All Forum Posts by: Tyler McEwen

Hi, everyone. My wife and I (and our 3 young boys!) are looking into house hacking a duplex. Not many small multifamily properties come across the market here in East, TN so I have decided to send out some direct mail to duplex owners in the areas I'm looking into. I have sent out some direct mail over the past 18 months (very inconsistently I might add) and purchased 2 homes from the yellow letters. We "wholetailed"one home and flipped the other after a small rehab (flipping is OK but I'm not 100% sure its for me yet) I do know that I really want some long term buy and hold properties for cash flow and Hopefully a little appreciation over the years. Anyway.. How should I structure my direct mail? What should I say? Just something simple? My wife and I are interested in buying your duplex...?? I simply sent plain yellow letters when I was looking for flips that said "My name is Tyler. I am interested in buying your home @ 123 Main St." I really don't think this is the way I should do my letters to find a duplex. I don't want owners thinking that I am just a wholesaler or someone wanting their property for nothing. I want them to know that we are serious. I will be cherry picking through my list from list source looking for properties that I would really want to own and live in. I am just looking for some advice and ideas. Thanks so much! Tyler

Hi, everyone. My wife and I (and our 3 young boys!) are looking into house hacking a duplex. Not many small multifamily properties come across the market here in East, TN so I have decided to send out some direct mail to duplex owners in the areas I'm looking into. I have sent out some direct mail over the past 18 months (very inconsistently I might add) and purchased 2 homes from the yellow letters. We "wholetailed"one home and flipped the other after a small rehab (flipping is OK but I'm not 100% sure its for me yet) I do know that I really want some long term buy and hold properties for cash flow and Hopefully a little appreciation over the years.  

Anyway.. How should I structure my direct mail? What should I say? Just something simple? My wife and I are interested in buying your duplex...??  

I simply sent plain yellow letters when I was looking for flips that said "My name is Tyler. I am interested in buying your home @ 123 Main St."   I really don't think this is the way I should do my letters to find a duplex. I don't want owners thinking that I am just a wholesaler or someone wanting their property for nothing.  I want them to know that we are serious. I will be cherry picking through my list from list source looking for properties that I would really want to own and live in.

I am just looking for some advice and ideas. Thanks so much! Tyler 

Hi, everyone. My wife and I (and our 3 young boys!) are looking into house hacking a duplex. Not many small multifamily properties come across the market here in East, TN so I have decided to send out some direct mail to duplex owners in the areas I'm looking into. I have sent out some direct mail over the past 18 months (very inconsistently I might add) and purchased 2 homes from the yellow letters. We "wholetailed"one home and flipped the other after a small rehab (flipping is OK but I'm not 100% sure its for me yet) I do know that I really want some long term buy and hold properties for cash flow and Hopefully a little appreciation over the years.  

Anyway.. How should I structure my direct mail? What should I say? Just something simple? My wife and I are interested in buying your duplex...??  

I simply sent plain yellow letters when I was looking for flips that said "My name is Tyler. I am interested in buying your home @ 123 Main St."   I really don't think this is the way I should do my letters to find a duplex. I don't want owners thinking that I am just a wholesaler or someone wanting their property for nothing.  I want them to know that we are serious. I will be cherry picking through my list from list source looking for properties that I would really want to own and live in.

I am just looking for some advice and ideas. Thanks so much! Tyler 

Thanks, Heath. I will try to make it to this meeting as well! I live in the Gray area and have "wholetailed" one property and rehabbed/flipped another within the past 12 months. I'm currently looking for my next purchase and would like to network and get to know more real estate folks in the area. Thanks!

Hey guys, I received a call from a bandit sign last week from a lady who is behind on her mortgage payments.  She says she's behind at least 5 months. Possibly  a few more... Claims that pay off is somewhere between $160,000 and $170,000.  I went and looked at the home tonight and its in very good shape.  It has a newer roof and heat pump; with some new paint, carpet in some bedrooms and a little landscaping this place should easily bring between $240,000 and $250,000.  She doesn't have time or feel like listing the place and trying to sell with an agent so thats where I came into the picture.  I got her to agree on a "Subject-to" deal tonight verbally. She says her rate is fixed and so on and so forth.  I figure I should do my normal due diligence (title search and home inspection). 

Here's where it gets confusing.  She's owned the home for 20 years and the tax records online only show the home in her name.  Her first husband passed away about 9 years ago (they lived in this home together).  She is now re married (Not sure how long this marriage has been in place) and just recently filed for divorce with her second husband.  She claims she has until May 29th to get rid of the home before it goes to auction.  

