All Forum Posts by: Zach Ballou

I recently have been reaching out to motivated sellers through direct mail and several other techniques commonly used by other investors. I was contacted by someone and this is the possible deal he is offering-

There are 2 side by side 6 family properties. So 12 units all together. These units he claims have been Condo converted. He says he owns 7 of the 12 condos. He wants to offload these 7 and suggested a seller financed based deal. 

1. What are the type of questions I need to ask ?

2. What are some things I should consider or possible risk in a transaction such as this

3. How do you make any money if all the “condos” are occupied??

I was recently driving for dollars and came across a single family home in a great area that appears to be in distressed condition. Further checks of the homie show that the property belongs to a man and a quick google search showed he had passed away in a motorcycle accident last year. According to records he paid the mortgage off in 1987. A side note -I know this is pretty morbid and feel horrible about actually looking into all this so please don’t judge. After reading his obituary he is only survived by 3 nieces and a facebook search was unsuccessful. We think we may have found his nieces, but they live out of state. Should I just take a shot and try to contact them?? Or say he never had any will made up who would the property go to at the time of his death? Would it go to family members by default? Any help would be appreciated especially with the sensitivity of the situation. 

So I’m coming to a close on my first single family flip and let’s just say the experience with the contractor has been less than what I had hoped for. Now he is expecting a payment of somewhere between $3500-4500 ( he’s never clear with pricing which makes me feel like I’m getting screwed anyway ) and I’ve decided that I am not going to pay for the following reasons. First off the project started first week of November and was supposed to be done January 1st. So we are over 2 months behind schedule. Not to mention just to make the project go quicker I refinished a 3 seasons room myself , fixed a patch on the roof, installed and painted front door, replaced French doors with sliding door, did some demo work in kitchen in bath, installed hardware on doors all things that were included in the scope of work ( he did a poor job estimating the price for renovation and I think was shocked when I wanted certain things fixed that I figured were common sense such as a non-functioning French door leading to the 3 seasons room).

The first two weeks of the project I was away. The doors themselves were damaged so I asked he replaced them (meaning the Slabs). I come back from vacation to find every single door including frame and all replaced which was double the price. He failed to install the correct type of recess lighting in the main living area. Not to mention there is a space around all the lights. He didn’t install recess lighting in basement after we removed drop ceiling. More recently he installed the hard woods which were I guess okay. It’s sloped in one spot and I can see the seams in about 3 spots. The thresholds to the bedrooms were left not stained the right color and not even I stalled properly. The fans in the bedrooms appear to be wired incorrectly and don’t function how they are supposed to. He left 2 small stains on brand new carpets I had installed. Missed a small section of grout in tile on stand up shower. Then just a few little things that were odd like doors opening wrong way , doors not shutting or locking correctly , placement of toilet paper holders and towel wrack in weird places. He left a basement window that was supposed to be replaced and never had the exercising install the proper outlet for a dryer in basement. That being said I could keep nagging him to come back and fix these things but think it’s easier to have someone else come in and fix his mistakes. Would it be wrong of me to hold back the remains of payment. We have no contract or legally binding document. And just a said note he had renovated my first multi family a year ago. And more recently I had to pay 900 bucks to have someone trouble shoot a boiler/ heating issue at my rental ( the whole heating system was new). And also the grout/ tile In 2 out of the three kitchens is coming out. Again I could nag him to come fix this but it’s just easier to pay another contractor to do it right. I’ve learned by lesson but just want to make sure I’m not being unethical by holding the remaining payment from him.

@Michael Warinner

Educate yourself, network and take risks.

@Shayna Hatcher I would pass on him. 1994 is a long time ago but the fact he committed a crime 10 years later shows he has still not changed.

I was recently approached by a contractor who I had been using to do small repairs around my multi family. His mother currently owns a single family home. She attempted to sell the house for 275k over the summer and had dropped the price several times to 247k without getting an offer. The house is in a great area but it is missing some key items on the interior and the lay out itself seems to be what prevented the house from selling. After renovation and reconfiguration of the layout it could sell for 305-315. She currently owes 230 on the house.

She approached me and asked if I’d be willing to front the money needed for the renovations ( 30k) Then when the house is sold I would Keep whatever remaining profit exists after she pays off her 230k loan. What type of legal document do I need to protect myself for this type of transaction.

In the process of completing my first flip. The house is located in a rural area where fire places, wood stoves , pellet stoves ... etc. are pretty common. My house does not have any of the above. One of the contractors believes a propane fire place would help the house to sell. Any opinions on this ? Will people pass over my house because it does not have a fire place and if I was to put one on would I actually see a return on this.  the cost would be around 2-3 thousand for the whole thing. 

Here is a 3 bed 2 1/2 bath 2600 square foot contemporary style single family home.  The exterior design is very odd..... clearly. Any ideas on how to make this something buyers would like without limiting myself without spending a lot on just the exterior?

I recently looked at a single family home that I plan to flip. I’m putting an offer in this week and am trying to calculate my rehab expenses. The home is up the street from a lake and the interior of the home has a TON of wood. The cabinets are wood, the floors are wood and a lot of the walls are wood (vertical).  Almost all the wood is in good condition, but I’m unsure if keeping it is the right decision. It does give it a “cabin feel” , which makes sense because it is near a lake, but I don’t want to limit my buyers. I’m trying to figure out what I should do with the wood, mainly the walls. Do I keep them, paint them, or eliminate them completely? Is there a way to modernize it ? I have attached several pictures. 

Thank you both!! I appreciate your input!!!!