All Forum Posts by: Steve Bradigan

@John Geldert 

I'd like to continue this thread a little here as I also have recently put together a 50/50 partnership and am trying to decide its value. Ours is structured as a JV between the 2 individuals, as a single owner LLC is not worth the paper it's written on in the State of Maryland. I research the properties, negotiate the deals. He pays cash for the house and any/all settlement expenses. I pay for (cash), coordinate, and manage all rehab and then also coordinate the agent listing for resale. All expenses are paid back, profit (or loss) split 50/50.

I must clarify that the area and properties we focus on are 200-300K, rehab may be 60-75K, ARV 400K+. The fact that we split the profit 50/50 means that I need to find deals with an total estimated 16-20% ROI to make it worth it. The problem this presents is finding those deals. They do exist but one must also compete with investors who do not need to split their profit and WILL outbid me. I couldn't do this at this level without a private equity investor but realistically I'm not sure it's practical. There's gotta be a better way.

Open to continued fellow BP investor opinions that might steer both of us in the right direction.

@Joe Villeneuve 

Hey Joe - Maryland's $300 now / per year. Inflation - or not - maybe just greed!

@Tom Bujnowski @Anson Young @Dusty Bowling @Karen Margrave 

Sorry for the intrusion, but help a semi-rookie out here a little. So, is the definition of a PM in the rehab environment to coordinate and manage the subs that have already been vetted and contracted by the investor and not to establish, from scratch, the scope of work and attain bids/contracts from all of the subs necessary to complete the job. Obviously I'm aware that there are other responsibilities which include quality control, costs and time management, inspections, etc. My commercial experience as a PM was a little more involved. My past experience with GC's has been fair at best. But I'm asking this as a possible avenue for my own income into partial retirement as well as flipping a few properties myself. Thanks for your thoughts.

@Bill Gulley 

I usually avoid discussions like this, I get asked this question all the time and sometimes threads on this subject can go on and on. But you nailed it. I've been abstracting and examining for 26 years and still catch something new all too often. I realize that I'm way late to this party, I'm new on BP, but the liability never changes. If you don't know what you're doing, pay the professionals. Too much can go bad. If a mistake is made, it's our liability.

Happy Investing

Just saw this post or I would have answered earlier. Went to the BWI Investors meet-up Wednesday night for the first time. I was impressed. Good attendance, knowledgeable speakers and a lot of networking going on. Second Wednesday of every month I believe.

As an abstractor and investor in Maryland I can confirm that what @J Scott and @Daniel DiGiacomo state above is pretty much on the money. It is legal here to create your own Deed. The required certificate of preparation on the Deed would have to state "prepared by one of the parties hereto". We rarely see this when recording documents and obviously one may forego title insurance in this scenario. As a former title company owner, I would never advise this. I have seen and been party to too much litigation in the last 26 years. As an abstractor I can attest that we request a 4 day turn around time for a 60 year full title search, the current standard requirement from the underwriters to issue title insurance for a transfer. AND yes, ALL taxes, water bills, transfer and recordation tax and any other blessed thing the county and state can think of have to be paid prior to recording or they will not stamp and accept the deed. Here, cash or no cash, 10 days is quick.

As many above have mentioned, regardless of the State, the complexities of each deal will most likely negatively impact the time frame.  

Welcome to the show Tom & wife :) Lots here to learn. Good advice is to also find local investor meet-up groups in your area. Their knowledge and contacts will be vital.

Good Luck!

Welcome to the show Chad. Thank you for your service! Being a Navy man, surprised you didn't move down here around Annapolis. Check in with me sometime, maybe we'll cross paths. Good Luck

Hello Chantel, welcome to BP Nation. I'm relatively new here also, a local Annapolitan and focus, with an equity partner, on Anne Arundel county only at the moment. I don't know that I agree with the advice to not attend a local REIA meeting. Although I have not gone to one myself yet, I do plan on attending one in the near future. I'm not a complete rookie here and have learned that networking to any degree is a great asset in this industry. Good luck in your venture. If you have wholesale properties in AA county let me know.

We went thru that dilemma several years ago. We ended up buying in Key West. I think what swayed us the most, besides the beauty of the island, was year round rental income. We did not buy a distress property and went through a couple of management companies before we settled on the current one. They have done a good job of renting it out and we now have a following. There are obviously options up and down the East Coast, don't know if you're looking for a beach property or inland. We just were not prepared to carry something that was seasonal at best. We actually plan on selling it next Spring, nothing wrong with it, just part of our retirement plan.