This whole blog thing is kinda kicking my butt, I’m having blogger’s block, or something. So, instead of just getting more and more angsty about it while my page gets more and more stale, I’m just going to share cool stuff that other people have already done, until my mental juices un-congeal in the face of the often overwhelming world of the web.

Meet John Glover; an savvy and experienced investor who has been posting real estate how-to videos on the web for several years, and is a member of Toledo’s REIA.

He’s going to tell you briefly about how you can save money on your next flip or repair project. :

If you’re flipping houses or repairing them to rent it is HIGHLY important that you create a product price list, I do this in Excel. I make a list of the products I’ll use in the property from paint, drywall, carpet, supplies, cleaners and so on. I leave a space to put the price of each product.

Once you have a list of all the materials and supplies needed you can figure your cost for those products (I purchase all my materials and avoid contractor markups). Now, wherever you purchase your products; (Home Depot, Lowes, Menards) take the list and order all your supplies at once, asking them to submit it to the “bid floor” so you can get a nice discount as opposed to paying full retail. Doing it this way you can save about 15% to 20% off the retail price.

The Bid Floor is a term I first heard at my local Home Depot. I went to order supplies for a rehab and the sales person informed me that I was purchasing over $2500 worth of material so I could save money if I let them submit everything to the Bid Floor. Bid Floor, I said “what the heck is that”?

How this Bid Floor thing works on their end, I’m not all the way sure but I’ll sum it up like this; They contact who they get their products from and based on the amount of products you are purchasing from that manufacturer they will give you a discount off of the normal retail price. If you use the same or similar products on all the properties you perform work on then its easy to save money buying your products in this manner as apposed to paying the retail sticker price. You save each time and in the long run because any time you have extra products left you can use it to start your next project.

Here is what I suggest you do just so you can see how much you actually save. Make a list of all the products you would use in each project. Go to Home Depot, Lowes or Menards and get the retail sticker price of each item and add the price up per project. Now the first time you’re ready to do repairs to a property submit your list to the Bid Floor and see the difference in the savings.

One nice little tip before I go. I’ll get my price, from lets say Lowes and then go to Home Depot or Menards with the list and explain to them they can get my business if they can beat the price I have quoted. When you have competing stores in an area they will usually beat the price by 5% to 10%. So see you can save 20% to 30% on your material cost if you apply this correctly.

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VACATION RENTAL CALL TO ACTION:  Buncombe County Planning Board Meet

Posted by: “Elizabeth (Liz) Wiederhold” liz@sellersolutions.com sisterprise

Sat May 28, 2011 5:54 am (PDT)

[Attachment(s) from Elizabeth (Liz) Wiederhold included below] 

After new input from community partners (primarily hotels and bed & breakfasts), the Buncombe County Planning Board is going to reopen the issue of rezoning for vacation rentals and rooming houses.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 6, at 9:30 a.m. It will take place at the Buncombe County Permit Office, 30 Valley Street, in downtown Asheville. Attached is the agenda for this meeting.

Please attend this meeting if you have any interest or concern with vacation rentals in this County. There is now significant opposition to short term vacation rentals from some members of the hospitality industry. If vacation rental owners do not show up and represent themselves, we may see a new ordinance which limits vacation rentals in ALL zoning districts of the County to weekly or longer stays, requires that all vacation rentals have professional management, requires registration and licensing, or otherwise severly restricsts ALL vacation rentals in ALL districts.

