All Forum Posts by: Shannon S.

@Emily Salwen This is a great question and the fact that you are asking it means you are already doing the right thing. I had this same question before I jumped in to investing in 2015. I think the first step to being ready is to figure out what area of REI is most interesting to you...do you want to invest in rentals, flip houses, wholesale, short term rentals, etc. This can be a tough decision for some, but for others it's clear and easy. There are different skill sets for each area, as well as differing levels of financial exposure, time investment, and business skills. Have you decided on a path?

Echo that question. I find this "wholesaling MLS" thing to be super shady. A Realtor's fiduciary duty is to protect the interest of the client. Also, the MLS in most states has pretty strict rules about advertising a property listed on the MLS, so I am not sure how the wholesaler then goes about doing that without liability. Regardless, the only agent that would advise a client to accept a wholesale deal is one who is either really inexperienced or shady, in my opinion. If the property isn't selling, there are a lot of ways to fix that before accepting an offer without means/intention to close. Lastly- this just compounds the hit the seller is taking in that they lose more money to assignment fee AND the Realtor commission. So taking the actual laws and regulations out if it, it's consumer abusive. "Pure" wholesaling already dances on the legal and ethical boundaries of consumer abuse and fraud, and is downright illegal in some states (if you don't have the means to close). I think there are a FEW wholesalers who disclose, inform, have means to close, and aren't trying to defraud or take advantage of the customer. A small percentage. To add in the complicity of the Realtor who is supposed to be there to serve the client interest? Two thumbs down.

As JD Martin mentioned, income provided by government does funnel back into the community.  As several others have mentioned, disability and disease cannot always be seen. It's easy pickings to get riled up about the "scammers" that you perceive to be faking illness or getting over, but the true drain to our tax dollars and wasteful spending is happening far, far above them in our political system, government and military spending, and tax advantages to corporations and the extremely wealthy.  Look up, not down.  

You might want to investigate a project management platform/app called Click up.  I'm current using it, and while I don't share with any teams, it is definitely set up for that.  It is a very robust app that can be customized many different ways but in essence it could hold all your docs and allow you to change, attach, assign tasks, all while being shared with a team...

Have a Realtor help you with ARV. Ask around for an investor friendly Realtor. Look at what they send you and learn from it, don't just get the number and run- learn, and become less dependent over time. If you agree to sell with the agent when you are ready, they should be willing to put some time/effort into it (but remember their time is money). Comps are not as simple as people think. I have seen a lot of flippers in my area lose money, or not make much, because they inflated the ARV and/or didn't account for market changes over time. Your biggest challenge beyond correct comps is time. When you say "live in" flip, do you mean you expect to be there more than 6 months? If so, your comps are going to be extra challenging especially now as most markets are starting to shift away from the current "low inventory/high demand" pattern that has been prevalent lately. Again, a Realtor can help with this. Be useful to them, be diligent and listen to them, build a relationship and they can be a great ally.

As for repairs- once you have a picture of comps- look at those houses. What finishes do they have? You want to be level to those, maybe do a little bit extra, but not overspend.   Read J.Scott's book on flipping houses.  Understand how you come up with a scope of work.  Talk to other investors- get names of contractors they work with.  BE CAREFUL.  Any work you are not doing yourself, proceed with caution. Never, ever, EVER pay for anything 100% up front.  I don't even do 50% with my contractors, but it depends on the job.   Get multiple bids.  Doing a fix and flip right requires WORK on your end, and by that I don't mean the actual construction.  I mean that especially in the beginning you have a lot of legwork to do and a lot of people to meet and talk with.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that flipping a house is all about the mechanical aspect- it's as much about the logistics, people management, design, and marketing.   

GOOD LUCK!  Proceed with caution, educate yourself, and network- and you will do fine. 

 Citrus neutrox, and odorpet.   Can find this and also DSV at wildlife control online stores.   Dsv is a serious disinfectant.  Have also been told kennelban is a good odor remover but haven't tried it.  Please make sure you or workers wear cartridge style air respirator when removing that carpet and spraying with any of these strong chemicals also probably should wear a white tyvek style suit etc.  Just protect yourself and your airways.

@Matt Stewart one of my mentors used to say "mold is gold"... lmao...

@Diane Dib I had a house last summer that was a hoarder house and neighbors said old man had 15-20 cats living there!  I love animals but GROSS.  Unfortunately after he died some of them must have been left here, we actually found some remains there.  So sad.  Anyway, agree that you have to sometimes replace subfloor- and definitely clean the venting system for HVac- and also any cabinets in the basement or anywhere else saturated leakage could go.  In my case the house had great hardwoods under carpet which all had lots and lots of pee especially one room, but we pulled up all the carpet, saturated with an ozone remover, let dry, did it again, sanded the floors until the smell was gone, refinished, cleaned the vents, cleaned the base boards or replaced, and smell was finally gone.  Think about this: whatever you do to treat the pee has to penetrate, saturate, or remove to the depth that the pee penetrated/saturated. And if it can drip into something, you have to find that and clean it too ...good luck!  One more tip- don't leave the cat pee stuff outside in a pile or in a dumpster for long- will attract more cats and animals to your job site...and they will  mark outside which potential buyers might see/smell after the house is all nice on the inside.

Great