All Forum Posts by: Jackie Lange

There are MANY solutions to the SAFE Act. Don't let it slow you down.

There is a 1 hour audio by Lonnie Scruggs called Solutions to the Safe Act. It's free after you opt in.

You also get Lonnie's Create Your Own Economy audio for free.

One solution Lonnie suggested which completely circumvents the SAFE Act is to rent the mobile home to the "buyer" for a specific numbers of months with the agreement that they get the title to the mobile home at the end of the lease if they make their payments on time.

There are so many ways to solve the SAFE Act. See Lonnie Scruggs' site for all the details

You will have a lot more wear and tear on the house if you have more bedrooms. There could even be multiple families living in the same house.

It's really much better to NOT use the real estate commission contracts. They contain a lot of clauses which are there to protect a licensed real estate agent. Plus these contracts are WAY too long and confusing for the sellers.

It's much better to use your own custom paperwork with is written specifically for each deal. Then you can control the terms and conditions.

Keep it simple! One page, two at the most, 14 point font. Written is easy to understand language.

sounds like the brother needs some $ out of the deal and the seller was trying to circumvent him.

Talk to brother. Ask what would it take to make him OK with selling.
Ideally, you get the seller and his brother in the same room at the same time for the conversation.

Just because you have a contract, you can't force the seller to sell. Sure, it is a legally binding contract but if he does not show at closing it's a mute point.

A title search may prove that the brother has a heir right to the property.

I should add... while the rehabber was fixing up that one house for 5 months, I wholesaled 4 more houses.

So, I actually made more than $30,000 profit in the same time frame as the rehabber.

Get in & get out as fast as you can. You'll make a lot more money!
And have a lot less stress.

Learn about wholesaling.

Make sure you budget for payments to the hard money lender, insurance, taxes and other holding costs like utilities, yard work, etc.

What will the refi cost be? You need to budget for those costs too.

Rarely does it make financial sense to buy with hard money, spend $20k on rehabbing PLUS holding costs, then refi expenses so you can rent it out. It may be better to cash this one out.

For rentals, it is much better to buy with seller financing or subject to a mortgage ... and on a property that only needs cosmetic repairs. You can avoid all the expenses of loans. And usually get it ready and rented within 30 days so you reduce your holding costs too.

For rentals, the faster you can start producing cash flow the better. This does not work if a rehab is necessary.

A rehab almost always takes longer and costs more than originally projected. Which means profit margins dwindle.

If you really analyze the numbers, it is usually much more profitable to just do a quick flip for fast cash instead of a rehab.

About 10 years ago, I got an option for $69,000 on a $185,000 house. I could spend $40,000 rehabbing it and make a nice profit..

Instead, I wholesaled the property for $99,000.

I made $30,000 in less than a week.

The guy who bought it spend 5 months rehabbing it dealing with city permits and contractors every day, then another 30 days to sell it. His profit was $40,000 after all expenses were subtracted out.

Who was the winner?

I'd gladly take $10,000 less profit, get my money in a week, and avoid dealing with the hassles, headaches and expenses of rehabbing.

If they want out. Let it go.
Go find another deal.

It will only cause problems if you lien their property and piss off the sellers.

They may decide to sell to you later. If you treat them right, they will come back to you again... and refer friends to you. If you're an A... hole about them backing out, you'll be the last person they call.

Always always get a non-refundable deposit from buyer. The check should be made out to the title company or attorney doing the closing though. The only reason the check would be refunded is if you can't give clear title to the property. Otherwise, there should be escrow instructions for the title company to give you the funds if the buyer defaults.

Do not ask the buyer to make the check out to you. That will raise a red flag.

Rarely pay a deposit to seller. If anything it would be $100 or less

Identify your BUYERS first. Let them tell you what they are looking for, then go find it. The advantage... you'll know you have a buyer when you find a great opportunity

Here's my book about wholesaling

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/CashFlowDepot/file/107-real-estate-profits-on-steroids-by-jackie-lange

Yes it's good to diversify and not be a one trick pony. But we all start somewhere and it's much better to FOCUS on one thing when you get started.

Once you get good at that one thing, then learn another technique. Once you get good at that technique, add another.

By focusing all your effort on one technique at a time when you're new you'll achieve success much faster than trying to do 2 to 3 things at the same time.

However... you need to always be looking for opportunities. If you find what appears to be a great opportunity but it does not fit in to one of the techniques you already know, then you need to reach out to people on this forum for guidance.

And... by starting with strategies that have the least amount or risks and require the least amount of up front capital, you are more likely to succeed.

Rehabbing houses takes a lot of money and time. If you don't have either, it is not a good place to start. If you don't have experience with the value of properties and estimating repairs, you can make a HUGE mistake that wipes out any chance of a profit. If you screw up, especially when you're new, you will probably give up. Not good!

That's why wholesaling is such a great way to get started. You don't buy the house, you don't need to borrow any money, you only need less than $100 for a option to control the property, you don't need to hire contractors or fix up the house. Instead, you get a contract, find a buyer, and usually get paid within 2 weeks.