All Forum Posts by: Jon Elson

I am rehabbing a house built in 1959. Margins are tight. The house has old metal windows that close left to right (vs. standard up and down). The house probably has a dozen windows like this as well as a massive picture window in the living room. If the wood floors, bathrooms, kitchen, and hardware are redone, will leaving the windows decrease the value immensely? Is there a way to clean up the windows so they look nice? They function fine. Any ideas and opinions would be great!

Hi all, I am thinking about moving from Charlotte, NC to Greensboro, NC for a job. I own my home in Charlotte and would plan on renting it out. Does anyone know what the market looks like for 2-4 unit multi family homes in Greensboro? If all works out, I would be moving in about a month and would ideally like to find a primary residence that cash flows. Additionally, a 2-4 unit home which needs work and a contractor is fine by me if the numbers make sense. Please let me know of you have any other ideas that I could strategically implement if I take the job or can help with my search. Regards, Jon

I was informed by my real estate agent that investors came into Charlotte from California over a year ago and were looking for 1% properties. This tells me that if I want 1% or better, I can't be looking on the MLS where everyone else is. I'm sure there are 2% properties out there, I just need to get to them before they are public knowledge to other investors in my area. Side note, I wish I had the cash to purchase 5-10 properties, if I did I'd be trying to build relationships with people here who could help guide me in the direction to find a use for the $. Just a thought..

Bill Gulley please see my intro post I made last night, I mentioned boots on the ground as well as excel and tax skills as ways I can assist seasoned investors while learning the trade. That being said, sign me up!

Thanks for the support everyone!  @Jon Klaus that's a great way to put it, "if you get too many offers accepting, you're probably offer too much" I plan on using that quote going forward..  @Chris T. thanks for letting me know about the Charlotte meetups, I will definitely be at the next one.

Hello,

I am originally from Detroit and have been practicing tax accounting (with a CPA) for the past 5 years in Charlotte, NC. I own a house and two dogs. Over a year ago I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad; I became hooked in the idea of generating wealth outside of my salaried job. I jumped in head first, partnering with a good friend, and purchased a franchise (making existing homes energy efficient to save on power and gas bills) that was meant to be used as "proof-of-concept." Unfortunately, with my demanding job, and my partners demanding business, we were not able to devote enough time to start the company, made many rookie mistakes, and eventually put the business “on hold.”

One of the things I learned about this service based business, is that you are always working in it, there is not an opportunity for passive income or repeat customers.I spent six months reflecting on the risk I took and taking the time to determine the direction in which I wanted to move. This is when I purchased the book on flipping houses (with no knowledge of BP). At this time a friend turned me on to BiggerPockets, and I was hooked. I have been educating myself listening to podcasts whenever I can, I have successfully listened to the all the BP podcasts since inception. I learned a big lesson with my first investment of the franchise, and will be educating myself before my next one.

About a month ago, I had planned on purchasing an investment property with the funds that came from selling back the license for the franchise at .50/$1. The sale still has yet to occur; so, I audibled, and decided on flipping my house (that I've lived in for 2 years aka tax free gain) to generate my first RE income. I am now reading J. Scott's book on flipping houses. I will be doing my first interview of contractors in the next month and would like to have my house ready to hit the market this spring.

I live in the Charlotte area and would like to find a mentor whom I can help with my accounting skills as well as boots-on-the-ground in Charlotte (if said mentor lived out of state and wanted to invest).

Oddly enough I ended up at an estate sale (located down the street from my house) last weekend, I put an offer in on the house yesterday, it was not accepted b/c the seller was not motivated and had the time to price it at the top of the market. That was my first of many rejections in what will be a long career of real estate investing. Please let me know if you have any questions or advice on my road so far. I'd like to get to know people on this site and get active!

Best Regards,

Jon

I am a CPA who practices in tax, planning to raise capital and eventually start investing in real estate.  I would like to learn from a mentor who would like boots on the ground in Charlotte.  I can provide a presence in the market, research complex tax issues, and have an advanced working knowledge in excel and financials (for example, I prepared financials for a friends' small business by converting the company bank statement into excel, then using functions to prepare his balance sheet and income statement).  Please send me a message if we can help each other out. 

I've got a ton of ideas regarding all aspects of the above post.  Does anyone have any questions, comments, concerns, discussion topics?

Here’s how this adventure started… I am a home owner and planned on purchasing a multi family, renting out my single family house, and starting my passive career in real estate. The funds I planned on using as a down payment on my second property did not come through as planned, so I plan on flipping my current house. I am a CPA with a full time job and good credit.

Facts ($’s are approximations):

Home was built in 1959

Home has been owned 2+ years (tax free gain on sale)

Purchase price + landscaping + master bath: 180K

Appraised Value: 195k

ARV: 230 – 250K

Repairs:

• Refinish hard wood floors

• Paint

• Kitchen: Cabinets (refurbish used?), take out tile/replace with hardwood, countertop, open wall to living room (Just a window, not a wall demo as its load bearing), and new (or used) oven

• New interior doors

• Bath: Tile, vanity, countertop, toilet, reglaze tub

• Light fixtures, vents, plugs, switches

• Staging

• Potential updated electrical box (currently in good working condition)

• NEW LARGE window in living room

Investment

180K current

20K rehab

20K & closing costs realtor fees

220K Cost

There appears to be a possible 20K gain on my primary residence, this would free up approx. 30 – 50K cash to be used to jumpstart my real estate investing career.

I have not gotten quotes on the repairs yet, this is what scares me.If repairs end up costing 40K, it could eliminate the entire gain and I would be better selling now to pull the cash out.Please provide any and all thoughts/advice you may have regarding starting my real estate career.

Thank you in advance for your response!

Jon