All Forum Posts by: Shawn Parsh

 Understood, the bricks should only take up about 3" from the edge of the window well opening so hopefully cars are not driving that close to the window well. I would use the flat covering, but have the side by the house raised an inch or so for proper water flow. 

Shelly,

If the money partner is good with the deal then go with it. I don't see 50 50 being a bad thing, but I would keep detailed records so you can look at how the deal turns out. You may need to tweak the agreement in the future. Maybe you are able to flip the property within a three month period and your money partner makes 50,000 profit on a 100,000 total investment. The 50,000 would be a lot to pay for only three months use of the money. 

If a future deal looks similar I may want to change the split to 60/40 or something so I make a larger portion of the profit for doing the heavy work. Even at that percent the money partner will still make out great if all goes as planned. In the end, you want to keep the money partner happy because having someone that can fund deals on short notice with cash can really elevate your business. 

Deborah,

My sister just bought a property in Michigan that had an old pool. She had the sides pushed in with a skid steer and had it filled with dirt. She of course is in a very different market than you are and it is a house she is living at. It is hard to tell from the picture, but if the cost will be too high to repair it I like the idea of having a sunken garden. That way you do not have to fill it with as much dirt and it would still be an attractive feature for the property. 

Shelly,

Is your financial partner willing to pay for the acquisition and the rehab costs? I would not agree as the financial partner to pay a "salary" for the work that needs to be done. I would be more comfortable paying for certain things getting done. You and your money partner could agree in advance how much your husband will get paid for what particular work he completes. 

Having said that, what are you and your husband bringing to the table for this deal? If you are going to get half the profit at the end of the deal what are you doing for your half? If your husband is getting paid for the work he is doing on the property he is getting compensated for his time. So is your half of the profit based on you finding the deals, and negotiating the deals? I bring up those questions to highlight that I would look at it from your money investors view point to make sure you keep him or her happy. Would he or she be better off to hire their own contractor and pay them to do properties and not have to split the profit with you or anyone else?

I have done a lot of deals where I had a money partner, but I have never taken any pay for work I did on the property. I find the deals, negotiate the deals, plan and oversee the rehab, get supplies, coordinate for utilities, and have did a lot of rehab work on the properties over the years. From my perspective I earn my cut whether that is 50% or whatever is decided by doing those things. I don't take a salary or pay for my labor and half of the profit. Which means I have to have money to live on or other sources of income to keep me going during a project. I should only make my money (profit) when the deal is successful and my money partner gets their cut. 

Having said all of that, as long as both parties agree to the terms then there should be no hurt feelings. 

Dominic,

I will be tracking the responses you get on this one. I am supposed to close on my first mobile home flip in a couple weeks. It is close to where I live so I couldn't turn away from it. In my area some mobile homes on land are going for more than 300,000. There are a lot more buyers in my market then properties available so I see it as an opportunity. I expect the rehab will only take about a month so I will post how it all turns out. 

Anthony,

Can you tell me what a "pop top rehab" is? Is that when you add an addition on top of an existing property? 

Dean,

I agree with @Chris Ayars, I would cement bricks around the window well to raise the area around the opening and then get a window well cover that could go over top of the opening.

Joshua,

Some good ideas. I have never had an issue with theft, which hopefully doesn't change now that I said that. Of course I only invest locally so I am able to keep a pretty close eye on the places I get. I do always introduce myself to the neighbors and give them my card so they can call if they see anything, but I don't share a lot of details. The neighbor might be the biggest burglar in the town for all I know.

I've been in law enforcement on some level for more than three decades and one thing I've learned over the years is that the people that turn out to be the criminals are not always who you would expect. Good information, thanks for sharing. 

Andrew,

Who did you buy the property from? Were you able to get title insurance and did/will you be able to get a clean title? Did you pay a low enough price that if the house is not savable it will still be a good deal? I have rehabbed some really rough places over the years, but I have also ran into properties that would cost me more to rehab them then to tear them down and start over. With you never seeing the inside I'm hoping the land itself without the structure or the cost to tear it down and haul it away is still a good deal. 

I also understand that it is quite possible that the property is in a condition that would allow you to rehab it for a nice profit, but at this point you don't have enough information to know. Can you go to the utility companies, show them that you own the property and "ask" if the power, water, gas are on and if so under what name? I wouldn't switch the utilities into my name if there is potentially a person living in the house that is going to run up my bills. Me personally, if I was told by the seller (whoever that is in this case) that the property is vacant I would go into the house and see what I just bought. Of course this could come with some risk. 

If it turns out someone is living there you will likely have to evict them which could take some time and money. Is it possible they have a one year lease? An alarm or cameras may tell you if someone is going in and out of the property, but it won't tell you if they have a right to be there. I would ask my attorney what the best options are for moving forward.

I would also ask the neighbor to call me the next time they see a person at the house. I would then drive to the place and talk to them directly. Please keep me posted on this one I would love to know how it turns out. 

Oscar,

Are you a member of the local real estate investing club, if not I would join. It is a great place to get contacts for handyman and/or contractors.