He Flips Houses By Day, Saves Lives By Night [Ory’s Story]
Ory started his real estate investing business about a decade ago…in college.
It didn’t take him long to realize that paying a mortgage was A LOT cheaper than the rents in his college town. Not only did he buy a house (to avoiding renting) he had two roommates who paid HIM rent.
These roommates actually covered more than the mortgage and Ory was able to pay off the house. Now that is some education you don’t usually get in a college class!
Currently, Ory is a full-time police officer, but he still invests part-time. He has a number of long-term rentals, some short-term rentals (Airbnb and VRBO), and is always working on a fix and flip deal. He found his most recent flip on MyHouseDeals and couldn’t pass up the deal.
Listen to our conversation with Ory to hear more about the deal he found, his investing experiences over the past decade, and his advice for new investors plus…
- How to easily avoid rehab mistakes
- How to pull accurate comps (hint: don’t try to beat them)
- The must-have repairs for a fix and flip
NOTE: Ory is a premium member, he received a FULL refund of his upfront membership fee for simply doing a deal! Find out more about our premium membership here.
Tell us about yourself…
How did you get into real estate investing?
I kind of stumbled into investing. My parents had one rental property that they weren’t really into. They weren’t managing it right and I was so young at the time to know what was really happening.
I would hear the numbers and see the decisions they were making and that’s how I was exposed to the investing side. Now, I really like witnessing the transition of the house with flipping. It also makes a good living along the way so it’s a win-win.
When did you start investing?
I started investing in college. The first property I bought was in 2009. I found out the price of rent in a college town compared to the price of mortgages and was shocked. A mortgage payment was less than half of what it would cost to rent, whether it was an apartment or another house in my college town.
I saved up enough money for a 20% down payment to purchase my first house that was a distressed property and I fixed it up myself. I raised livestock in college and still do so that’s how I got enough money saved for the payment.
What were your plans for the house?
The house had three bedrooms so I found 2 roommates to live with me. Just the rent they paid was more than the actual mortgage so it allowed me to pay off the house. It worked out perfectly because I made money off it too.
Tell us about your investing strategy.
My strategy is pretty diverse. I have a lot of long-term buy and holds that I’m leasing out. Also, I have some short-term rentals like Airbnb or VRBOs. While that’s going on I usually keep one flip at a time which is the one I found on MyHouseDeals.
Do you use cash for your deals?
Well since I got started so early and had a lot of equity in the first property it put me in a great position. It allowed me to use cash to purchase other deals. Then I refinance to make the deal smoother and more appealing to a seller. I usually do 2 to 3 deals a year on average.
Tell us about the deal that you found on MyHouseDeals.
It was a home that was flooded in Hurricane Harvey. What attracted me to the property was that it already had a lot of work done. It was insulated, had sheetrock, drywall taping, and was textured. Those are some of the biggest processes that were already done yet it was still at a wholesale price.
I found it on MyHouseDeals and from there made a deal with the wholesaler. It did have a leak from the freezer and that repair set us back a couple weeks. My plan is to list it “as-is” on MLS while I’m doing other deals. I’m still deciding if I’ll go in and remodel it.
At the deal I got it at, ideally I was going to have it under contract, be done with it, and get some quick cash. There’s obviously a lot more cash to be made if I do rehab it, but I’m going to see what happens in the short-term with it first on MLS.
How do you make decisions on what to repair?
Curb appeal is so important to have for your property. Kitchens and bathrooms sell so I focus on those cosmetic issues immediately. You also want to make sure everything is right for inspection and you don’t want any issues of it not being able to get financed.
Everything from the ground up to the outside needs to be right. Cosmetic fixtures attract long-term buyers, but the details need to be right for the numbers to make sense.
What mistakes have you made since starting in real estate investing?
Make sure that the utilities are off when they’re supposed to be. Comps are the number one thing that you should focus on. Always double check everything, even if you get an update you need to check again because of market changes.
I’ve put too much into a deal to make it high quality when the area didn’t appreciate it. I put the nicest quartz for counters when it could’ve just been laminate. If I didn’t make that mistake I could of made a lot more money and it would of sold just as well.
Do you have any tips on how to pull comps?
Not only look at the property itself, but look at what’s around it. Even if you have expectations about the development for around the property, know that sometimes it falls through. It’s much more reliable to pick a property that already has development around it. Try to always look further into an area instead of just the property itself.
