All Forum Posts by: Tanya H.

I 100% agree with everyone else here.  In fact, I have a story about a GC in Michigan (Bay City) that will illustrate.  

I paid a GC 60% for a new roof for the house and garage of a flip that I bought.  He came highly recommended, was licensed, everything checked out on him.  He promptly did the garage, and then kept delaying on the house.  For 2 months he kept saying he would be starting it on Monday.  Monday never got here.  I was constantly texting him and calling him, trying to get status, progress, etc.  Most of the time he would not respond at all.  Then every once in a while he would reply about some problem he had, he apologized and said they would start on Monday.

When I asked for my money back, he then told me that he had bought all the shingles, so he couldn't refund all my monies.  So I told him to just deliver the shingles, we would deduct that from what he owed, and I would find someone else to finish the job.  Of course that didn't happen, because he didn't have the shingles.  I knew that, was just trying to call his bluff. The amount owed is about $2800.

I filed a report with the police department.  They did a investigation and turned it all over to the prosecutor's office.  I just found out that the prosecutor's office is not going to pursue because they don't feel it's a criminal matter.  So I have to file a civil suit against him.  

I've also filed a complaint against him with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).  That investigation is still underway, but I really doubt anything will happen there.  However, when  LARA reached out to him to let him know that he was being investigated, he sent me $600.  LOL.  

So the short of it, be very careful.  

@Josh C. - would you mind sharing the Denver bank that you are getting a HELOC thru? Is it on your primary or investment property?

Thanks!

@Sydnie M.,

That is great that you have researched the various strategies.  

I'm mostly focused on buy-and-hold.  I'm working on my first flip in Bay City.  I like the idea and the process so far, with the exception of finding people to actually work (first) and then to do a decent job.  That is my biggest struggle right now.  If you ever need a list of who NOT to do business with, let me know :) !

BRRRR might be a really good strategy for you right now. It's actually how I got started in this decades ago (long before someone coined the acronym). I think it's the easiest way to get started when you don't have much money to put down to begin with. I think there are some really awesome deals in the Saginaw area that will lend themselves perfectly to that strategy.

If you ever need people to bounce some ideas off of,  this is such a great place for that.  Please tag me or reach out to me directly as well!

Welcome, Sydnie!  I invest in here in Colorado, and in Bay City (as my family is from there).  

I think there are some awesome deals in the Saginaw/Bay City/Midland area.  

Have you thought about what various strategies are of interest to you?  Buy-and-hold?  Fix-and-flip?  Tax liens, land contracts, etc?  

I agree with @Bill S.  I'm certainly not selling my Denver properties.  The cash flow is tremendous at this time, and while there may be a correction coming, due to buying the properties at the bottom, they will always cash flow.  But I'm not buying in Colorado for now.  

Right now, I'm buying out of state.  I'm buying in Michigan, as I have family there, so I have somewhat of a network that continues to grow.  The prices there are unbelievable - so there is a lot of cash flow possibilities for buy-and-hold, and some nice profits in flips as well.  

All of that is positioning me to be ready to buy more in Denver when the prices become more realistic.  I know there are deals out there, but I've not taken the time to find them as the deals in Michigan are jumping out and hitting me along side the head!  

Keep it fun and profitable!

Hi Pat and welcome to BP!  You will find a wealth of information on here, so dig in!

I live in CO, but I've been investing in Bay City for a year now.  My family is originally from there, so I have somewhat of a decent network.  I think it's a great place to invest right now.  

Please feel free to ask any questions!

Tanya

Hi everyone,

I live outside of the Denver metro area.  I have 2 patio home rentals in Aurora, CO that cashflow like crazy, as I bought them during our downturn in the late 2000s.  I also have a townhouse in Scottsdale, AZ that also cash flows really nicely.  I've owned that once since the early 90s.  

And now I'm investing in Michigan.  That is where all my family is from.  I bought the family homestead last year that includes 2 houses.  Both, unfortunately, had quite a bit of deferred maintenance.  So I worked all last summer on one of them, and got it rented at the end of the summer.  That one is now basically funding work on the other house.  And I will be buying another house there next week.  It needs a little bit of work, but that one will be my best property yet, I think, in the way of cash flow.  And I'm going to keep buying in Michigan.  Lots of opportunities there.

I've owned multi-family properties previously in Syracuse, NY.  I learned a lot from that venture.  Mostly that I don't ever want to be a slum-lord again!  LOL.  And I've got to say that I don't really care for multi-families.  Not saying I will never do that again, but RE is supposed to be fun, and that was NOT fun. 

Looking forward to hearing from more on this thread.

I've used Goodman for quite a few years, and have never had any problems.  I have a friend who recently retired from owning his own HVAC company in Iowa, and he highly recommended Goodman.  The others (Trane, Lennox, etc) all have big advertising budgets, so I find their prices extremely high and not at all competitive.  Goodman has good customer support as well.

Hi Clarke and welcome to BP.  I currently live in Colorado, but just this past year I bought some property in Bay City (my family is from there, and I bought my grandmother's house there).  Interesting market, and I'd love to buy more there, but I'd really like to build my network there first.  So let's connect sometime!

I invest in Bay City.  I'm originally from there, but living in CO now.  I would love to meet with other investors in the area.  I want to invest more in BC, but it is also a bit challenging.  I do come to town every other month or so.