Real Estate Investing is Like Playing Musical Chairs…I just hope there will be a chair for me when the music stops.

Sometimes I start juggling so many deals that I have a hard time keeping track.  It’s so easy to run out of money with earnest money deposits and I’m at that point right now.  So my goal is to finish the projects I have and wholesale the others.  If I can’t find the buyers, well that means the music stops and I’m without a chair.

Capitol Heights, Maryland

So first, the property in Capitol Heights Maryland.  Sometimes I hate thinking about it.  It was the subject of the post some time ago, Real Estate Investing and the “Trust Me” Guy and Big Lessons Learned when Buying in Maryland

This is one of the main reasons I will NEVER hold a Field Trip in Maryland.  I don’t know if it’s the culture and political environment there or what – but everyone held their hand out for money…NOT a Rehabbing Remotely Friendly area.  Not only are the taxes outrageous (last appraisal on that property was $130k and I paid $35k for it) or if I just had a run of bad luck finding a good power team.

Regardless it’s now under contract to sell with a closing date of mid-September.  I paid $35k for this property and the closing costs/taxes were $4k!  Who would have known?  The rehab was $38k and I had to pay $2,500 in “consulting fees” for people’s help.  So I’m all in at $80k and I’ll scrape by with a minimal profit on that one.  Let’s hope there are no delays in closing as I’m ready to put this project behind me.

Union St. in Chicago

What a GREAT FIND!  I got this property for $36k, rehab  $30k (includes new everything) and we will list this next week at $149k.  The only problem with this one was time.  My contractor was great.  I loved him to death!  But a bit slow.  The good news is the delay has given us some super comps for the area and are able to get more for the property than originally thought – so WAHOO!

S. Michigan Ave in Chicago

The next rehab is on S. Michigan Ave in Chicago – what a surprise!  I had made some back up offers on some properties, not thinking much about it.  Some weeks went buy and I got a notice that my backup offer was accepted.  Who would have thought I could buy a property for $27,699?  I got 2 “gut-feel” contractor quotes at $35k-$40k, but since the basement was flooded (sometimes referred to as an indoor swimming pool) we didn’t see all the issues.  So going into it we are over budget at $47k.  Not that this increase is bad because the 1/2 bath we are building and the A/C we are putting in will increase our ARV from $120k to $135k.  Always think about the “bang for the buck” and if you have to put that overage on your credit card and pay some interest, then so be it.  It will come back to you tenfold.

Fairbank in Riverside, IL

One of my students spotted this deal and offered to partner up with me as we get it under contract and wholesale it to another.  It was way over-priced at $190k and as it turned out they had to keep the price that high because of the balance owed.  I casually offered $150k and work it as a short sale and hadn’t heard back from them for over a month.  It has a river view and in a neighborhood with $400k houses and up.  Six weeks went buy and we heard nothing – then suddenly, they agreed to the $150k and work it as a short sale!  Keep a lookout for a sweet deal if this gets approved.

Wainright in Chicago

This is a great neighborhood for rehabs in Chicago – my offer was accepted and I’m currently trying to wholesale it http://www.postlets.com/repb/7935808 for $110k – ARV is $250k.  This is a solid house with 3 bathrooms – one on each floor.  If I don’t find someone I’ll take this down myself because of the good spreads – however you can easily add a dormer to make a nice master suite and add a bedroom and a rec room in the basement – This is a sweet house!  The neighborhood is called Belmont Craigin and is hopping with rehabs.

Ridgeland Ave in Oak Park, IL

This is a short-sale still subject to the lenders approval, but I don’t think there will be problems.  I have to tie up $1,000 in an EMD while they decide.  If this goes, what a sweet deal as the comps are very strong in Oak Park.

And there are more coming…I’m ready to wrap some of these deals up so I can enjoy the influx of CASH to my bank account.  Then I’ll forget about this game of musical chairs and start it all up again!