All Forum Posts by: Sean Howell

LVT is that deal at the moment for me. They really do look great! Not like the old cheap laminate of before that would bubble etc. Depends what you're looking for, but if you're trying to flip this is the way to go imo. No need for messy demo of old tile (just go right over it), snaps together easily, and buyers love the look. 

**From a recent remodel. Excuse the mess. lol

Was literally just about to reference @Andrew Postell's post on doing the cash out refi without the 6 month seasoning period. That post is definitely worth a solid study!

Ahh..the joys of investing in Miami. Seems like EVERY Miami home has some sort of illegal efficiency or multifamily conversion. 

I'm not too versed on the subject but a couple things I would definitely look out for. Is your specific lot zoned duplex? Also a lot of these illegal conversions are done with such shoddy work it's possible you may have to re-do everything (electrical, plumbing, etc). Permitting for all of this may take awhile depending on which office you need to go to. If it's the building department office in Brickell it is an absolute nightmare and took me 2 months just to get my windows permitted! Goodluck and would love to hear updates on the process as this seems to be a common problem in South Florida

I've got my doctorates in pharmacy and while the content of pharmacy itself has nothing to do with real estate investing, the career has put me in a financial position where I was able to save up and start my investing career off with a bang. 

Agree with everybody else here. I had a friend whom I worked with. She was also a part time realtor on the side. I told her I wanted to get into investing and she mentioned to me that she wanted to as well but wanted to wait for the crash to happen and prices to drop a bit. She constantly tried to warn me to wait. I ignored her and jumped in with both feet.

2 years and 5 deals later for me, she is still on the sidelines waiting. The thing about it too is that, when this "crash" finally does come, will she even have the experience and knowledge to fully capitalize on it? 

I second @Chris B. sentiment. A lot of very thin margins being passed off as "deals". 

Congrats man! I love to hear these sort of stories. It definitely serves as a huge inspiration. I'm local to the Miami area as well. Would love to link up and talk real estate!

I'd recommend Mike with GAIA. Have used him several times and has always provided a very thorough report. He has saved me from buying a ton of headaches. 

With any property management company, be sure to vet them properly. BiggerPockets had an article with like 80 questions to ask a property management company. While you may not need all 80, this should definitely inspire some ideas and get you going in the right direction.



https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2015-10-09-questions-ask-property-management

There's tons of wholesaling podcasts and YouTube channels out there that can help you get going in the right direction. MaxMaxwell on YouTube may be a good resource for you. I would also advise just going through all of the BiggerPockets podcasts and just soaking up as much information as possible. There are quite a few podcasts with big wholesalers on there that you can check out as well. 

And of course, go to your local REIA meetup! This is the best way to connect with locals who are in the game in your area. If you consistently attend and get to know people this will likely be your biggest resource. Goodluck!