All Forum Posts by: Simone Johnson

Hi! Yes! I know right? I am still surprised that I pulled this off. Thank You!

Yes. I always heard "Find a real deal and you'll find the money". It's true! Finding a partner was not easy and it came from networking. I am part of the GA Reia and pre covid, I went to the meetings and build meet ups regularly. I will admit, that no one wanted to partner with me initially since I was new. I also attended all the auctions and workshops that they offered. I saw my partner twice before I realized he would be a good fit to work with as he was a guest speaker at both and I attended one of his builds. I had his information from the first meeting when I learned he was a member of my REIA. When I was looking for a GC, I contacted him because I felt that he was upfront and honest and had a reputation to keep. (I was gotten over on when my true first opportunity was lost to a dishonest investor.)

I liked that he didn't even want to see the home before I had it under contract. When I discussed expansion, I realized that I had more and more questions and asked if he would consider being a bit more than a contractor. It was because I had my personal business lined up, done the work with probate and the bank ( the house was initially in foreclosure and I had to stop the auction with 6 days and no experience or help) and had already company, bank accounts, etc. He liked that I had really dug deep into the project and was committed.

My partner actually bought me the private lender (Network!) as the lending company that we were using initially back out with covid underwriting issues due to the abatement and I wasn't willing to put certain terminology in the agreement. He had someone that was willing to front the majority of the rehab. This is why I can now agree with the "find the deal" saying. He bought so much value by helping me with that and allowing me to not have to apply for another fix and flip loan. He says that he likes that I had everything together and made it a smooth process for him to come into, plus I did put up for the purchase which allowed him to know that I had "skin in the game" and was all in.

I was also grateful because he agreed initially to keep me involved in the actual rehab. I didn't get his contacts off the top. I had to find and interview every party( surveys, architects, realtors, etc.). It was a great opportunity since I was the project manager and him the GC and technically could have let him do most of it without my participation. I was on site regularly, and was able to learn the construction side of everything as opposed to just getting it under contract and having the GC do everything labor related. 

There is power in having more than one person on a deal, in my personal opinion and I like being able to have value added, as well as adding value. Thank you for your comment and question.

Hi! Thank you! Yes. There were SO many challenges, but I was determined to make it happen. When I think about lessons, so much comes to mind as I am still wrapping my brain around it all, even now, I'm still learning. 

Due diligence is crucial! I did my own title searches and with the help of seller, had most canceled before purchase except one.

The probate nice is something I wasn't aware of until the seller started getting calls left and right. I sat in the car and wrote out my contract on a pad and explained that we were officially under contract until I had my awesome realtor create one. I learned to put a memorandum on the home at the sheriffs office as a "lien" to further secure my deal.

Doing my research and communication with everyone from the court, bank, attorneys, etc.on a constant basis ensured that nothing was delayed or missed.

I learned about abatements and how to get to the next level when I had a uncooperative code enforcement office. I was able to write the mayor and council members and attend a meeting to show how I was committed to improving the town and why they should release it to me. They were hesitant to get another "investor" who would wholesale and leave it sitting or that I would do it right even though I had no experience. Building relationships is so important. I will never undervalue it and use that skill forever.

I learned how to stay abreast of all expenses and stay involved so that nothing was slipping through the cracks. 

The MOST important thing that I learned was how important it is to partner up with the RIGHT PERSON. Two are better than one and we have such a great rapport and worked well together and spoke our vision and were on the same page from the start. Also, documenting everything (Operating Agreement, etc. that I created on a forms website) and having official terms set kept any confusion about anyones role or finances. 

Thank you again for your comment and thoughtful question!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Atlanta.

Purchase price: $34,080
Cash invested: $114,222
Sale price: $385,000

This was my first investment property. I was able to stop the foreclosure, put in probate, purchase, stop abatement, rehab and sell! I initially was going to keep it as a rental property, but the market called for me to flip it.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to hold the property, but I wouldn’t have made my money back in the time desired. Since I decided I did have multiple exit strategies (Hold, Flip, wholesale), I thought that it would be a great opportunity to work on a flip and learn as much as I could.

I actually never had interest in flipping, but now I’m looking for another one!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Driving for dollars and searching the auctions. I was able to build a rapport with the heir to the property and wanted to help them not lose it completely without profit. They allowed me to work with the bank and get them to stop the foreclosure to find out the actual mortgage amount which gave me time to put it into probate to attempt the purchase. It was a very complex situation, but with lots of determination and BiggerPockets, I was able to learn all that I needed to know.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash for the home and was able to find an amazing partner, who I could trust and was willing to work with me as a newbie. We were then able to find a private investor to put up 90K and we put up the rest of the money to perform the rehab.

How did you add value to the deal?

Value was added by determining that it was better to expand the property by 800 sqft and work on it as new construction by gutting the home and building it out.

I have great follow through and by performing extensive due diligence, it ended up paying off well.

What was the outcome?

An amazing, quality property that went under contract in 5 days!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So many lessons! Learning the market and understanding costs is so important. Also, building relationships with the city to build trust allowed the 2 month permitting process to go smoothly.

The biggest challenge was that by the time I could purchase it, the home was in abatement. It took 2 months before I figured out who to speak to in order to get it lifted.

I learned everything on my first deal from acquisition, probate, abatement, permitting, project management, and selling.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I had two amazing realtors who understand how it is to work with investors.
Purchase: Marta Brown, Blue Peach Realty
Sale: Eric Feng, Keller Williams

I learned so much from them and I’m forever grateful!

Hi Catie,

I am interested in learning more about this too. Did you ever get an answer? Can you please share if possible? Thanks a bunch.

Simone

Thanks all. I found some people who were able to pass on the exact advice I was looking for in my post in regards to asking the right questions to gauge the opportunity.

There is not a park for sale, but there are many owners who are looking to sell. They aren’t all in one place, they are split between a few I believe. They have a good funnel and relationship with the people who know what’s going on in their parks. 

Hi! Welcome to BP! I I look forward to learning more about your ventures.This is definitely the place to get connected and feel right at home.

Best wishes!

Hi.

Did you ever find any on here? I have a commercial property that I am thinking about converting into a boutique hotel.

Hi. I have someone who has a great working relationship with a few mobile home park managers in more than one state. They managers don't want to deal with people in general, but due to this relationship, they have chosen to pass them leads on MANY people who want to sell their mobile homes. The only seem to trust this person and now they need buyers for the homes, but don't have the resources. They don't want to deal with realtors or anything. 

I don't have the specifics yet, but if I present the right deal, I can joint venture and purchase them, etc. I don't know what specific questions to ask going into this conversation. If there are enough homes to where the entire park is owned, is it worth it, if the land isn't acquired as well? Where do you find buyers for the homes or renters? I know I put 75+, but I think that its over 100. I really don't know yet as they are apprehensive to share this information, but they can't do it alone anymore.

Any advice to learn if this a good deal and how I can help the people if they are in distress and that's why they are so motivated to sell? Any red flags that I should look out for? Thanks in advance.

 Hi there... So how did it go? Any success? What worked or didn't? Still in the process? Thanks