from a potential seller who lives here now. He has a home in Western Michigan he's been unable to sell for over a year. He's got a 2000sf+ house w/ a pole barn on 2.5 acres appraised at $175k. He owes $143k on and had an offer of $138k on but he had to come up with $5k of closing costs which he doesn't have. Potential Subject To or Short Sale. I live in SC and not sure what to do with this potential deal yet. Any ideas?

It's not as easy as just getting a $/SF price. I'd get several estimates and go with the most reputable contractor and consider price/timeline. There are a lot of factors that go into it, and there is no telling what you are going to find when you are back to the studs (your craigslist link was dead). If you want a ballpark I'd use $35/$40 SF to be safe, but if you find termites/water damage, polybutylene water pipes, faulty electric or structural damage all bets are off. That's why you want a reputable contractor, some of the contractors out there take jobs at or near cost, knowing they will make up the difference in change orders it makes it difficult for the rest of us to be competitive or maintain a good image as an industry.

I'm a licensed/insured General Contractor in Columbia, SC and I completed a remote rehab for a flipper from Louisiana last year. I would say that you definitely want to do your research first. I was contacted by a local wholesaler who sold the property to the flipper with my bid (the lowest of 3, I'm told). Once he closed he had the water and power turned back on and found that both A/C units were inoperable (additional expense to the investor) and despite my recommendation that he pay for a termite inspection (CL100) he opted to have a free estimate for bonding and ask that they see if they saw presence of any termites, which they did not. Once the home had a contract the termite inspection found wood rot beneath an exterior door hidden above some insulation in the crawl space (additional expense to the investor). If you do decide to buy remotely, get several quotes from contractors, do your due diligence on the contractor just like you would on a property, you might not want to choose the low price bid if you find a contractor looking out for your best interests and remember most of the time we're negotiable.

I'm in SC and granite is definitely a selling point in new construction at the 150-175k price point. For remodels you'll have an upgrade that not everyone will have. If you want to spend less and still have granite see if the local supplier has 2cm granite instead of 3cm, it is a little less expensive, but usually only comes in one or two colors. I don't know what price per SF is there but I can get 2cm starting at approx $30/sf. Based on what laminate runs per LF installed I figure the 2cm granite is about twice as much, and 3cm is about 3x as much but it is so much more desirable. At the 120k-150k price point here I'd say it's a toss up or maybe stick with laminate.

I'd go with a builder grade tankless gas water heater. Definitely a selling point to potential tenants and it only uses gas when water is called for, it's not heating 50 gal of water 24/7.

So I'm getting started at wholesaling. I've started with about 100 bandit signs, I'm building my website, and am looking into a direct mail campaign via listsource and online postcard/direct mail companies and I have a few questions.

1. What is the best criteria for listsource - Absentee Owners (out of state), LTV or Equity % (40-100), 15 miles around zip - anything else?

2. What is the best criteria for listsource - Pre-Foreclosure vs. Auction and 3 or 6 months?

3. Anyone have any experience with these direct mail companies. There are so many of them. I am even considering joining webuyhouses.com (has anyone had any experience with them?) sounds like it is mostly just buying a license for discounted marketing materials/system for a few zip codes

4. I've come across a few ways to compile buyers lists on listsource and I have the local REIA, but was wondering if there are any other ideas for building a buyers list for a newbie. I don't want to just advertise I have properties for sale just to get contacts when I don't have any just yet.

Any response or insight on any or all of the above would be Most Appreciated.

Thanks.

@Jordan Acosta I'm fairly new to REI and am actively trying to put together some wholesale deals here in Columbia, SC. I am partnering with a local experienced wholesaler on the first few deals. He has multiple properties for sale at approx 65% ARV. I got interested in REI after being the contractor on a few flips for out of town investors. I'd be happy to talk to you about either the properties and/or repairs.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko Thanks for the info. This is just a test to see if I can tag you in the conversation.

@Jordan Acostas I'm fairly new to REI and am actively trying to put together some wholesale deals here in Columbia, SC. I am partnering with a local experienced wholesaler on the first few deals. He has multiple properties for sale at approx 65% ARV. I got interested in REI after being the contractor on a few flips for out of town investors. I'd be happy to talk to you about either the properties and/or repairs.

Hi All...I'm a new member from Columbia, SC. I've been interested in real estate investing for awhile, but never taken the leap. You know the old question high school guidance counselor question, "What would you want to do if you had all the money in the world?" Well I always thought my answer was to be in construction, but over the past few years I've realized it's probably to be a real estate investor instead. I've just never known how to get started. I am a licensed general contractor and have been doing flips and rent preps for investors and property managers for the last year and when things slowed down this winter I went to the local REIA meeting to try to do some networking and got inspired. I'm interested in starting off by doing some wholesale deals, then possibly reinvesting in some flips and buy/hold income producing properties to achieve my goals. I'm not the best at marketing, so I would welcome any ideas for both finding buyers & sellers, besides bandit signs. I'd be interested in finding a mentor to help me get started. I work hard and learn pretty fast and would be a valuable asset to a mentor, but I'm not into paying someone 50% of my profits for the rest of my life, nor do I want to become someones full time intern. I've been reading on here pretty regularly for the past week and figured I'd finally formally sign up and say hello and I'm out here.