All Forum Posts by: Thomas Good

@Shirea Carroll Here are just a few that specialize in real estate that I've had closings for properties in the Charleston area:

Flynn Max Miller Miller (located in Huntington)
Metz Law office (located in Hurricane and Charleston)
Bailey & Slotnik (located in Charleston)
Bestitle (located in either Charleston and Hurricane. they have other offices as well)

I don't want to give favoritism over one or the other. I've gotten to know each of these attorneys over the years. I will say that I have professional dealings with all of them that includes no issues.

@ De Von Gaines: sorry. Springfield is in a rural area of the state near the eastern panhandle. I concentrate on the southwest portion of WV in the Huntington and Charleston markets. There might be a few investors in Berkeley or Jefferson Counties who could assist with an attorney or might have interest in Hampshire County. Again, I'm sorry for not providing much help.

What part of WV? Most WV attorneys cover a small area of the state. Usually no more than 2 counties away from their home county.

@melanie Hartmann. I too am interested in trying Flipster. We currently use Realeflow as our CRM and deal analyzer software. It has some lead generation functionality but we haven't had success with it. It also doesn't integrate with other software platforms such as Podio.

@melanie Hartman. I too am interested in trying Flipster. We currently use Realeflow as our CRM and deal analyzer software. It has some lead generation functionality but we haven't had success with it. It also doesn't integrate with other software platforms such as Podio.

Jacob,

I've done a few "subject to" deals in WV. The first I did about 11 years ago in a Land Trust and signed all of the documents in my insurance agent's office. My mentor at the time walked me through the whole process. We had to record 2 docs I believe and signed another 6 docs with the seller. At the time I couldn't get a title company / lawyer who wanted to even consider the land trust approach. One of the recorded docs was missed by my mentor but found by the closing attorney when I sold the property.

The second deal I did years later and at the suggestion of my title company / lawyer (40 years experience) we used a land contract subject to the existing mortgage. There was a lot less paperwork involved.

I would suggest working with a seasoned WV lawyer / title company who works exclusively in Real Estate law and is comfortable working outside the box. They can review your approach, determine if everything falls in line with WV law, and note what items you might be missing.

I’m a FortineBuilders (FB) student. They offer many templates to choose for Kitchens, Baths, etc. It has the items associated with these past kitchens done by CTHomes and other FortuneBuilder students. These templates include the materials used for these past kitchens. You can select various SOWs for kitchen, baths, etc, and it will create as separate worksheets for each area in the same spreadsheet.

However, it is not as simple as it sounds and the size of document is difficult to share with contractors to make their bids. There are still modifications needed to conform to size of the kitchen. The materials also may be outdated.

Their SOWs you describe are outside of Realeflow.

We were seasoned investors when we joined FB and joined because of the systems they stress to potential students. They have good systems and coaching support, but the systems they offer aren’t plug and play. Like about everything else out there you have customize to make it work within your business.

@Kody Foster Kody, thanks for sharing your history. My background is in self storage. I'm looking at purchasing a combination convenience store with gas and food store along with self storage units. The gas station has above ground tanks and is about 4 years old. The owner has stated that they did $2.100,000 in gross revenue last year on the convenience store with a profit of $110,000. The self storage units net income last year was $92,000. Total income was $202,000.

The seller is wanting $975,000 for both the convenience store and the storage units. I know how to verify storage income but I'm not sure how to verify if the $110,000 is reasonable income for the convenience store without viewing the books.   

On the surface this seems like a very profitable deal but how can I determine if the income for the convenience store is within reason without viewing the financials. 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.   

Where are you meeting in Hurricane?

@Timothy Doenges We've been investing in the Charleston and Huntington WV markets for about 10 years now. We mainly do rehab and resells, but we do have some commercial properties and single / multi family rentals. My take on WV is that for the most part it is a slow but stable market. We do not see the highs or lows in property values found in other markets.

Like other areas of the country, location and price point are key to finding the right properties. With the recent drug infestation in our region and overall decline in population, the quality of tenants have deteriorated in the last 2 years. However, if you have the right systems and processes in place along with well maintained properties, you can attract decent tenants.

Most out of state investors shy away from WV due to the decline in population, size of the WV markets, and future prospects for job growth, but there is still opportunity to make money. I can see alot of possible potential in central and northern WV with the announcement by China Energy to invest in WV up to 85 billion over the next 20 years in natural gas related activities. I just don't anticipate a big boom to occur overnight.