All Forum Posts by: Timothy Lewman

@Welles Chan I had a guy named Ken (I think) at New Surroundings do some work for me once. Look him up, he's in Auburn MA. Contractor and inspector. Check home advisor and other referral networks to get multiple bids. Briefly explain what your doing. They might charge you to look at houses until they get to know you but it's the cost of doing business - have a short list of houses to look at.

Theres also REIAs that investors attend to meet lawyers, contractors and subs, accountants, insurance agents, hard money, etc. Look up Black Diamond in Worcester or metrowest in Framingham.

@Nick Ruffini I invested my sd-ira into fundrise and realty mogul. No complaints. They pay dividends and send updates on the properties. It's as passive as it gets.

@Eric Clement I did my first flip as a 50/50 split and had no problems at all doing it again with the next house!

@Brennan Zurline remember that demand for oil and gas will go down in a recession that's looking global in nature. Less stuff and fewer people moving around means lower demand for fuel. Don't forget the wild card of President Trump closing the southern border some other nutty trade policy. Building new houses is very risky at this point in the economic cycle, especially with a highly cyclical industry fueling your buyers - pun intended! Maybe try wholesaling land, let someone else take the build risk.

@Riley Wilkinson yeah, I wouldn't improve a property I don't own. But if I could get 95k out of it I might break that rule. Buy it now!

@Katie Lea in addition to the other comments, you can also force appreciation by increasing sq ft by an addition or finishing a basement/ attic. Within the existing foot print, can you add a bathroom or another bedroom? Can you build a garage?- if one doesn't already exist. Can you add a deck or patio?

Numbers dont lie; if comps with these extras are selling for more, you'll have to run numbers and decide if the cost will pay off.

There was a great article today about Main South revitalization efforts:  

https://www.telegram.com/news/20190304/main-south-stakeholders-brainstorm-on-economic-development?fbclid=IwAR3_FgOECWDjwc8dAPEAmoDdateDsXexd-NWEhFhsQsTx38vTovQpEBWKno

Hi Cameron - I'm not sure the names , I let my partner handle all of the contracting.  It's just tough these days, all the trades are swamped with work in our area.  My understanding is that they were both on other jobs; we didn't time our work correctly so had to wait.  

@Bryan Maitin I looked at a few different strategies just like you did. L/o is great but it takes too long to build capital as the terms are 2 or 3 years long. I decided that flips are the best way to go for me to build up enough capital to buy a rental. I'm almost done with my 1st flip and am starting to look for the next one.

@Mitch Messer I'm with Mitch, that deal is too skinny. If you can get seller financing, fix only what you must to make it livable, nothing cosmetic, and lease option to and end buyer. Only do cosmetic reno's if it will fetch a higher monthly rent payment and higher end price to justify the expense.