All Forum Posts by: Amber Bellin

Thank you for your input. My thinking was along the same lines but you confirmed it for me. I appreciate your time.

So I am asking this question for a friend who lives in another state and I am unsure of her rights. She owns her home and in order to make ends meet she let a "friend of a friend" move into her basement about 4 months ago. They have no written contract and he pays her in cash (never on time) $300/month. Well 5 days ago he mentioned to her that his cousin who lives in Kentucky was in a "bad situation" and needed to move up here. He left the next day to go see her. She learned today that he has packed her and her things into his car and is planning on moving her in! This was never discussed in anyway with my friend who is trying to get her house ready to sell. They never asked permission to move on another person let alone rent $. This man, of course, claims that she told him it was fine and his cousin could stay "as long as she needs" It's a lie but no one can prove either side. This man is staring to get belligerent over text and I am now concerned for my friends safety as well as the state of her home... I would like to do this diplomatically but I don't even know what legal options she has here. Advise? Tips? Suggestions?

I know in my area you would start with the city to see if the property is dividable. Find out what the zoning is and that will give you an idea of how small you can make the lots. Then once you make the purchase you would work on getting the house onto its own smaller lot and work on the rest to sell separately. You would need a survey etc... Different cities, even in the same county, have different rules. But the city zoning office is a good place to start.

I work a job that I love but I make less than $35k a year. I have 2 children and share custody with my ex husband. I currently own 4 homes and an empty lot. For me I started with the home I purchased after my divorce. I didn't have any cash down but I had good credit and no debt. The second house came in when I found a really good deal a few streets over. At the time the market was down and things weren't selling. I did it "owner finance" and purchased the home plus the lot next door and spent every waking moment rehabbing the house. It took me 4 months because I only had my partner to help and a contractor (after firing 2 bad ones) to help me with the things I had never done. I learned a lot! I did a lot of shopping at thrift stores, Craigslist, habitat for humanity etc. to find a lot of what I needed to fix the house. It turned out amazing and about a year after I purchased it I refinanced to get away from the owner finance and the house appraised at $75k more than I paid and that did not even include the lot next door that I now own free and clear. When I did the refi, I took out $20k extra and used it to buy my next home. You get the idea, now I make enough in rental income that the banks seem willing to lend me anything I need. I also now have a couple of investors that have been impressed with my work, so my next purchase will be made with investor $. The problem now is the market is up significantly and finding the deals Is easier said than done. I am always keeping my eyes out tho, you never know where the next purchase will come from! I still have that $35k job, to hard to leave the security when I have little mouths to feed. I am aiming to leave my job tho once my children are off to college... Maybe travel to different areas and live in homes as o fix em?? Who knows! Reach for he stars right!?

I have 2 great contractors I work with on a regular basis. Mike Prescott (moved here from Cali so doesn't have the 509 or 208 area code) Mike can do anything from small repairs to building a home from the ground up. He does excellent, quality work and is very up front and fair. Jess Miner Jess does smaller remodels as side work for me. Not as fast as Mike but does good work as very fair prices. It won't let me post phone numbers, if you would like more info send me a private message.

Hi! My name is Amber and I am fairly new to all of this! I do currently hold 4 houses but I am now looking to get more into the flipping side of things.  I am very good with rehab and have a great team of people to help with that, which is why I am now considering dipping my toe into the flip world!  I am doing my research on funding options as my personal finances are fairly tapped out with the current real estate holdings.  Most of my time here will be spent looking into my options in that realm. I have been reading this fourm for a while and finally decided to just jump in and introduce myself! (I am shy! 😉)  I have learned a lot already and I am excited about the ideas here!  I am so very ready to quit my day job!