All Forum Posts by: Shawn Parsh

Edward,

Do you plan to buy a place to live in and rehab or are you going to buy a place to live and a place to fix and flip? I have some contact in Long Island that I can talk to about areas if that would help. 

Frank,

Fayetteville is a nice area. It has been a while since I've been there, but I'm very familiar with the strong military presence. Personally I prefer to invest locally to where I live. I like the idea that I can keep an eye on the property closer, use local contractors that I know well, and in a market that I also know very well. Do you live in New York and invest in Fayetteville? 

Miguel,

As already stated I would turn the utilities on if at all possible and then do your inspection. If you are fairly new to rehabs I would get written estimates for everything you plan to hire out. I know a lot of people use formulas to figure rehab cost and potential profit, but I figure each house by using the actual numbers. 

If you are planning to flip the house make sure you get a good estimate of what it will sell for when the repairs are done. Calculate the rehab costs based off of your estimates. Estimate the holding cost for the time it will take to get the rehab done and the place sold. Then go through the numbers and see if there is enough potential profit for you to be comfortable with the deal. 

Aaron, 

I agree with Ken. I would list them as Rent to Own (more people understand that language then lease option). Collect a non Refundable lease option down payment and charge enough rent to cover your cost and more if possible. 

Olugbenga,

There are a lot of things you can do to get started. I apologize if some of these are obvious and you're already doing them, but here are some things that come to mind. Join a local real estate investing club and learn what you can from other investors who are actually doing deals not talking about doing deals. Learn your target market well. What is selling and/or renting for how much. What features, areas are in demand. What are the vacancy rates, how long are houses sitting on the market. Build a team that includes qualified realtor, real estate attorney, asset protection attorney, insurance professional, contractors, handyman, and others. Tell everyone you interact with that you are a real estate investor and what type of property your looking for. Study your niche of the real estate market. Ask questions here on BP, read books, attend training events, and ask a lot of questions of your team. Then start investing when you find the right deal. You will likely learn more in one deal then all the books you've read. You will learn more with each deal. Remember your reputation is more important then any one deal. Do what's right and your business will grow faster.

Travis,

I have not heard of them. I have never needed a lead service. I let people know what type of property I'm looking for and continually look for potential deals myself. I also pay a 1,000 finders fee for any unlisted property someone tells me about that I buy. Once you pay out that finders fee a few times you will have a team always looking for deals.

Yoav,

I have a lot of success by letting everyone I interact with know that I'm a real estate investor and what types of properties I buy. I also get numerous leads by paying a 1,000 finders fee for any unlisted property someone tells me about that I buy.

Thanks for the input Basit.

Miguel,

There are numerous people that you should have on your team. If you are just starting to build your team you will want a qualified realtor, realestate attorney, asset protection attorney, insurance professional, contractors, loan specialist, possibly property manager, handyman, and others. 

You will likely add and remove team members over time to better support your realestate business goals. Remember that your team will advise you but ultimately you are responsible for the business outcome. So seek wise counsel and make the best decisions you can with the information available.

Morgan,

I agree that as long as it doesn't look like you tried to match the floors and failed you should be good. You could also add a threshold to break up the two floors.