I've never done a subject-to deal, this is only my 3rd deal all together.  If purchased I plan on a quick and small rehab before selling.  Does anyone have any suggestions on dealing with the divorce and husband issue? I'm just trying to cover all my bases.  Does he have any rights or say so in the situation?  I've already spoke with an attorney about the "normal" subject-to deal but I just learned about the divorce situation tonight, so I plan to call him tomorrow and see what advice he has.    Thanks for any input or help!  I don't post much on the forums but I bet I've listened to every single podcast at least twice!! I love it!

I appreciate the comments and suggestions, I'm excited about real estate and all the possibilities it offers. Long term (10ish years) I would like to have enough rental properties to cash flow 3,000 to 5,000 a month. I feel with my HELOC funds along with my personality and work ethic I can definitely make it happen.

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Hello! I'm from JC as well and started flipping houses with an 80k heloc a year ago. Flipping with 48k is possible, but you will need to do the work yourself to save money and it will be difficult to find a deal that returns more than 5-10k. My first flip was probably my best deal to date in terms of roi; the entire project cost around 40k and I made 28k, so it is possible. Total turn around was 5 months but it was my only job... I know another couple who started a flip around the same time, also doing the work themselves, and they are still working on it. Granted their house will be a lot nicer than mine was when finished.

The three basic investment options that come to mind are:

1- flip- this will be difficult with you working a full-time job and only having 48 to invest.

2- brrrr - this is very possible. It is a strategy I would have employed myself before now if I had a W-2 job.

3- invest in someone else's project- I would be a little cautious of this one because you are using a HELOC that is tied to your primary residence (I assume). You could partially financed the deal with the first position lien to protect your interests. For example, I sold a house last month that I put a total of 35ish in, and a private money investor put in an additional 23. The private investor got a first position lien on a 100k house. Very secure. Worst case scenario she could have foreclosed on me and more than tripped her money.

There is a REI group that meets at the downtown Kingsport Association building every third Monday at 7. You can find other people doing business there if you want to scope out potential deals to invest in.

Feel free to reach out if you need any help!

Jesse Shelton, Thanks for the reply! As for the flipping, I know it may be difficult working a full time job but I would give it a shot. My wife could help me schedule SUBS and take care of things until I could leave work. I'm sure it would be a challenge but I'm up for it! I will most definitely attend a REI meeting, I appreciate you letting me know. I would enjoy getting to know other local investors and learning.

Originally posted by @Rick Pinney:

Tyler McEwen where do you want to go with this? Are you wanting to flip? Or buy and hold? What is your goal?

I am thinking 30-100 years in the future and sticking to multi family until I can leverage into bigger commercial deals.

Fist goal was to get rid of my rent payment. Next is to get rid of other expenses so I can save around 3k a month. And build from there. That is within 1.5 years reach.

I am not familiar with Johnson city TN except I heard it in a song once.

What deals are available to you? I would first start by talking to locals, and finding a few players in your area.

What kind of returns do you hope to get? As for flipping, if I could net $10-15K per deal I would be pretty happy. What is the rate on your HELOC? 5% Are you able to find and buy cash? I don't feel I have the funds to buy cash and also do renovations. Then force some equity and refinance? Big fan of Brandon Turner's BRRRR strategy.

Either way let us know how it goes and happy hunting!

-Rick

Long term I would like some buy and hold investments. I think the BRRR strategy would work well if I could find the right deal which seems hard to come by. But with that being said I am also open for flipping to build some capital. I've been searching the MLS several times a day... I've found some HUD homes and other foreclosures but the numbers just haven't came together for me. I've also played around with listsource.com and thought about doing some direct mail marketing to see what I could come across.

Hi, BP Nation! My name is Tyler McEwen and I am located in Johnson City, TN. I am 28 years old, a father, husband, mechanic, welder, and a farmer. I have a great W2 job with a wonderful schedule, but like everyone else I like to make some extra money for my family and this "Financial Freedom" everyone talks about sounds wonderful. Like many other members here I read Robert Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" around 3 months ago and it has completly changed my mindset. After finishing this book I have read several other real estate books, analyzed several deals, listened to every single podcast!, spent hours on realtor.com and my local county tax website, talked with local lenders and banks, looked at properties with my realtor, took several notes and I've even made a few offers on a couple houses I thought I could flip. I'm honestly open to any kind of deal.. wholesaling, flipping, or rentals. Long term I would love to buy a duplex or small multifamily (4-8 units), but with that being said I would also like to maybe flip some homes if I can find the right deals. I feel I need to build some capital for these rental down payments rather than using my HELOC for the down payment?? I just recently closed on a HELOC of $48,000...

IF YOU HAD THIS $48,000 TO GET STARTED HOW WOULD YOU INVEST IT IN REAL ESTATE???   

Thanks, guys! BP is awesome and I can't get enough of Josh and Brandon's podcast!  I've learned so much!!