All Forum Posts by: Scott Gordon

Thoughts on how to get creative with a house that is in a great neighborhood about to foreclose because both owners passed (old age)? I found the daughter on Facebook and got ahold of her, it's about to foreclose for $100k and the only liens I've found are the bills since her dad passed in January. I toured the house with my contractor friend who would be doing the renovations - it needs less than $50k to renovate the house is worth $~190-$210k ARV. I know there's subject to, buying after it forecloses or trying to buy it before foreclosure. What would you do?

This would be my first flip so would also be curious how you all measure a good deal compared to buy and hold.

Has anyone ever partnered with someone who wants to house hack and live in one unit of a MFH?

I have an opportunity to buy a triplex off market in a hot area just outside of Pittsburgh. I have a friend who's been looking for an apartment in this exact area who is willing to put the loan in his name to take advantage of the FHA loan as it would be owner occupied. Could this work for a partnership? How would you set it up to be beneficial for both of us - he lives free? I collect remaining cash flow? I pay up front cash costs like down payment and closing and such?

Feel like this is a great opportunity to get my first MFH with very little of my own money into the deal and not taking on the loan. Any help (what kind of partnership, can this even work, who gets what money etc.) is greatly appreciated! I would be handling all landlord activities and he would just be living for free/cheap and have a stake in the house value itself.

@Robert S Struhala Jr Hi Robert! Thanks for reaching out. I haven’t heard from the partner mentioned above so I’ve not been able to move this any further. Happy to hear any thoughts you have!

@David Lee Hall, III Awesome! Thank you for your input, appreciate it as always!

Hi all - I'm a new real estate investor about 40 mins east of Pittsburgh, PA. I recently bought my first property - a SFH near Greensburg, PA. The focus of my learning over the past 6 months has been strictly on buy and hold rental properties and those that need a little bit of TLC to increase the value.

A house just popped up on the market down the street from my first property. It's a foreclosure that the bank got for $2k and listed for $26k. It's a 3 bed to bathroom house in a top notch school district. From the pictures, it's not in bad shape at all..just very outdated and could use a good bit of updating. A quick search of other similar properties in the neighborhood shows ARV of ATLEAST 140k - I say atleast because the house that sold down the street for 140k last year is not as nice as this house could be made with someone who knows what they're doing. Taxes are dirt cheap - $~40/month.

I have the capital and desire to jump in, but I just haven’t built up a team of contractors yet to feel confident enough that the work can get done in a timely manner. Is anyone in the area looking for this kind of deal/partnership? I would want someone who’s done several flips/rehabs before to help me learn hands on. OR any suggestions on opportunities for me to try and wholesale this property as a first timer?

@Josh Taylor Hey Josh! Id be looking to have it done by June 5th if possible

@David Lee Hall, III I wish I found it relaxing! Lol we just painted every single wall in our personal home and I never want to paint again after that!

No worries, thanks for responding!

I have a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house that I would like to have the interior painted. Does anyone have any great recommendations for an interior painter to paint the entire interior? Kitchen, bathroom, living room, stair case and both bedrooms? This is about 35 mins East of Pittsburgh between Murrysville and Greensburg.

Has anyone paid for something like this or do you typically do it yourself? I absolutely despise painting but will suck it up if needed lol

 Wow!! Thanks so much for the thorough response, Nathan! Thanks for clarifying some of my concerns, this makes me feel much better about the process. I also appreciate the tips about payment methods and such - I will definitely be taking this approach.

Hi All! I just closed on my first property this past week and am hoping to have it rented out by June 1st. I have 130+ messages on Facebook Marketplace alone, though I realize not all of them will be qualified even though I included my requirements on the listing. I'm a very process driven person and have been putting in the leg work up front to make my processes as repeatable as possible for all future properties. I have my tenant handbook pulled together to hand to my first tenant on move in day, but the one thing I am not 100% confident on is the process of showing the property and handing out applications/accepting applications. Could anyone please break this down for me as simple as possible? I am sure everyone does things differently but just curious of what generally works. Note that I have read managing rental properties and the book on rental property investing by Brandon Turner and am in the process of reading them again as a refresher.

My understanding is:

1. Schedule tours with qualified tenants (only those who confirm that they meet all requirements to save time) - I plan to have 1 or 2 days that I provide a ~3 hour window for those interested to stop by and view the property

2. Bring paper applications with me to the showing and for those that are still interested after seeing the property, ask them to complete the application in person. Question: I've seen conflicting opinions on whether or not you should accept unlimited applications and application fees at one time or if you should cut it off at 3-5 and process those before accepting any new ones. Thoughts?

3. Request background check through a site like Zillow and pay the fee using the application fee provided by the applicant and review the provided report to ensure the applicant actually does meet your qualifications. Do I call past landlords prior to processing their application or after?

4. For all applications I receive but deny the tenant, I need to send them an adverse action letter via mail detailing why they weren't selected? Could a reason be that someone that applied before them was selected?

5. For the applicant that I accept as my first tenant, send them an acceptance letter and collect security deposit + first months rent

I am sure there is something (maybe a lot) that I am missing. How far off am I? What have you done to improve your process since your first property?

Thank you!

Scott