Liz Wiederhold

If any of you have ideas on how to use this site to connect with other investors and to have your investment profile information available to the public please post comments. You can go to doyoubuyhouses.com/mingle and have a profile and submit stories, it is a pre-fab social networking site that I’m trying to apply, but I’m not sure it has the capabilities that I’m looking for. right now I am unable to hire a software designer to put together a structure that I like better and seems more functional, but that should change in a couple of months. Right now I just need to get a more solid understanding of what specific functions the site should perform and how that would play out online. REIA has a yahoo group that is helpful as a forum for seeking advice and posting individual deals, but not for knowing which people do which kind of investing and how to hook up for mutual gain. It’s super informal, you don’t necessarily have any information about the individual on the other end of the email, and you have to have a yahoo account that you check regularly to get it’s full effect, so if you are a gmail guy you are likely to find it a hassle to participate in the group. I’d like this site to be able to pull that forum together with more formal profiles of the individuals, basically personalized advertisements for what they offer, business card information and a little more in depth info about their techniques and preferences, like Linked In but more concise, more local, free to all visitors and members. Many of us have investor databases of people we have interviewed with the hopes of doing business with them in the future. I would like to pool all that data in one place and have the ability to cross reference by service offered, (cash buyer, hard money, wholesaler for cash, wholesaler w/owner finance, etc) with links to their individual websites and contact information. There should be a way to make comments on the individuals as well forming a sort of consumer report or rating for each individual or organization. There should be sub tabs for other “power-team” individuals that serve investors like  contractors,bookkeepers, closing agents, etc.

If you have any ideas what this conglomeration of concepts should look like and whether or not it would be widely used/appreciated please post a comment!

Own a piece of the deal or hold on to a sweet note:
We’re in the final stages of renovating 2 of our 3 warehouses just behind Ichiban Restaurant in Asheville’s Biltmore District. We need less than 23k to finish this stage of the plans and get the Certificate of Occupancy. Each building is approximately 6,500 sqft; commercial on that block rents for up to $75/sqft. We have leads for tenants to move in immediately upon availability based on a discounted rent rate that will allow us to continue the project by covering the payment on the buildings.

We must have the funds to proceed, so you can pretty much name your terms. If you are interested please do not delay in  calling
Elsa @ 828-399-0679 or reply to this email.
Don’t forget to tell your friends!

So, Web Wiz I am not, yet. I am sure there is a way for that tab to lead to a page that is structured in a way that is conducive to presenting profile information on the Real Estate Proffessionals who have so kindly provided me with their information for the purpose of distributing it to interested individuals for developing lucrative relationships… But that certainty has not yet developed into visible fruition. (Sorry, I’ve been doing my taxes and I picked up the speech pattern) What I mean is, I haven’t figured out how to make it pretty. If you sent me your information and it’s not there, poke me when you see me at the CREIA meeting.

The next step for this website is to add a directory of real estate investors in western north carolina, including the ability to cross reference based on specific area, property type, and skill set. In our quest to undergird the ever-elusive “network” it has become apparent that there aren’t enough ways for us to find each other, to understand each other, or to give each other the support that we need. Because that’s one of the main functions of a network, is a support group. There doesn’t seem to be that many of us, and we need to stick together to get things done.

If you are doing real estate investing in western North Carolina please leave a comment with your email. I have begun looking for great deals on houses and marketing to find distressed sellers, but obviously sometimes I find cool properties that are not the right fit for me. When I have you email I will exchange information with you regarding the specifics of property you are looking for so that when I get the ones that are not for me I will know who to call. If you close on a property that I pointed out to you then you send me a “bird dog” fee. That will of course make me happy and I will want to help you make even more money!

As an investor you need Easy Ways To Get Real Estate Leads. Without them you will have a hard time obtaining or selling any real estate property. Having multiple ways of generating leads can make for a more satisfying investing experience for the newbie as well as the seasoned investor. Here are a few steps to getting quality Real Estate Leads.READ FULL STORY…  

I buy houses! It’s great!  If you’re here, maybe you buy houses too. Whether you do already or you are thinking about starting, you should come to Carolina Real Estate Investor’s Association (CREIA) meeting the second Tuesday of every month. Just go to creianc.com for directions and more information. They teach the newest investment strategies, they can warn you about any new legal changes before you get bit, and they’re a great way to increase your network, knowledge, and advertising base.

Hope to see you there!