All Forum Posts by: Wade Bartels

@Luke Trovinger

Lots and lots of bleach and dish soap with hot water.

Also PH balanced cleaners you can buy at Home Depot will take out urine smell.

Cleaning the ducts does wonders too, just make sure you change the furnace filter a couple times too. Good luck!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $180,000
Cash invested: $60,000

After closing I fully renovated both sides and treated the cockroaches. This was by far the smelliest dirtiest grossest house I'd ever seen but it cleaned up beautifully. Now I have it fully rented and refinanced with most of my money back out of it ready for the next project.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I'm trying to grow into multi-family and this was my first opportunity. In this market, an off market value-add property is the best way to build equity.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found it through another agent at my market. She had paperwork to list it but she let me buy it before going live to the open market. I made an offer that made sense and they countered. I really pushed hard on the condition and they agreed to take less.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a local portfolio lender to finance with 20% down and a 6 month interest only period. In hindsight I wish I would have used a construction loan but once I refinanced 8 months later I was able to pull the cash out the same way.

How did you add value to the deal?

A total rehab of both units.

What was the outcome?

Fully rented both sides, fully renovated property cash flowing over $1300 per month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I should have done a better job conserving cash in the financing of the property. I used at least $96,000 to get the property purchased and renovated and I didn't reclaim that until months down the line when I refinanced.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I was the agent, New Era Construction ran most of the rehab for me with some other sub-contractors that I hired for plumbing, electrical, paint, landscaping. 402 Title services closed the loan and they do a great job for my other clients too.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $180,000
Cash invested: $60,000

I got this deal in my office because an older agent was talking about how she couldn't even go into the property because the mold and cockroaches. I got her to agree to let me into the property that day and I brought her an offer. I knew I'd make my real estate commission on it too so the numbers worked well. After closing I fully renovated both sides and treated the cockroaches. This was by far the smelliest dirtiest grossest house I'd ever seen but it cleaned up beautifully. Now I have it fully rented and refinanced with most of my money back out of it ready for the next project.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I'm trying to grow into multi-family and this was my first opportunity. In this market, an off market value-add property is the best way to build equity.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found it through another agent at my market. She had paperwork to list it but she let me buy it before going live to the open market. I made an offer that made sense and they countered. I really pushed hard on the condition and they agreed to take less.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a local portfolio lender to finance with 20% down and a 6 month interest only period. In hindsight I wish I would have used a construction loan but once I refinanced 8 months later I was able to pull the cash out the same way.

How did you add value to the deal?

A total rehab of both units.

What was the outcome?

Fully rented both sides, fully renovated property cash flowing over $1300 per month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I should have done a better job conserving cash in the financing of the property. I used at least $96,000 to get the property purchased and renovated and I didn't reclaim that until months down the line when I refinanced.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I was the agent, New Era Construction ran most of the rehab for me with some other sub-contractors that I hired for plumbing, electrical, paint, landscaping. 402 Title services closed the loan and they do a great job for my other clients too.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $55,000
Cash invested: $65,000
Sale price: $145,500

Not a huge house, two really bad foundation walls

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I saw it in the MLS and the realtor literally said any and all offers will be considered.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found it in the MLS and negotiated direct with the agent. Listed at $105k, offered $50k, they countered at $70k and I drew the line at $55k. They accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

Construction loan from local lender

How did you add value to the deal?

Fixed the foundation walls, new kitchen, new exterior, tried to keep cost down so it would appeal to first time buyer.

What was the outcome?

Sold in the first weekend

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Didn’t anticipate appliances in kitchen, Furnace and AC being bad, the yard being tore up after so much construction.

That's my challenge. It's a pretty low-medium income neighborhood. Lots of older houses. This happens to be a 1962 house so it's newer for the area. It already somewhat stands out now, so I wonder if there is any value in making it even nicer. Right now I'm thinking maybe nicer appliances but no backslash, leave the countertops. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Lincoln.

Purchase price: $110,000
Cash invested: $25,000

Project still ongoing. Bought the property from a friend that is a wholesaler. He closed on the property and realized he didn't have time to fix it so he just resold it to me for a little extra. I'm painting the interior, exterior, new roof, lots of yard cleanup, refinishing the wood floors, building out a bedroom and bathroom downstairs, adding egress windows. Once complete, I'll turn it over to property management.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My long term strategy is buy and hold.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A friend of mine offered me a discount off of what they had on zillow. I didn't negotiate, I initially told him it didn't work for me, then he told me first before they did a price cut. I saw it, knew it was a deal at his new price and put it under contract.

How did you finance this deal?

Local small bank portfolio lender did a 6.5% 1 year line of credit with no payments. They finance 80% of the ARV. I ended up closing for $0 down and got $6,000 toward rehab costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Adding bedrooms and a bathroom in the basement, fixing the exterior and new paint.

What was the outcome?

Still in progress

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Lincoln.

Purchase price: $85,000
Cash invested: $45,000
Sale price: $169,000

The first project I ever did was a flip that some friends asked to partner on.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My friends were swamped but still wanted the deal. They didn't have the time or money to make it happen so I went in on it to help make ithappen.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

My partners found a wholesale deal that didn't work for them, traded another investor for one that worked better for them.

How did you finance this deal?

The other investor closed on it and resold it to us with an 18% interest only hard money loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

Major rehab of the whole house. All new flooring, paint, lights, bathrooms, kitchen, exterior, roof, etc...

What was the outcome?

Net $30k profit ($15k per partner).

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't be afraid to fire your contractor and shift our strategy. Some things are easier to pay someone to do. Don't underestimate how long things will take. Don't put your knee on top of a stove, it breaks. Masking tape is the devil, just learn to edge without it.

So we all know neighborhood and bedroom count changes the amount of rent drastically, but what about he little things? The kitchen currently is very plain: oak cabinets, laminate counters, no backslash. I was considering getting nicer (stainless steel) appliances and maybe doing a back splash, but is there any "return" on that? Can you rent it for more? Do you get more applications? Just curious what your experience says.