All Forum Posts by: Allen Maris

@Benjamin Allen - I closed on a property when I was out of the country. I had to go to the American Consulate to sign. 

You can schedule a closing anytime, they just won't actually close until they have the required info in hand. I don't recall needing to provide anything more than the policy number and they take care of the rest. 

@Chris Mason - Yes, they apparently had a couple issues and their credit score was low. I haven't gotten into the details yet as I was just trying to explore if it's a realistic approach for me.

@Roman M. - thanks for the thoughts.

I'm looking to sell one of the properties and had a prospective buyer ask me to carry a loan for 5 years (amortized over 5 with 10% down). 

I'm not familiar enough with Dodd-Frank limitations, so would love to hear thoughts on structuring this in a way that won't cause any problems should the deal ever need to get challenged. This is the only seller carry I'll do this year as well.

Of course I'll go to a lawyer to do the agreement, but want to make sure that going in I know what all the options are.

Thanks, BP'ers!

@Account Closed - I have hopes for the younger side of the current Millennial generation. They seem a little more go-get-em than the older ones. 

Mark Poulton - sorry, it wouldn't auto fill your name for some reason.

Art Ritter - I agree about student debt, it's a major problem! nearly anyone can qualify to get 100k in debt with a student loan these days. I know plenty of people that are spending 50k a year on tuition on a 100k salary or the kids are coming out of college with 80-100k in debt with a bachelors in some general education type degree. Not even a masters or some sort of "professional" degree. These are the ones that are living at home because they can't afford to live on their own. @mark Powell - funny, my crystal ball says the opposite. One of them is defective! Only time will tell which one is correct.

I wish someone could answer this one for sure! I feel like so many are in limbo. Will it or won't it??

From my personal experience, I sold a house in LA. I bought end of 2005, close to the top, maybe 3-4% off. I sold the house 1 year ago almost exactly for almost 20% higher than I paid. The owner ended up getting transferred out of town and sold 7 months later for almost another 10% higher on top of that.

Seems pretty inflated in my book! But that's LA and I think SB is just as bad.

Though I think the fundamentals are way stronger than in 05-08 days because of the regulations and underwriting scrutiny, that doesn't mean they are immune to a correction. I just don't think it will be nearly as bad as 08. 

@Darrell Lee is correct, there are some bargains out there. The ones I've come across become so heated that they end up going well over asking in the first weekend and becomes too tight for my taste.

Hi Liz,

As with all online communities, there are going to be 11 opinions for every 10 people. Some of them you have to take with a grain of salt. 

Is your question posted somewhere?

Follow up: I believe I just read the thread in question. I think @Jerry W. was trying to be helpful. I actually didn't see any negativity in his post. So if you're not looking for any advice other than a name of an attorney, possibly leave off all the backstory, post your request for a real estate attorney in the professional section or Atlanta and make it simple for everyone. You're in a pretty active investor area so you shouldn't have trouble getting a name. 

Good luck in your search.

Hi Nicholas,

This is the right place to start learning. Listen to ALL the podcasts. They're incredibly helpful. 

Do a search here on the central valley, Fresno area, Bakersfield, Lemoore, etc and see what you like for what you're wanting.

@Andrew Wong I was investing quite a bit in the area a few years ago, but as my dad gets older and I don't want to burden him too much, I've started to lighten the load.
The area I was focusing on, which I thought was good value, was north east of the airport in the "Tarpey" neighborhood area. There's a section that falls within the city of Fresno, but is Clovis school district, which is a huge plus for anyone with a family. So a comparable property a few blocks over in Fresno district will sell for 10%+ less (also less rent) and anything the other way that falls into the city of Clovis, but same schools, will go for 10% more. Those are generalizations but check it out and you'll see the price differences right on that district line.

Well, just saw the post is super old and someone was probably spamming it so that's why I got all the notices. Disregard if you're well past this point!