All Forum Posts by: Thomas Long

Hey all,

My wife and I are in a position to list our house within the next few weeks. It has gained significant equity and we're looking to cash out and move into another fixer upper. We are in a bit of a hurry though to do this because we have our second child coming in the middle of April and my wife, who works now, will be on maternity leave over the summer so her income will be replaced by some of the money we receive from the sale. In the last month or so we've put all our time into getting the house finished up, and the last big issue is our windows. The house is a 4/2, 2100sqft cape built in 1940 with the original windows. Structurally they're fine, but they all need to be reglazed and repainted, and it's fairly obvious. 

At this point we don't have the time or the money to get this done fully, but we also don't want it to scare off potential buyers. So first, are there any immediate suggestions? Next, is there any legal way to essentially do a form of cash back to the buyers to cover the cost of the repair? Asking in case they only have the money for a down payment. We got a quote to refinish them, and we would be fine paying the contractor directly to have this done after closing. I just don't know how to legally/ethically communicate this to a buyer. We aren't planning on pointing this out immediately, more so if/when it comes up during a walk-through or inspection. They all have storm windows and we're doing all the work we can in the time we have, including the glazing/painting when I have time.

Thank you all in advance

Thomas

@Luke Pierce Apologies for the late reply, but welcome to the forums! There are a lot of areas all around middle tn that have potential. I’m located down in Columbia, about 45 minutes south of Nashville, and it’s growing rapidly here. So welcome to BP and welcome to TN!

@Michele B. That's an encouraging story. I'm inclined to lean more towards the idea that that's the exception to the rule, but it certainly shows that outcome is possible. That was pretty much exactly what I was imagining happening though, to be honest. Pipe dreams perhaps, but if someone is going to go in there guns a-blazing, maybe it'll be me? It would be really cool to watch that transformation happen in any case. Do you know what percentage he was returning on those initial flips by chance?

@Mark Newton Hey Mark! I'm down in Columbia, just south of Spring Hill. Word on the street is that it's turning into the next East Nashville, with a Franklin vibe. And that lack of certainty is really the only thing holding us back. Well, that and our funds are tied up in the final remodeling projects of our house. I have time to scope out the area more though and get a better feel for what people are wanting/expecting. Are you familiar with the area at all? If so, any direction down here? We're happy expanding past the township into other areas too!

Hey all,

My family and I live in an area that's not too crazy big, it's about 45 minutes outside of Nashville, but it's very established and has homes ranging from ~$25k up to ~$400k, most of which are rather old, 1950's and older. It's very much an up and coming area; a lot of young movers and shakers are coming in and setting up shop in its rustic charm, investing in the local businesses and culture, and it seems like the local government is riding that wave, investing in public areas and roads. Crime websites say it's a somewhat higher crime city, but it's nothing we've directly experienced, just part of living with other people, and we feel quite safe there.

My question is about some of the neighborhoods in our area. Ours is quite sought after, people are sucking available houses up left and right. But there are communities similar to ours that, while safe enough, just seem tired. The houses are fine, they're going for around $70k or so, but none of them are really being poured into so there are few available comps. What examples there are primarily were just repainted, maybe new gutters, and that's about it. While we're definitely new at this, I'm not sure we're interested in pouring sweat equity (why isn't it called swequity?) into an area if it's going to be a rocky, bloody uphill climb the whole way. So there is potential in those places I'm sure, but I'm curious what effect you think a single flipper could have on a community? It seems like no one is willing to pay more for these properties because the neighborhood is tired and worn down, like ours used to be, and because no one is willing to pay more, no one is willing to invest. It's a weird cycle... But I know that fortune favors the bold, so I was looking for some thoughts on this cycle. I could be foolish in looking at things this way, but I figured I'd ask. 

So my concise question- What do you do when there is an area that has potential but the ball hasn't started rolling there yet?

Thank you all!

Hey all, new kid here working on finishing our first flip over the next few months doing the work myself. We're currently living right in the middle of Columbia, a couple minutes from the main square. We bought our 1400sqft house just over four years ago for $75k. We've put about $30k into it, are expanding the property size by 500sqft by finishing our second floor, and we're expecting to sell for around $240k. Got pretty lucky and spoiled with this property and we don't expect to see these gains again, but with this area being quite eclectic, anyone can find business here and make some money. 

We're just now really getting into the game though so I'm probably more of a scout than anything, but we're excited about whats available. It's a quiet enough town that it hasn't drawn the attention of the big players, but it's being heavily invested in with it being so historic, and its foundational infrastructure easily supports real estate investments. I could go on, but this post is getting long so for now I'll just say it's worth a look if you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty.

Hey Jon, I’m in kind of the same boat with having to pick a course of education. I have some benefits left from my GI Bill that I’m wanting to put towards a masters in something that’ll strengthen my foundation. It might be good to find a degree program you think could be beneficial to your goals and pull up the curriculum list from different schools online. There, find a couple core classes and try to find similar ones locally available. It’ll help specialize the knowledge rather than taking Stats 101 or something more general like that. Just a suggestion!

Hello all, So I have a bit available left on my GI Bill after getting my bachelors in ministry a couple years back and I’d like to make the most of it. I was curious if anyone had any educational direction suggestions for a masters program that will best support our REI ambitions. We’re looking to eventually dabble in a little of everything, starting out in live-in flips and working towards brrrring and multifamilying it up as opportunities and financing become available. I’m leaning towards a focus in organizational leadership, but I’m certainly open to any other suggestions. What’re your thoughts? Thank you! Thomas

Hey Dan, I definitely agree with Nicole that you shouldn’t put your primary means of income at risk initially. From what I’ve read, if you’re willing to put in the time and legwork, you don’t need a ton of money to start investing. Find a wealthy uncle or an ambitious friend and see if they’re willing to put up a bit of capital with a pretty much guaranteed nice return. If you own your house, buy another one, put some work into it for a few months, and sell it for a little more. Boom, you’re an investor. If you don’t own a house, then buy a duplex or triplex, clean it up, then rent out the other units and pay the mortgage with the rent payments. Boom, you’re an investor. Again, from what I’ve read, and I’ve seen and heard this just about everywhere, simply doing something is more important than what you do when starting out. Unless you know for sure the direction you want to head in, throw a dart at a list of options and just go in that direction, you’ll make money in any case if you do it smart. If you don’t like it, try something else. But no one can tell you one way is better for you than any others because we know only one post’s worth of information about you haha So get off your butt and go buy a cheap house.

That is looking pretty great Ben, well done! I didn’t read through all the posts so forgive me if this was already asked, but whereabouts in Pensacola is it? My wife and I are coming down there in a week to scope out the local areas and would love to swing by and take a look at your handiwork!

@Jay Helms Noted, we'll get out to as many of those as we can, especially Bagelheads, I'm pretty keen on my breakfast foods...

Thanks for all that!