966: Top Investors Reveal Their Worst Real Estate Deals (DON'T Repeat Them!)

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Think you've got a bad real estate deal? We doubt it comes even close to what we’re about to share. Today, the experts are in to talk about bee-infested rental properties, risky flips, “wholetail” failures, and other ways that they’ve lost money with real estate deals gone wrong. Why are we sharing such horrific stories? Because we want YOU to be able to avoid the same fate on your first or next investment property. Take a seat, get some popcorn, and pray that your properties won’t turn out like this…

First, Henry Washington from the On the Market podcast shares his recent luxury flip…or should we say, luxury “flop.” This property was poised to make him up to a six-figure profit, but it didn’t work out that way. One simple mistake ruined this real estate deal and forced Henry to slowly pay away all his profits to a hard money lender. Next, our own Rob Absolo talks about the dangers of NOT looking at the comps when doing a “wholetail” deal and how you could easily find yourself with a home worth less than what you put into it.

Finally, the deal of all horrible deals comes out…David Greene’s deal. Where do we even start? Permit problems, mold, bee infestations, and NO way out—this short-term rental gone wrong is costing David hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with little light at the end of the tunnel, he may be forced to do something drastic. So, how do YOU avoid these nightmarish real estate deals? Stick around so you know exactly what NOT to do.

In This Episode We Cover

Three of the worst real estate deals our investing experts have ever done

Why not knowing your neighborhood can cost you BIG on your next house flip

The danger of hard money loans and the massive interest they come with

Why you NEED a partner/mentor in your area to confirm a property’s worth

The so-called “landlord-friendly” state that’s actively trying to ruin David Greene

How nosy neighbors can end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars

Whether or not our investing experts regret investing in real estate after this

And So Much More!

(00:00) Intro

(01:24) A Risky Luxury Flip

(06:02) Final Numbers and Exit Plans

(09:19) Henry’s Mistake

(11:14) An Overpriced Wholetail

(15:04) Rob’s Mistake

(23:23) The City Ruined My Real Estate

(32:43) David Lost HOW Much!?

(36:19) How to Avoid This

(39:07) Do We Regret It?

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-966

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