Thread: Investors: What's the first thing you do after buying?

For me it's always been getting the property rehabbed as quickly and efficiently as possible and getting in back on the market for sale. Heck, last year I had my guys pulling carpet about half an hour after we closed on the deal.

Cash flow/credit issues are things that should have been figured out before you even buy the property.

Are you buying the property yourself? If so, what do you plan to do with it?

Hey Jared thanks for your reply. I am personally only contributing a small percentage but in return for helping with refurb, leasing and other favours that will help with the investors.

Nothing concrete yet, but I want to be able to help these guys as much as possible and therefore need to be prepared, you know?

P.S

Depending on the actual investment, the general plan is to lease but also to increase the value as much as possible so when the market finally climbs back up, we'll be in a good position.

The rehab game is all about velocity and costs in my book. Every investment is just a big math problem. How fast can you complete the project and what are the costs? Have a plan in place for rehab, holding costs and count some fluff for unexpected delays/problems. If you plan to rehab and rent really it's all about how fast can you get the property into service. If you want to continue to invest and buy several homes banks biggest concern right now is cash flow and liquidity. Many investors focus too much on leverage. This is old school and won't work in this current housing climate.

As posted above: Getting the property rehabbed and rented quickly is paramount. Losing one month of rent while paying taxes/HOA/utilities can really eat into your yearly profits. It helps to have all your rehab or upgrades lined up previously. If your replacing appliances start searching before you close so you have time to find the best deals.

My advise to those who get ready for selling a property is that, first of all they should turn it into a "perfect diamond", if you know what I mean. I know it is costly but trust me you will surely get your money back. However, if you know your spending will go over its value then stop, because in this case you get 90% chances to loose your money.

Well, it also depends on what you want to do with the property.
I bought onr recently "subject to" and I live in while I bought another one to rent (overnight) but now, since I'm cash poor, I just bought one because I can re-sell the contract...So it depends...There is not one rule only...

I totally agree...you're right but that was just an advice.And about the property you want to re-sell,sometimes it takes patience you know.It will sell trust me

I agree with the others that a quick rehab is of the utmost importance, but make sure not to forget about your marketing.

Although you don't want to let prospective buyers through the house until it's all fixed up and pretty, you want to make sure that you get the word out as early as possible that the house is for sale. Put a sign on the lawn, ads in the paper, knock on neighbors' doors (if current residents like the neighborhood, they often may know someone who is looking to move there....) etc.