Motivated newbie from St Pete, FL
Hi All!
I just joined BP and am very excited to get going. I just bought my first foreclosure in Nov 2014 and am learning all the wrong ways to do this (really!)! But it is fun and I hope to be able to replace my FT job with REI in the future. I'm looking forward to meeting other members on here and learning a lot more than I do.
Hugs,
Gina Shields
#2 New Member Introductions Contributor
- Specialist
- Rockland, MA
- 2,245
- Votes |
- 7,730
- Posts
#2 New Member Introductions Contributor
- Specialist
- Rockland, MA
Welcome. Fill in the foundation below.
Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere
Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.
Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 100 past ones to catch up on.
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers.
Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook
You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over
Good Luck
Paul
Thanks Paul! That's a lot of good info and I especially want to find a group in my area. It's a little tough to do this along with my job but it can be done, I know. It will be worth it!
Gina :-)
Welcome to BiggerPockets @Gina Shields , thanks so much for introducing yourself to the community! Some times we have to go through a lot of difficulties to best learn what NOT to do in the future. I'm glad to see that your spirits are high and wish you the best of luck on your deal.
See you around the site!
#1 Classifieds Contributor
- Real Estate Broker
- Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH
- 17,977
- Votes |
- 26,660
- Posts
#1 Classifieds Contributor
- Real Estate Broker
- Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH
welcome to the site.
Welcome to BP Gina
Ron
Thanks for the warm welcoming posts! I am not able to get on here every day with everything else going on but plan on making it a priority. I'm very excited about learning more and attending some meetings to meet others. Hope to meet new people soon!
Gina :-)
welcome to BP! search some of the REIs in the area here, there are a bunch of them where you can meet other local investors here in the area. One thing i've learned through BP is that networking is one of the most important things you can do for your business, you never know who you'll be able to work with.
Welcome to the community! BP has a tremendous amount of information to help you, but it is only available if you seek it out. Be sure to be as active and engaging as possible. Read blogs, post questions, and the podcasts are gold! The best free education you can get. Good luck!
Welcome to BP Gina, I am new myself and want to network myself with locals.
Welcome aboard, I think you'll find a lot of people in the Tampa Bay area on BP.
Hi Gina!
Welcome to BP...feel free to reach out to the community if you need help with your foreclosure property. There are plenty of people who can help you.
Forrest Baumhover
@Gina Shields welcome to Bigger Pockets! Don't be a stranger!!! As @Patrick L. mentioned there are a lot of us local folks on BP and we even get together in small groups, search Meetup.com for REIA or real estate investing to find some of the meetings.
@Gina Shields welcome to BP and thanks for introducing yourself. Good luck with your RE goals and congrats on buying your first foreclosure. Hopefully it will be your first of many. Btw, gotta love that on the job training you're experiencing. Great attitude that you view it as a learning opportunity...you will go far with that!
Welcome...
Welcome to BP Gina!
Welcome Gina. I am just on the other side of the bay.
Thanks to all for the warm welcome! But unfortunately it's already time to yell for help! I found out last Friday that there actually IS a mortgage on my foreclosure purchase and they are continuing the process to take the house. I think I've made the worst newbie mistake in not clarifying the existence of liens but I was so excited and got caught up in it. I bought it from auction but it was from the HOA and not the bank. So I have essentially paid the $12,200 in HOA fees for the bank. I met with a real estate/foreclosure lawyer and he said I'm basically screwed, that the bank will win the house and don't bother trying to fight them. I am so pissed at myself for letting this happen but I'm trying to find out what I need to do, if anything, and how does this affect me as far as being on the house as owner with the property appraiser? Does anyone have any thoughts on any way to get any of my money back? I'm just glad I did not get to the point of remodeling and buying appliances and everything else. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcomed! I still want to do this but I will definitely spend more time on my research before the next time!
@Gina Shields Unfortunately that's a common mistake among new foreclosure investors. You have to do your title research prior to bidding and know what you're getting into. Has you attorney reviewed the docket for the bank's foreclosure case to see how far along it is? Generally the HOA's complete their foreclosures far more efficiently than the banks so you may have some time before they take it back. The majority of people who intentionally buy HOA foreclosures at the auction do so with the intention of renting the property for a year or two while the bank takes their time with the foreclosure. For this to work the property must require minimal work, maybe just some appliances, and not be too close to final judgement.
You will not win in fighting the bank, they have the 1st lien on the property and will eventually take it back. If you decide you want to rent it out then an attorney may be able to delay the inevitable but I don't know if it'd be worth the cost. You are also now responsible for the HOA dues going forward, if you do not pay them they will get a judgement against you and foreclose on the property again.
There are some guru pitches that cost more than $12k. It's definitely a steep price for learning when a title search costs around $50. Generally in the foreclosure auctions the properties that go 3rd party will sell for 80-90% of retail, if you see something at 10 cents on the dollar it's a huge red flag. The banks won't let it go that low and the other investors will bid it up.
@PatrickL
I bought this little house for my Mom & Dad who are elderly and disabled but live 2 hours away in Crystal River. It took a lot of my savings to do this but I was so excited that I could offer them a place down here close to me that I didn't do all my homework. I did research it thru the county sites and property appraiser but I obviously don't have enough knowledge as to the process to be confident. Especially after this!
The house needs some work but nothing major...appliances, carpet/tile, a good cleaning. But when the attorney pulled a title search for me last week it shows that they have been in foreclosure for over 2 years. The bank actually sent a service to change the locks last Friday which alerted me to "something is up". No kidding. He said the final hearing could be any day now so renting it is probably not an option and I surely don't want to put any more money into it.
Thank you for all your insight and comments, I am taking everything in. Although this is discouraging, I still want to do real estate investing but I will educate myself and learn what I should know. I see you're in St Pete...if you ever have time for someone to tag along and see how it should be done, let me know! :-)
Gina
Hi Gina, I'm pretty new too and the best thing I've done for myself is going to the meetings. Hands down one of the best decisions I've made. There is one called Tampa REIA and one Suncoast REIA and also a round table meeting at local IHOP...this one is the best IMO. They give everyone the chance to stand up and ask a q, talk about a deal or an issue they might be having. You'll be in a room full of long time investors and new. Let me know if you'd like to go and we can meet up. The REIA's you can find their websites.