All Forum Posts by: Brandon M.

@Valencia Johnson - are you looking to sell your house by owner, without the services of an agent? On here you will find the full range of people, from real estate agents to wholesalers to buyers to people who just watched a few episodes of Flip or Flop and now think they want to do real estate full time. 

Depending on what you owe and what the property is worth, you could either do a traditional sale to an end buyer who wants to move in. If the rents in the area are good enough you might find a landlord willing to buy the house and rent it out. 

If you can afford to carry the current mortgages on your debt someone might be interested in a subject-to deal, where a buyer agrees to pay your mortgages in exchange for them renting out the house. They could offer you a small amount ($5k for instance) and then they take over possession of the house. You could also just find a property manager to rent it out for you when you move to Florida. 

Lots of different options, depending on your situation. 

Where in Florida are you moving to? Depending on where you go, I might be able to help you find something new. 

Williampaid is also another one, if the tenant pays by ach deposit there is no charge to either the tenant or the landlord. The only charges occur if they pay by cash (can be done at certain locations) or via credit card. 

The most recent one I bought I already had an agreement for deed in lieu, so the assignment of mortgage and DIL docs were both recorded on the same day (in that order of course!). So for that one I really didn't worry about servicing because I knew I wouldn't be the lender for long. I actually talked to the borrower first, and then after that approached the lender about buying the note because I already knew I had DIL agreement in place. 

For the other two notes I have the ability to acquire from the same lender, I have not been able to have the same discussions with the borrowers ahead of time. 

Anyone out there with any experience in buying non-performing notes in Florida? I recently bought a note from a lender on a property in my area, but I am not familiar with all the rules about servicing it. I was told by someone an individual could service up to 10 loans on their own here in Florida without having to use a major servicer like FCI. I like the idea of buying notes at a discount and want to continue to add them to my portfolio, I just want to make sure I am crossing all Ts and dotting all Is. 

Because I purchased this one I have been shown 2 more notes, one in Altamonte Springs and another in West Palm Beach, but I want to be sure I am evaluating the full extent of what I can and cannot do before pursuing more, especially one outside of my local area. 

@Marcin C. - another thing to keep in mind, getting a money judgment is NOT the same thing as actually getting the money in your hand. Depending on the state, landlords in some states are basically screwed if they try to collect a judgment (tenant friendly states) so landlords don't even bother pursuing a judgment. They just take their lumps and move on, and hope to do better background checks before renting to a new tenant. 

It costs more money to pursue a judgment because you have to file a claim in small claims court, and if the person doesn't care about their credit they won't care about a judgment. That is called throwing good money after bad! 

And by "they", I really mean ME.....

You might want to get educated on the rules in your state and how lenient/strict they are to know whether it is even worth pursuing a judgment. 

@Rene Martinez - can you afford $15-20/month? If so I would go to a mailbox store and get a mailbox, not a PO Box. There are stores that will give you an official street address that make you look like you have an official office, just gives off a more professional appearance even if you have never done a deal before. And you can just create an LLC and get it registered. Here it costs $150 to register it, you can then add that as your company name on your business cards.

Definitely not worth listing your home address, I just bought a home from someone who is a drug addict with a criminal history, there is no way I want her to have my home address! 

Daniel, 

I second what Laura said. Google "mailbox services" and then your zipcode and you will find a few places. In my area to have a box with an official looking address (shows as street address and then Suite #___) UPS wanted $20/month plus set up fees, but I found another mailbox place for $12/month. In my most recent deal we did a deed in lieu but the person was a druggie with a criminal history. I do not under any circumstances want someone like that to have my home address, especially when I am not home during the day but my wife and 7 month are. Having the street address gives you a lot more credibility as as a true investor, even if you just do it on the side of a full time job (like me). 

Not to mention too many of them only have a retail mindset, they are only thinking about end user buyers or the sellers directly. They are only geared towards selling homes at the true market value and don't understand much about rehabbing, 70% rules, etc. Picket fences, 2.4 kids, commissions, fresh cookies for a Sunday open house, that is all that is on their mind. 

The frustration of being an investor and having to rely on a realtor is the realtor likely the difference in expectations. Most investors are looking for someone who will write a lot of offers, run a lot of BPOs, maybe view a lot of homes for them, and realtors only work on commissions. 

There are a few ways around that. A lot of investors just get their license so they can make their own offers or search MLS themselves. You could also find a realtor who is willing to do all of this legwork, maybe someone young and hungry and just starting out and willing to do all the dirty work. Depending on your investing volume you could also bring someone on as an "associate" of yours, with a small amount of pay to do the legwork with commissions paid on anything you close.

I speak from both sides here, I am an investor myself but also have my license and have acted as the buyer's agent for others as well. It is much more frustrating to write offers for buyers who claim they are legit buyers, only for them to keep submitting offers at 60% of asking price when the true value is clearly much closer to the asking price. No reasoning for the low offer other than they want to throw a bunch of crap at the wall and see what sticks. Nothing wrong with that, you won't know until you make an offer, but it is just hard to find an agent willing to spend time writing a lot of offers unless they know it will be worth their time. 

I feel like I will lose less clients than I would if I were buying an apartment complex because it is a storage unit. Most people leave their stuff in a unit until they move, leave it and forget it mentality. That is what I am banking on. Not to mention even at the new rate/standardized rate I will still be the cheapest rate in the area, so I am betting that not many people will want to move their stuff somewhere else.

In terms of providing improvements to justify rent increases, there isn't much that can be done, it is a simple building with 4 walls. No security gate, no office, nothing. Just a storage building. 

I am in the process of purchasing a small self-storage facility with existing tenants (no contracts), and everyone seems to pay different amounts for the same size units. Some have been there for 10+ years, and some don't pay on time on a regular basis. 

I am debating whether I should come in and change all rents to set rates based on size of unit right away, to standardize things, or whether I should just give it a few months to get some income before increasing/standardizing rents? 

E.G. for a 10x10, tenants pay between $30-45 a month and I would like to get everyone on $45/month. The unit across the street (though it does have a security gate and an office on site) charges $77 for the same size, so $45 is still competitive with my competition. 

So: would you come in and standardize right away, or just make sure everyone is paying on time first and then increase in a few months?