All Forum Posts by: Doug Smith

We have both a realty practice and mortgage practice. That is one of the reasons we quit advertising with them. We were pumping $7500-$8000/mo into Zillow Real Estate Leads several years ago when we were getting about a 4.17X ROI. Over time, they raised prices, cut the lead amounts, and had their Internal telemarketing team make the first contact and then tried to "warm connect" us. Our close rate and ROI plummeted to around 1.5X. It simply was no longer worth it and we jumped too. You're not alone.

Hey from Tampa as well. We need to schedule coffee in Tampa and chat about Real Estate. I've posted this chart before, but I think it helps with your question. Let's take the last major crash as an example. If you would have purchased at the very peak of the market and sold at the very, very bottom, you would have lost 19%. If you would have simply held on and collected rent for 72 months, you would have been up money...and that is buying at the peak right before the biggest real estate bubble in modern history. If you're positively cash flowing with a prospective property, don't wait. As a 33 year lender that's seen the high-highs and low-lows of the market, I realy don't see rates falling dramatically. Rates are actually historically good right now. Taxes and insurance...not so much, but rates are not bad historically. If you wait like everyone has for rates to come down, you'll likely miss out. If I'm wrong and there is a draconian drop, so what...refinance. Good luck...and I was serious about grabbing coffee in Tampa. 

What specifically did you want to know? Your post is a bit broad. I've been in the Florida market for 28 years and I've done tons of Mulit-Family Value Ad. Can you please clarify your question?

I've been a part owner of two different restaurants in my time (two very stupid decisions on my part). A business partner and I purchased a pizza place in Tampa from a small Italian chain that was wanting to move out of the market. We rebranded, but kept the employees, furniture, equipment, fixtures, etc. I was warned about one guy, we'll call him John. He was the husband of their best waitress and he had just gotten out of prison for dealing drugs. They had a couple of kids together and, against the previous owners' better judgement, they gave in to their best waitresses request to hire the husband. When we went over who we were inheriting, I was told that we might want to give rid of the convicted felon. Fast forward a few months, I had fired half of their "great employees". They were robbing me blind...all except for John. John worked his tail off and became my most trusted employee. When I went to replace a shift manager that I caught stealing, I got guff from my business partner when I brought up John as a replacement. It was my call and I called John and asked him to come in a bit early to start his shift. I think he thought I was going to fire him. He teared up when I gave him the keys to the store. "No one's given me a chance like this...I won't let you down"...and he didn't. I'm not saying take this person on, but I wouldn't dismiss her out of hat. Really, really dig. My first instinct was to not take John on...I'm really glad I dug a bit deeper. 

 It's not that what you asked makes people uncomfortable. What you asked violates the law by simply asking what you asked. You may not have ill intent and you might not feel that you're discriminating, but in the eyes of the law, you did with the initial question you asked and doubled down with this response. I don't think you're a bad person nor do I think you mean to be discriminatory, but regulators will see your posts as evidence of discrimination. I've always thought that the annual Fair Housing training we always had to take in banks was stupid and almost insulting to our intelligence, but after seeing your post, I would highly recommend seeking out and taking courses on Fair Housing, ADA, and other relevant real estate-related regulatory courses. I wish you well, but you might want to consider taking down this post. 

Yes...they sacrifice children at midnight and worship the devil (sarcastic voice). Not meaning to be rude, but the fact you asked that question as a landlord is not only irrelevant and offensive to a lot of really great people, but it violates about 50 Fair Housing Laws and Statutes. I'm not sure if you're seriously asking that question or your trying to punk us to stir the pot. 

The answer is "It Depends". Non-QM are Generally about 3/4% to 1% higher than Conventional rates, but that really depends on the program, your credit score, LTVs, occupancy status, income documentation type used (if any)...and the list goes on. Fannie/Freddie generally hates investment property loans. That being said, I fell out of my chair when I was able to lock an individual investor (personal name) using a 1031 Exchange with about 50% down and 800 credit scores at 6.99%. Now, take that to 80% and drop the credit score 50 points and the rate increases by quite a bit, but generally, you're looking at a higher rate for non-QM. 

I'll reach out to one of my clients I spoke to this week to get permission for an introduction. We finance a lot of urban infill spec construction and development financing for SFR, Condo, and Townhome Developments (the vertical and horizontal). I have a client that is doing work in Indy and I'll see what their bandwidth is right now. In the 1990's, I worked for Bank One up there and I lived off of Allisonville Rd on the North Side. I visited a few years ago and I didn't recognize the place. It's changed so much!

Not in an investment property, but I actually did it in my office at home. I can't recall the brand, but I think we got it at home depot. It wasn't actually bad to install. You just have to take your time, have a sharp exacto knife, and make sure to line up each sheet properly. 

Real Estate Agents typically have programs like "Cloud CMA" that is connected to their MLS subscriptions. What area are you in? Are you a licensed agent or do you have a good relationship with one? That might be a good start.