The deals are coming fast and furious now. There are deals-a-plenty out there folks, so get off the fence, find a rehab to flip, get some good education, work your numbers, and invest in real estate. There will NEVER be a better time.
This is a story about my coaching student; Russell Sanders. Russell is a full-time employee of the federal government. He was tired of losing money doing RE deals, then he decided to join forces with me. Russ found this deal on the MLS - and we think it will be a doosey.
This house in Capital Heights, MD was vacant and bank-owned. The numbers are as follows:
$75,000 purchase
$48,000 rehab
Honestly, when I first saw this house, I thought - “heavy cosmetic.” I mean it really was not that bad - but it needed expensive items, like new windows, 2 new baths, a new kitchen, new doors, a new front entrance, new carpet, some new plumbing and updated electric. But seriously, its an easy rehab. I mean, easy in the sense that we won’t be gutting the place all the way back to the studs - which is refreshing for a change. 
We’re about 3 weeks into the rehab and we’re seeing some serious progress. I have some great video (but I’m biased) of the progress we’ve made thus far. Man, I’m starting to love this technology stuff!
Video Tip
The basement here at Gunther is below grade, of course. While adding the new full-bath, I noticed a big old pipe next to the drain for the toilet, and was wondering what the heck it was. I got a lesson on plumbing that I thought I’d share with you. If you don’t like poop floating in your pretty finished basement you must see this extra-special REI video tip. In the second 1/2 of the video, I talk about how to properly remove a column in the basement. Check out what I learned!
The Baltimore Sun is good for one thing in my book….crabs! Us Marylander’s love our crabs, and when we don’t have brown paper to spread out as a table cloth, we use newspaper. Thus – the Baltimore Sun’s greatest use.
So as I was eating crabs on the back deck at my in-laws today, I noticed the following article underneath my perfectly seasoned crustacean.
“Overview of Housing Tax Credit” – by Kenneth Harney
If you are rehabbing houses that you will ultimately sell to homeowners, you must read this story. In a nutshell the federal gov is offering home buyers a $7500 credit from April of 08 – to June 30, 2009. This credit proves however that there is no free lunch as it must be paid back over 15 years so long as the home buyer remains in the home.
There’s more to this law and I’m no tax guy, but I do know a thing or two about marketing. I should think this would make a pretty good selling point when marketing your next house for sale.
