All Forum Posts by: Christopher W.

Wow! 62 votes and counting! So I wonder if this is the most votes any one post has? I have seen as high as upper teens but never this high. That's incredible. Good for everybody involved.

Congrats guys! That's great! The votes were a little slow at first but really picked up steam overnight.

Originally posted by Bryan Alenky:

i disagree guys...for your first property or 2, definitely go by the 50% rule. eventually you'll have a vacancy or need a new roof.

I can understand this, but on a newly renovated house you shouldn't have roof issues. Really, if the rehabber did a good job, you shouldn't have any of the more expensive issues at all. Of course, that's assuming a little bit and anything can happen.

And the 50% rule isn't for every month. That is over long periods of time. Most months you will be far below the 50% but yes eventually something expensive is going to happen. Now that month will be far above the 50%.

I just listened to the podcast with Paul Bertrand from the FBI. He basically said that if everything is disclosed, it is not fraud. So as long as the lender knows that the house will be resold immediately for profit, then everybody involved should be fine. He did mention that the fraudulent short sale flips usually involve someone related to the Realtor as well.

Good info. Thanks!

Of course, like everything else, if the numbers work out then go for it! As for the 50% rule, no don't live and die by it, but it is a good guideline to start from. As I understand it, it makes room for the maintenance and other expenses that come with rentals. It's not an if but a when. You will have vacancies, the carpets will need to be cleaned, walls will need to be painted and different items will have to be repaired and replaced. The 50% rule makes room for those inevitable expenses. If someone doesn't want to use the 50% rule, that's fine - just note that there are expenses other then PITI. That's all I was saying.

I'm curious about this as well. I know some members here also rehab and sell/manage properties. the problem that I found is they that usually don't cashflow very well. Using the formula "rent - PITI = cashflow", it seems like a decent deal but using the 50% rule the deal goes south pretty fast. I'm sure that there are some good deals out there but if someone else has already done the rehab then that is where the money is made.

This is completely up to you. I know of some negotiators that charge a flat fee and others that will do it as a percentage of the sale price.

Having said that, I'm a little wary of the negotiators that charge a percentage. They don't have much motivation to get the lowest price possible.

I'm pretty sure this show has jumped the shark. It just isn't the same anymore - I don't see it lasting too much longer. I haven't even watched the last two seasons.

I haven't heard of this, but I can't say I'm surprised. It amazes me how many people allow themselves to be photographed in these types of situations.