All Forum Posts by: Charley C.

@Jason Boritz Not sure what that lender was talking about other than their own in-house policies. Move on elsewhere to different sources. Small banks and credit unions is all I would talk to. 

I can try to help you but you need to give me some more details. How your loan package is put together is very important. Both feasibility, logistics and strategy of what you are doing is paramount. 

Are you building them from scratch on a slab or are you moving in pre-built modular homes ?  

What about the land? What's it like? city sewer? already developed?  

@Scott Mac that thing with the fed rising the interest rates based on success (instead of actual inflation) is a larger conversation.  I would love to get in to but staying on point.. Sectors of the economy wasting time and money pushing out nothing to show for is what brings on inflation .When we have people getting to money  but not increasing supplies (durable goods and food ) but again, didn't do jack to add to the supply, well see my point?  more mouths less supply = inflation = and also = recessions

Those indicators you speak of are conflated with all types of industries. If that word "indicator" was accurate, both we and the fed would not have to be guessing so much.   

Manufacturing jobs verses white collar shakes a sticks so wide so deep, it does not say enough, its limited in what it can tell 

I can stand corrected. I will say that people pushing paper around can still be a tool for durable goods.   If more are people are added to put out the same supply '' for example:  push paper around  (like state and federal regulations) , there is nothing tangible to buy for their efforts

What is an economy worth if it does not produce something you (the consumer or business) want are ready pay for? Look at your bank account and see where you money went. What made you get up and buy something you truly desired ? The conception of any new economic force is always something people want to buy and bring something in to their home. All the industries to facilitate that is what we need more of

@Lawrence Flagg To truly answer your question, look under the hood of history. The over laying reason for recessions is when too many people get paid while not producing tangible durable goods people  want or need.. so the next question is who does that happen? here it is :  

Look back at all our recessions in modern history The common denominator in all these recessions was some kind of manipulated rigged fake industry imploding on its self. Always it was the excessively powerful interest such as government and over size corporations (nearly the same thing in my book) getting us in a recession . It was only small but emerging businesses and the natural free market that got us out of one. Academia used to teach that in the 80's, now days I doubt they do. Instead they teach the need of "planned economies" that is foreshadowing what I am about to say

The biggest examples:

1) oil recession in the (the 70's from oil being too high) and in Texas, the worst one was in mid 80's when oil tanked. There was OPEC and power governmental type body screwing with the natural order of things. Houston was horrible back then

(skipping bush 1 recession since I made lot money on that one)

2) the dot com recession was a boom busting from the failing IPO's, a ponzy pyramid scheme economy.   people getting paid for not doing jack

3) The sub prime lending recession. Lot of people pushing paper around handing out money. What could be worse? Bush 2 (and the whole of congress) pushed the lenders to do more lending. Before that we did have regulations that we grew to depend on. Our lending industry was addicted to regulations like a drug attic and to get off it, they had to hit rock bottom. So we hit it. By the end of 2009, the lending industry really fixed things back to for the first time, self regulating worked just fine, and in fact did it more effectively than Government could ever. 2009-10 I was making a fortune on lending money to people with 740 + credit scores. 3 and 4 loans a day, just me.. Small guys like me were then taking over the lending industry and the powers that be couldn't have that so here came Frank-Dodd and the recession gets off its death bed then lasted 8 more years. My mortgage company became not so profitable, I went back to building multifamily.

4)? the next one?  look for the same patterns that  I wrote above. the next recession will be I think from foreign influences controlling our media thus controlling our leftist government. Just look at China as just one example. That is a manipulator on steroids. Just about 80% of my products (other than commodity types like lumber) are coming from China. We totally screwed up letting them snuff our own productivity. There is your next smoking gun causing a recession, the sooner we cut the chord from depending on them the better  

If it’s on your homestead? Many many local banks will use the tax value and a cheap title commitment and they use the Wall Street rate 

If  you want to keep your interest payments tax deductible , be very careful that you only use the funds for the heloc on business ventures stuff like that consult with your CPA make sure your CPA is on board , 

From a cash flow perspective, you might be on to something but from a value added, not so much. At least lower property values mean lower taxes helping your cash flow

On the front side of it: you'll need your own cash to fix them up and make them ready to lease. The better deals will be from sellers who don't want to lift a finger.   

You still got issues with maintenance of an older home eating in to your cash flow as in any older home (and cash flow might be your only benefit)

look at the age of the 

1) water heater

2) AC

3) appliances

Get an inspection to see regular rain penetrations, failing mechanical and plumbing, so many things , its worth the money.

 I just stick with smaller Multfamily. I still manage 2 single family homes (Creekside the Woodlands and Lake Conroe) and want to get rid of them both

@Thomas Hatley in Texas, if someone open and notoriously lives and occupies a property, pays  no rent for 10 years, it might just be an open and shut case of adverse possession, you would need to buy the home also from the crazy "tenant" too

and that seller is either also skitzo or more likely just full of bull

 Might want to check your state laws there where the property is. Even if she gets effectively evicted, whats to stop the crazy tenant from an adverse possession claim ??

The only real way to protect yourself is not do it. It sounds like a tangled mess and there is always layers to what sounds like a rotten onion. Title report might have a even more issues

@Michael Masterson you say you are familiar with the ADA requirements and all but you also said the "dog" has all the right papers. Dogs are not ones that qualify, its the human that needs one to needs to qualify.. not the dog. (don't buy in to those internet scams with certificates, silly vest and collars; even if they say they have lawyers behind them, they are FOS) 

If there is no apparent need for the "service dog" (what is this guy blind or something?) then ask for a letter from a health care provider that diagnosed that person in need of one. What I do is compliment telling them I could never tell they needed a service animal (or emotional support animal for mental illness)  so I will have to ask for that letter to be fair to all the other tenants that have to pay deposits and extra rent for their pets. So for, its worked 100% of the time

Its a growing problem and nobody is standing up to this abuse. Not one person can do it alone. We need our associations to stop being so weak. Unfortunately, none of our landlords PACS will take up that fight from this unfair abuse on us. We need court rulings and new laws (but court rulings are faster)  I say lets all at once boycott paying them one more dime until they do 

I agree with @Shahriar Khan this is real big place. When shaking a stick at Houston, you can't and chew it all at once, there is not one monolithic market or even one city for that matter. I hope you take that part as good advice.  Sooner or later, you got to focus on an area with in the area and familiarize yourself extremely well with it before you dive in

Here are some generalized pointers on where to look :

If you look at all of suburban Houston, where ever a highway was widened and expanded, a proportionate amount of growth followed it, so look and pay attention to when roads will be completed, (and TXDOT lies, don't ever invest based on what hey tell you over the phone) Follow the powerful people behind an freeway expansion.  Only they seem to make roads get finished, not the general public. Piggy back on to developments that have a history of getting their way with state government..

More immune  elitism and to politics, we have our fantastic and forgiving inner city tearing down old obsolete junk and then building new with all the endless benefits and services of higher density urban life. 

If this city ever had the ship channel widened ( 4 times wider and twice a as deep) , it could become the greatest economy in the world has ever known.  

quickbooks online or enterprise will do an ACH next day funded for 1%

Quickbooks online will even do an auto debit but enterprise will not 

Quickbooks can let them pay by internet check for free but it takes like 2 weeks to fund you