investor: Flip this house – Post #10 - 02/09/08 10:36 AM
There are lots of new and exciting changes to the house this week.  Most of the punch out list is done, the kitchen is done, and the house is officially on the market as of this Monday just passed.
So far this is the marketing plan:
We have an ad running in the Orlando Sentinel for 4 weeks. A copy of the ad in in previous post #8.For Sale signs in the yard - both a Realtor sign (my office) and a creative financing sign.  You can see examples of these signs in previous post #'s 7 and 8.Little "bandit" for sale signs … (1 comments)

investor: Flip this house – Post # 9 - 02/02/08 02:27 AM
Just in time for the Super Bowl, we are down to the one-yard line with this house.  The house officially goes on the market on Monday.  We have been doing some preliminary advertising via signs in the yard and a newspaper ad in the Orlando Sentinel and gotten a few calls.  2 prospective buyers have looked at the house so far, but they are apparently just tire kickers.  They stopped by while our workers were at the house.  The house is not yet listed in the MLS though because it isn't quite ready just yet.  I don't mind listing a house … (4 comments)

investor: Flip this house – Post # 6 - 01/13/08 02:46 AM
The rehab is getting close to being finished.  Hopefully within 2 weeks it will be move-in ready.  Our workers have been at it nearly every day including weekends. 
The stucco across the front is done and the exterior painting has been pretty much completed.
      
The interior floor has ceramic tile down on most of the floors.  It still needs grouting.  Once the tile has been fully installed, the kitchen cabinets will go in. 
      
As you can see the top cabinets are in place - the cabinets were purchased from a company that specializes in kitchen cabinets.  (Cheaper … (3 comments)

investor: Flip this house – Post #5 - 01/06/08 09:13 AM
We have made some progress since the demolition and trash out. I am posting a few photos below to show where we are with things as of Friday. I do want to share how we handled some of the other details of the transaction during this transition period while the house is getting fixed up.
Purchase contract used. I always use the FAR/BAR contract on my residential deals.  If I need to, I do have my own addendum that I use to skew the contract in my favor and reduce my liability.  I like the FAR/BAR contract because all the title companies, … (5 comments)

investor: To get a license or not get a license, that is the question - 01/05/08 04:19 AM
I have probably had at least a hundred people ask me whether or not they should get a real estate license in order to invest in real estate.  There is no quick and easy answer to this question.  The answer really depends on what you plan to do in your investment career. 
 (Registered Trademark of NAR)
A real estate license is typically for someone who wants to work with other people to help them buy, sell, or lease their real estate.  That is what a traditional real estate licensee (the legal term in Florida is "sales associate") does.  Most investors are not … (3 comments)

investor: Flip this house – Post # 4 - 12/29/07 07:39 AM
We are well into the rehab now and actually a little ahead of schedule.  Our crew has been working nearly every day except for Christmas, so we have gotten a lot done.  We had our regular plumber come out and make sure the house was free from leaks (bank REO houses have often been vacant for 6 to 12 months, so you never quite know what to expect).  Things are coming along.  The demolition work always makes the house look bad, but soon we will be putting it all back together.
---- I have learned to always put up no trespassing … (3 comments)

investor: Flip this house - Post #3 - 12/22/07 09:21 AM
A few people have emailed me wanting more information about the numbers on this deal.  I was meaning to post them yesterday, but the post ran a little long. 
I did a quick MLS search for the actives and solds in the last 4 months within 1 mile of this property.  Here is what I came up with.
Solds range from a low of 160K to a high of 187K.  Actives range from a low of 169K to a high of 229K.  We will probably end up listing it for sale at around 170K or so.  Price is the main thing that is selling … (2 comments)

investor: Flip this house - Post # 2 - 12/21/07 03:23 AM
Well we closed on the house yesterday.  The house is a 3 bed / 2 bath / 2-car garage block house in the Northwesterly Pine Hills area. (For those not in Orlando, Pine Hills is an infamous area of town often tagged as "Crime Hills" but the area covers nearly 20 square miles - some parts are war zones while other parts are actually nice.)  This subdivision is a decent 1980s (and late 70s) working class neighborhood. 
This house was listed in the MLS in November as bank-owned for $149,000.  Another investor actually called me about this one.  He had just closed on it for $85,000 … (4 comments)

