All Forum Posts by: Will Barnard

The N Lions of Penn State have been upset tonight by Iowa, who played in front of their home crowd. Where will Penn end up in the rankings after this? What a great game!
#1 Alabama had to go to OT to avoid the upset and the demise of their national championship hopes. Close call, great game as well.

I am cheering for all the underdogs on all teams ranked 1-6, obviously because I am, and have alwyas been a USC fan!
Go Trojans!

Several posters on this thread have implied that the US is no longer #1 in the world and China is the Superpower.

I can not state one way or another if this statement (not quoted exactly) is true or false, but I can say with confidence that the US is not the only country in an economic downturn. We live in a global market, not just a national one and anyone not recognizing that is blind. China is hurting right now and they are losing jobs and businesses left & right. Just as we are and many other nations.
The world is in a recession, and although I am bias, I do believe we will come out ahead when it is all over.

Mike and Tim,
You both make vaid points on this topic. My response would be that "if" your primary residence increased in value, you could use a HELOC to purchase other income producing "assets" thus creating cash flow from your personal residence. Of course you must buy correctly and only use the HELOC to buy assets and not liabilities.

IMO, using a 20 year amm loan does not make sense as an investor. If you use a 30 year, nothing says that the excess cash flow you will have can't go to the principle, thus paying the loan off in 20 years or less. Then in times when you need the cash flow for other expenses, you have it.

Yes.
Get a title company on your team and develope a relationship so that you can have direct access to title reports/searches. This gives much more accurate values as well as current liens against the property.
I also recommend you do find a solid agent that can run you comps as well. The other site you mentioned are good, but all vary on the accuracy.

To add to what Mike said, remember that every town in every city and in every state has it's own DNA. That said, a blanket statement that RE prices will come down more in the future is a general statement. Some areas are level, some increasing slightly, others are declining, and others are sinking.

Just my $.02

Renae,

I know several people who started out without $ or credit and now own RE investments. Of course they still hold full time jobs, but have 1-4 properties under their belt.

Mike gave you some good advice, but there are ways to invest now, without the resources you mentioned. The resource you MUST have is the "know how" or education.

You mentioned wholesaling, which is a very good starting strategy as you can "control" properties in a number of ways with very little $ (as little as $10), and no risk to your financial situation or credit. What you need to do to accomplish this is to develope a buyers list filled with real investors looking to buy specific properties and you need to know how to find, negotiate, and "flip" them to your buyer's list.

Best of luck to you, and do not let "fear" stop you as you mentioned.

One of my favorite sayings in life is "The rich act in spite of fear, while others allow fear to stop them"

I like the last added line David. It is very true. Just the same as You do not want Your time wasted, neither does an experienced Realtor.

Here is the deal. You pre-screen the Realtors by asking some simple questions.
1). Do they work with investors currently? (Answer should be Yes)
2) How many investors are they working with and how many investments in total have they closed on for investors? (Should be at least 10 annually)
3) Do they invest in RE (other than their own residence or vacation homes)? Answer should be Yes. Find out how many and check it out via Title or have them prove it.
4) Do they work closely with any managemnt companies and if so, get the contact info and interview them as well. If you like the PM company, chances are the realtor is a good one.
5) Do they have a team of pros (title company, handyman, contractors, other repair related services) and get their information and interview them. - Qualify them all and if the realtor's contacts are good, then so should the realtor.
6) Ask them if they would like you to provide any information on you and your company. (If they do not, skip them, they will waste your time).

Lastly, your personalities should mix nicely. Building a relationship with them over time is a necessity. It is very important that they understand that "burning you" will end up costing them dearly in the future.

So the answer to the original question from the concensus is that your home can be an "investment" leaving out "the why you buy aspect" and only considering the appreciation value over a length of time to build equity and choice of area makes a big difference between a "good investment" and a "bad one".

Good advice. Thanks for explaining that Mike.