All Forum Posts by: Andrew Holmes

@Rudy Manna

Have you checked the pricing for putting in a sleeve. That may be cheaper. Can't hurt to get a price. 

Replacing the sewer line can be anywhere from $ 7000 to 20,000 depending on the length of run etc. 

@Thomas S.

@David Faulkner

Thomas: David in the thread uses the same M-To-M leases. The longer term seems to work for us. If short term lease works for you guys then great.  

@John Cushing

Yes we contact the Plantiff (Bank) and their attorney. In Chicago a majority of all the foreclosure are handled by about 15 law firms. It has taken a hell of a lot work but now we know the key players and lot of times they can help us get to the right person at the Bank. 

@Salvatore Leonetti

First of all welcome. It's great that you can save but the most important thing is becoming good at learning how to identify great deal. That is the driver in this business. You can always partner on your first few deals. Don't wait until you have just the right amount saved. You can go wholesales or partnership flips. If you can find the deals then you are in the drivers seat. Yes you have to do more work than the person that just brings the money to the table in a deal but in the long run you will control the transactions. 

Best wishes. 

@Kevin Chen 

@Elbert D. is right there are still a lot of deals here in the chicagoland area. 

Try one of the following methods. But stick to one and become an expert before opening up too many strategies. 

Pre - Foreclosure

1. Pre-Foreclosure (With Equity 40% or more)

2. Pre-Foreclosures (30 Days from Auction)

3. Pre-Foreclosures (Short Sales not listed in the MLS)

Probates

Out of town owners

Bandit Signs

Shadow Inventory (Bank owned properties not yet listed on the bank)

@David Faulkner

Month to month does not make sense based on my business plan but if it work for that work. 

With our tenants our goal is 1 turn over in 5 years. 65% resign after 2 years. If they sign for another 2 years we offer no rent raise along as it reasonable. Now we are up to 160+ properties have scaled up. Over the past 6 years I went from 1 year lease to 2 year lease now we have some 3 year leases. Less that 2% of the entire portfolio is 1 year leases. 

I am absolutely against turnover of tenants. I have heard about month to month leases so if that work for some land lords great. 

@John Cushing

By shadow inventory I mean properties that go to sheriff sale or trustee sale. Whatever it's called in your area and are not sold to individual investors. 

In Chicago we buy properties every day at auction so we track all the properties at the auction. 85% the properties go back to the bank. Shadow inventory is the period before the property is listed on the MLS. In our area there are thousands of those.

So we target properties at the stage of pre-foreclosure. If that doesn't work then we try to buy them at the auction depending on the opening bid. If that fails then we tracked him back to the lender that took it back. 

Small to medium size banks will work with you the big major banks will not no point wasting time with them. 

@Samuel Pascal

You're very young it's fantastic that you are thinking in this direction. It's interesting how life works out. 

At 18 years old I wanted to invest. 

20 got into real estate wanting to invest. Instead got a license thinking that would get me closer. 

At 24 I was still dead broke and barely surviving. It look me to 27 to figure out how to make a very good living as an agent. 

At 28 realized I was running on a tread mill. 

Then it took me to 33 to start investing. 

Today if I look back I knew in my heart I knew I would some how make it but it certainly did not show up in my bank account for a long time. 

I head at some point: People over estimate what we can accomplish in a month, 6 months or a year but we underestimate what we an accomplish over a 5 year period.

I think one thing I had was pure drive. I just wish at the time I had known what I know now. I would have done so many things differently. Totally blessed with where our business is yet. I could have lessened the pain along the journey with some simple course corrections. 

@Cameron C.

Why not just reach out to an attorney that has done a lot of these mortgage fraud type of cases and get a letter of opinion. Just write a letter to your state department  of mortage and real estate and they have a opinions they can issue. 

I think it's good to be careful but it seems like you are giving too much info to your loan officer. When you buy you are buying with the intent of living there. As long as you live there and meet that requirement then I personally don't see anything wrong. A good attorney will be able to look up cases for you that may be similar. 

Personally in my opinion if someone does this and lets say has 5 homes. All five for some reason go in default. Then someone can look at it and say that is a pattern to commit fraud. Can't hurt to get a legal opinion but I don't see an issue. 

At least you one or 2 is not an issue at all as far as I am concerned. 

Pay your tax do things correctly which from what have written seems to be your plan anyways. 

@Samuel Pascal

I agree with @Cody L. but I would go a little further. Never too early and never too late to start. As long as you are making good investments always a positive thing. Of course the earlier you start the better off you are more time. I started investing 33 and was by 38. As Cody says no need to work. 

Wanted to invest since I was 19. Bought my first property in 2008 when the market crashed. In the crazy go go years I stayed out because nothing was making sense to me. So I jumped in when everyone jumped out. Now seem smart at the time it was very scary.