All Forum Posts by: Andy Collins

another vote here for Sherwin Williams "softer tan",,I use that on the walls and alibaster on the woodwork

the funny thing about the "paint color help", is the person that picks out colors for me has the url www.paintcolorhelp.com, but she is here in Dallas

don't confuse your "cost basis" with the value of the property,,in simple terms, what you paid for the structure, plus improvements, are your cost basis,,I don't think its 'market value' plays any part in the cost basis.

I'm not a CPA or accountant, but own rentals (and have a very good CPA) and we have never changed the cost basis because the value went up

I deal mainly in one zip code, guess what, I know the values in that zip code better than most,,,,when I get a wholesale deal in that zip code and the ARV listed is 25% over the real ARV, I mark it as spam and I don't see any other deals from that wholesaler. I won't look at any other deals they have in any zip code, because they have proven to be crazy on ARV.

I have written e-mails before explaining that the ARV was way off, the only time I got a response they said I haven't looked at recent comps (they were pulling comps from a totally different neighborhood), so now if they are using "BS" numbers, I don't want to see any deals from them.

I'm writing this as much as anything to tell new wholesalers to watch what they say,,you can quickly ruin your reputation by being too aggressive with numbers,,

I have an old white work truck, and I might be in paint stained clothes in it, or I might be in a very expensive suit in a nice Lexus,,,,never have noticed any difference in quotes.

The only thing I notice is the nicer the house, the higher the quotes seem to be

andy

There is a lot more to what the agent has to do than put in the offer,,I don't believe HUD pays "full" commission anyway,,

My agent handles some deals that she does virtually nothing, and other deals that are big headaches, she earns every dollar of commission.

I'm not sure an agent can legally even rebate commission (and if they did they would be stuck paying all taxes on the income)

Don't worry about the agent's commission, just go find a deal,,,if you owned 50+ houses and were buying 10 a month, you have some leverage with an agent,,you have "0" ,,,you have no leverage

My realtor has sold me a few houses that she has never seen,,I go by and look at a dozen houses or so every few days when I'm in the mood to buy,,I actually fill out the contract, scan and send it to her with a copy of my earnest money check,,,,other times (like a short sale I'm in the middle of), she make it for it with all the hassle she is putting up with getting the deal done.

Anytime she is meeting me at a property , she knows I am planning on writing a contract if all checks out,,,be respectful of your realtors time,,,they can really help you

I've used family members for 'hard money" exactly the same way, the title company can prepare everything if you just ask them to,,its a rather simple deal, one person is the lender, with a lien on the house,,exactly like your using a hard money lender but without the high cost (and if someone is making 1% on savings, me paying them 6% plus one point for a short time is great for them.

The title companies have even made the note for us,,,

I agree totally with @Bryan L. , you can have all the written plans you want (and you should have some), but the plans will change as the market changes, as you get to know your area better or other areas.

go look at anything vacant on your own,,you don't have to get inside to have an idea what the house is like (and the listing agent probable has pics of the interior so you can tell the condition.

You want to not make a mistake, but remember until you start taking action (and you are taking action by looking at those houses), nothing happens....

Make sure you have all your 'ducks in a row' financially to be in the position to buy the house when you find the first one

andy

@Mike D'Arrigo if you put it in an LLC after closing they can actually call the note due (due on sale clause),,not just make you pull it out of the LLC

You can go two different ways, if you want conforming mortgages, then put them in your personal name,,if you want to put them in an LLC, then use higher priced commercial loans.

If you want to get the mortgage in your name, then put in an LLC,,thats fine, but the LLC will no longer give you the protection you think you have,,the financing is in your personal name,,,you on the hook.

If your managing the property, involved in the rehab, or personally guarantee the financing, the LLC is no little to no value,,just get a large liability policy,,,,