All Forum Posts by: Andy M.

@Myles Coles Isn't Billy great? I can't believe that he was able to pick himself up and start rocking again. He really is an amazing person and an inspiration. I'm glad to call him a friend. I'm glad his story helped you. :)

@Sam Hodgett Thanks! That means a lot coming from a professional! My brother loves music and documentary film production, and I love real estate, so we figured it would be good project for us. It has given us a great opportunity to work together as well.

I'm sure you can tell we are still "amateur" but we hope to get better. It is weird, since I started this project a few months ago, I find myself watching videos different now. Camera shots, music, B roll, etc is all more interesting to me. I want to keep getting better. :)

You should probably read the beginners guides here on BP. But here are the general steps:

1. Market to get sellers calling you.

2. Filter leads to determine which you want to go see (testing motivation of seller, pulling comps, etc.)

3. Go meet the seller and negotiate

4. Get a signed contract (gives you equitable interest in the property)

5. Turn around and market this contract to your end buyers

6. Once you find a buyer set up escrow and collect your check

7. Rinse and repeat

**This is pretty simplified process with lots of details in between. Wholesaling is one of the hardest things to do in REI (IMO). If you can find a successful local wholesaler they will cut your learning curve down A LOT.

@Matt Williams Depends on a lot of things. Even if you are extremely dialed into the "wholesale" market, it is tough to find a deal that you are going to live in because you aren't rational about it. You need to decide if you want to be picky about where you live, or if you want a deal. You can generally have one or the other.

I wholesale A LOT of homes, but I recently purchased a new primary residence for myself, and I DIDN'T get a deal. But I'm still happy with my purchase.

So what are your goals? You want to make money? Buy a house you can live in a few years and then rent out? Find a "fixer" that you can get some forced equity in? 

In response to your "p.s." I just listed one of my rehabs in Taylorsville two days ago. If you want to check it out I can save you some money. PM me if you want more info.

Hope that helps.

@Myles Coles L.A. is definitely a crowded market. Lots of people there trying to make a buck on real estate, but California is big, and there are areas that are easier than others. What one man can do another can do. Educate yourself, set goals, take action. Most people start from nothing. 

Here is one of the most inspiring stories of rags to riches, to rags... to riches again. He is a buddy of mine named Billy. Watch his story and it will definitely make you feel better about where you are starting from. Plus, it will inspire you. It still inspires me.

http://youtu.be/xx9UeTNKFek

Hope that helps.

@Tanya Lee Yeah, the ones you lose on are not as fun to share, but they are probably better learning opportunities. Should a big wholesale fee be a red flag in the future? No, I don't think so. The thing is, if I had started this project with one of my known project managers then I would have saved time and money and ultimately made 20-25k ish. A lot of the money was lost to mismanagement. We had to redo a lot of the things that the first project manager hired people to do.

Plus, there were some things that happened that were just Murphy's law. I had a collapsed sewer main in the middle of the street which cost about 7k to fix. 

@Christopher Winkler This is the mold house. Did you see the videos of part 1 & 2? I knew this was going to be a project from the beginning, but I had some unexpected things happen, like a collapsed sewer main, and some mismanagement. 

As for where the $106,900 gross profit went, I have a full breakdown in the video, but the major items were:

$81,000 materials and labor

$6,200 commissions

$8,500 interest costs

$7,000 seller paid closing cost, my closing costs, taxes, utilities, insurance

$9,000 approximate cost of project managers time and salary (I can't call it exactly because they were working on other things as well, so it doesn't get itemized exactly in my books and allocated to a specific project.)

Hope that answers your question. Again, the actual numbers and key take away (lessons learned) are in the video if you haven't watched it yet.

@Paul Granneman Don't you just love Zig?? That quote is so true in every aspect of life. Thanks for watching the video. I say this a lot, but ILRES is a labor of love, and my brother and I get a lot of satisfaction out of people who enjoy our "art". Thanks again! :)

@Keith Agnello Thanks Keith! I really appreciate that. I'll pass that onto my brother (the video editor). :)

@Jared Knudson Hey Jared! Congrats on getting started. I'm from up North, I do a little business in St. George area, but it isn't my primary market. But I know

@Justin Morgan is an experienced investor/agent in the Southern Utah market. You might want to message him here and see if you can get some local advice. Best of luck!

For those that are interested. Here is the part 3 video that tells the end of the story. I share some good take aways at the end of the video. Let me know your thoughts:

http://youtu.be/Hlf6PULb5Ak