All Forum Posts by: Tatia Bailey

@DJ M. Agreed

I found the property on an online auction website. It's originally, a 3 BR/2 BA cape Cod on a corner lot with a 2 car detached garage with a loft area. Because I was traveling with my job, I only had the evening (traveling to a different time zone) to make calls to find new contractors and get estimates prior to closing. I got three estimates and decided on the contractor I was going to use. Cool beans! I got referrals, before and after pictures, contracts signed, license and insurance. Finalized my budget. Closed on the house. Great! Guess what? The new contractor was then MIA. Yes! So I had to start over and find a new contractor and go through the process again. Because I had the deal funded through a HML, I had to find someone who could fit into my established budget. Oh my! That tested my negotiation skills, but I made it happen. Then there was dealing with the township. This has been a frustrating, but learning process. That's all I can say in a public forum. Project scope: landscaping, new fence, new plumbing (from the main and in the house), new electrical, converted from oil to gas, new HVAC, water heater, reconfigured upstairs to include 2 BRs and a real full bath, gutted kitchen, new bathroom on 1st floor, refinished HW floor, new roof and gutters, repair fascia, soffits, siding, painting, concrete work on sidewalk and driveway, new basement windows, new door and windows on detached garage. Then there was the unforeseen... Enclosed front porch was rotted so that had to be opened up. Working on reselling windows and door online. I originally was going to do the interior painting, but quickly realized that paying someone was worth it. Who knew how much work went into painting a house???? The prep work alone almost took me out! I will update more later. If you have any questions about the process up to this point, then please let me know. The numbers... Purchase: 53,000 Rehab: 52,000 ARV: 165,000 Holding cost: @10,000

I currently travel Monday-Thursday/Friday (I work in other states as a consultant) with my job, so I'm physically only around on the weekends. Thank Goodness that I found a reliable, honest, passionate contractor to manage the work while I'm away. I found him on Craigslist... who knew? I developed set days and times for my contractor to provide progress reports. This has definitely helped. I had to make a conscious decision to work while I flipped houses initially until I really got my business off the ground. The first couple of flips were financed between a HML and my own money. I wanted to build success and prove to myself that I could actually do this. After my current project, I'm going to start looking for Private Money, other creative financing, and partnering with local Wholesalers. I've learned so much through the first couple of projects. With each project, I push myself even more outside my comfort zone. I just wanted to encourage anyone who has considered investing, but was too scared to do it. If I can do it, then anyone can. You just have to jump, get your whole body wet, and learn to swim (sometimes it will feel like you are swimming up stream). I'm excited about this journey and grateful to be apart of the BP community.

Originally posted by @James Wise:

Welcome to the site @Tatia Bailey

Here is a helpful article about Growing your business using Bigger Pockets.

Good luck to you & I'll see you around the forums.

 Thank you, James! I'm looking forward to connecting with the community. I'm going to read the article tonight. Thanks again.

I'm so excited to be connected to this community. I had actually learned about BP years ago. Recently, I have actively been listening to the podcasts and have been enjoying every one of them. So I decided to create an account and get more connected to this community.

I am in the middle of my first rehab for a fix n' flip. It definitely has been an exciting journey. It has taken a bit longer than to complete than I anticipated. I am only a couple of thousand dollars over budget. I decided to do this with practically none of my own money. Although it has been a bit stressful, I definitely a learning experience. I also have my real estate license (since 2005), so I'm not totally new to real estate.

I look forward to connecting with more investors as I build my real estate portfolio.