All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Ford

Having spoken to many investors they made mistakes starting out.  If you had to do it all over again, would you pay someone to teach you the ropes so that you get it right the first time or would you wing it?  My first investment property I went under and it scared me from doing it again.  Now I'm more cautious in my investments.

I definitely would not invest that much cash in a property unless its 2-4 units.  If the tenant stops paying or moves then you lose your income.  I would definitely recommend getting a loan with a smaller down payment so you can diversify your investments.  I only pay cash for properties up to $35,000.  Anything over that I am putting a down payment.

Time is my reason.  Then I'm a contractor so I have a lot of projects.

If you are a wholesaler or have purchased a wholesale property, chime in.  I have made my money wholesaling property for years.  I recently opened my unresearched leads to my sphere of influence and clients.  What I am finding is that the majority of the "investors" don't want to do the work in order to get the deal done.  For example, when I tell them the amount that my list cost, the amount of money that I spend on marketing, and the time spend researching the good properties, their response is wow that's a lot.  But these same people will turn around and purchase a property that I am wholesaling with a markup of $10,000-$20,000.  Why wouldn't you want to save money, buy the leads and get a much bigger return?  Is it that people are lazy and want the easy way out.  I'm guessing that if the numbers work, then it doesn't make a difference.  So which one would you prefer? A wholesaled deal or a lead where you could make all the money yourself?

-When did you buy your investment property recently/where (city/state), how much did you pay, how big is it?  Birmingham, AL.  I paid $8000 and it's 2000 sq ft

-How much are you hoping to make on the investment? How much have you made so far?  $100,000 after an $80,000 rehab

- If you are planning to buy an investment property soon, how come?  The market is still hot despite what the news is saying.  It may be bad for regular homeowners but for investors it's a paradise.

- What are you looking for and how come you think now is a good time?  I'm looking for single family and multifamily.  The need for housing won't ever go away.

- What advice would you give to others thinking about this decision? Anything surprise you?  Buy as much as possible for as low as possible.

-First/last name, age, profession, city/state where they live-email for follow up questions

Stephanie J Ford AKA She-Vestor, 46, Investor/Builder, Realtor, Birmingham, AL, ck profile for contact.  

Btw I never assign a contract...never

They want something quick vs waiting on the market.  Some people are in a hurry.  If not me then they will sell to another investor and leave the realtor out of the equation.  I market to distressed homeowners and offer them a cash option.  Therefore they are looking for that check in 7-10 days with no closing costs.  That's why I say I'm different.   I close regardless If I have a buyer to purchase or not.  Then I will market after I take title doing min cleanup if any.

Typically that's how that's done except that I actually take title so it allows me to have a little more control of the situation if the end buyer doesn't perform when the sell is made with the 1st seller.

Wholesaling.  When I flip I make a min of 40-60k.  I only did 2 wholesales where I made 10k and that's when I first started.  The last 2 wholesales I made 20k on one and 23k on the other one.  If I can make the 20-25 on a wholesale I don't waste my time doing a fix and flip.

@Josh Pulley if you want to build more capital to have options to then you should try wholesaling. I do wholesaling and flipping on a part time basis. I'm a full time contractor. Of course this will require you to know the market some but it's a good way for you to have options sooner than later. Each property that I flip I make no less than $15k on a wholesale. Most of the time my money is only tied up for less than a week if even that long. Some months I make $40k wholesaling with min clean up effort. Dm if you are interested in learning more about this.