investor: Flip this house - Or the art of being a rehabber - Post #1 - 12/18/07 12:25 PM
Hopefully in the next few days I will be purchasing a Central Florida house that I intend to buy, fix up, and then put back on the market and re-sell to an owner-occupant buyer.  I haven't done much of this in the last 18 months because of poor market conditions, but now that in my opinion the market is close to bottoming out I plan on getting back into it.  As I have stated in several previous blogs, good deals abound right now.  Investors need to be taking advantage of this time and not sitting on the sidelines watching and waiting.
I am … (11 comments)

investor: Attention: Buyers wanted - 11/25/07 02:40 AM
In the last few months we have been negotiating some incredible deals for our buyers.  I titled an earlier article that "The time for investors to buy is now."  I need to edit that title a little bit that the time for "buyers" to buy is now.  Sales are very slow right now, many sellers are desperate, some sellers are willing to walk away.  I am seeing many motivated sellers willing to sell at prices from 2003 and 2004 right now. 
This fourth quarter of the year is where many sellers especially REOs (banks that have foreclosed on a property) are willing to dump their property … (5 comments)

investor: Happy Thanksgiving to all - 11/21/07 06:11 AM
During this time of Thanksgiving we hopefully get a few days to eat, enjoy family and friends, and maybe do a little shopping.  It is also a time where can we reflect on all the many things we are thankful for. 
Being the managing broker of our firm for some 50-60 real estate agents as well as being an active real estate investor in the Central Florida community, I am in a position to see a lot of heartache and problems in so many people that I come in contact with; heartache both personally and financially. 
Many real estate agents and … (0 comments)

investor: New ActiveRain group - 11/21/07 05:45 AM
Attention all Florida real estate investors, landlords, and people thinking about investing. 
We have started a new ActiveRain group specifically geared for you.  Florida Real Estate Investors .  This is a place where like minded investors and Realtors can share ideas and creative concepts.  With the market as slow as it is right now, we all need to be a little creative in how we do things.  There are many good deals out there to be purchased by investors.  I hope this new group will help us to learn many new techniques as well as some new spins on some old … (2 comments)

investor: Central Florida real estate opportunities - 11/17/07 08:47 AM
While everyone else is crying the blues, sitting on the fence, or running scared.  Many investors are buying deals and making big bucks doing it.  Real estate (at least some of it) is on sale right now.  Good deals are being bought all around Central Florida along with the rest of the country by investors who know how to locate them.
We picked up a 3/2/2 block house in Altamonte Springs for 133K last month. Similar houses on nearby streets are selling for $210,000+.  Granted this one is a fixer-upper but the price is still right.  We assigned the contract on this one to … (3 comments)

investor: How to screen for tenants - Part 2 - 10/16/07 04:22 AM
The next step in screening tenants is the application process.  One important thing to remember is to always offer an application to anyone that you show the property to.  This keeps it from looking like you might be discriminating against someone for whatever reason.  I normally just put property flyers and applications on the kitchen counter for people to take with them if they wish. If people want an application, I do a mini-interview with them for about 5-10 minutes just to make sure we aren't wasting everybody's time.
I inform everyone that takes an application that when they return it, I need … (2 comments)

investor: How to screen for tenants - Part 1 - 10/13/07 09:56 AM
With the sales market as slow as it is right now, many sellers are becoming landlords by default because they need to do something to cover their monthly mortgage payment.  This has caused a spike in the number of rental properties in many markets.  A few weeks ago I blogged about how the Central Florida rental market had softened up quite a bit.  It seems like rental amounts have decreased and the quality of prospective tenants has also decreased.  I don't like to call some of these prospects the "Dregs of the Earth," but it is Halloween time so something must be going on.
When … (8 comments)

 
Rob Arnold, Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F (Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc.)

Rob Arnold

Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F

Altamonte Springs, FL

More about me…

Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc.

Address: Apopka, FL, Longwood, FL, Winter Springs, FL, Casselberry, FL, Orlando, FL, Deltona, FL, Debary, FL, , Altamonte Springs, FL, 32714

Office: (407) 389-7318

Fax: (407) 389-4418


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