Worthwhile deals aren’t born, they’re made.  —Tim Kosen

I’m amazed how often I hear things like “it it’s meant to be it will happen” or something similar.  With statements like this, consider two things.  First, consider the source.  Who says things like this?  Independently  successful people in business?  No, probably not.  And second, consider the simple logic of the statement.  Bring it back to any other skill like surfing, or working out or whatever.  If you’re meant to be a great athlete, it will just happen.  Yeah right.

[Editor’s note: Get caught up with Kosen’s real estate investment story here.]

So, why do people use statements like this in other aspects of life and business?  Probably because it’s easier to blame fate or something esoteric than it is to take all the requisite steps to make something happen.  I bring this up, because I hear it all the time when I’m talking to people about getting a house, or getting rid of one.  And it never makes any sense to me.

The Tudor street property, for example, didn’t just happen, or fall in my lap. Every step of the way was carefully planned and implemented. At any given time, there was a high likelihood of the deal not going through.  Fortunately, I’ve done this once or twice and had backup plans in place at every step of the way.  Since I was one step ahead of the deal the whole way, it may appear to the casual observer to have just fit together.  But in reality, I put it together. 

Let’s start with the beginning.  How did a San Diego guy buy a 5000 sq ft house in a city he had never heard of north of Dallas Tx?  Starting from nothing, that’s a bit of a leap isn’t it.  And, I don’t recommend you do something like this for your first deal.  

Start by doing your homework

As we know, I’ve been in real estate in some form or another over a decade.  I’ve renovated and sold quite a few units over that time.  This deal started with that prior experience.  Let’s go to the location next.  My wife and I have considered moving to Dallas for about a year.  About six months prior to even seeing this house I started my research and making more business connections.  If I wanted to basically rebuild my business in a new spot, I would have to replicate what I already have established in San Diego.  So, I started talking to realtors, lenders, wholesalers, contractors and suppliers.

Explore the market

There’s only so much you can do online and over the phone.  In October, we made a trip out there to look at some deals and meet people in person.  We didn’t have any intention of buying anything and I wasn’t really in a cash position to put together a deal.  We looked at different neighborhoods, both to live and invest in.  Basically, this trip was to confirm everything I already suspected about doing business in the city.  And it did. 

Tudor was one deal out of maybe ten that I saw in the surrounding metroplex.  The property had been on the market a while and the sellers had just dropped the price earlier that week.  We wrote up an offer for 10K less, asking for a 45 day escrow and didn’t think much more of it.  At this stage, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t go through and I wasn’t even sure if I could or even wanted to do the deal.  But, putting in an offer on something never hurt anyone.

As of now, demo is done on the place and we are putting it back together.  Tile is going in the bathrooms.  Drywall is repaired, retextured and ready to paint.  Take a look at the post demo video to see what a gutted house looks like.  The place is really starting to take shape.

VIDEO

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