All Forum Posts by: Gregory Childs

Ouch - $80K is a big roll of the dice.

If you aren't certain of the outcome - don't do it! By "certain" I don't mean you are guarenteed anything, but you need to be sure of the outcome or you need to run for the hills. This is not a business for hunches.

TTFN,
Greg

You'll have to have sqeeky clean credit to buy a home and a good downpayment. The banks will have to be VERY careful before they lend money.

More DOM, less buyers, more incentives to help people qualify. Probably a further price adjustment (downwards). It could be very messy. Those with cash will be able to take advantage - those with inventory will suffer.

Rental rates will probably increase (based on mounting demand for quality rentals).

It will reach an equilibrium at some point and we'll have a new normal. Sounds familiar!

TTFN,

Greg

Learn the neighborhoods
Learn the trends
Learn the stats
What moves
Where rental rates provide cashflow
What "adds value" to your end buyer
What ROI can you accept
Where can you minimize your risk exposure
Which investors are active in the market
What is you prefered ROI
What is your cash/finance capacity/restrictions
Who is going to be on your "team"
What goals do you have

Etc, etc, etc..

There's no substitue for taking action, but their's little recourse one you have taken the action. Ready, aim, fire.

TTFN,
Greg

The Atlanta market, like any MSA, is complex to understand - you can make money in the market and you can fall foul with inexperience. A mentor would be great and I agree that J Scott would be great - i'm betting he is pretty busy with his own stuff though!

You have two large associations in Atlanta - GAREIA and AtlantaREIA
http://atlantareia.com/
http://www.gareia.org/

Go meet some people and do the legwork to understand where you feel comfortable investing, what type of property, what exit strategy, and how much risk you are willing to take. And as Steve says, keep your money to yourself for the time being - it's like blood in the water.. the sharks will find you!

Once you have that down the teacher will appear.. and he might be looking back at you in the mirror.

TTFN,
Greg

OK - I have never bought a NPN so I'm not an authority; however, my big question is.. can you perform if he wants to talk to you? If you can't you'll never get a second bite of the apple.

My approach, personally, would be to introduce myself - John, my name is Greg and I represent a group of investors that specifically invest in NPN's in the sub $100M range, is that something you could help me with?

Asking for help shows a humbleness and position of interest - rather than a confrontational/direct approach. If he can't help he'll tell you where to call. Keep it simple - have a conversation with the person on the other end and ask to be guided through the process.

To show respect for their time you should really be versed in the language of the transaction and understand the process before making the call - it provides credibility and aids clarity.

TTFN,
Greg

If you are planning to buy and hold your strategy is great. However, if you plan to buy, rehab, rent, and then flip it to an investor for a profit you may find that you being one of the renters is a disincentive - as when you sell it you will move out (to the next project) and they now have to find a new tenant (which impacts the cashflow).

If you intend to flip as your exit strategy you might want to have a plan in place to replace your position so that the cashflow is maintained.

TTFN,
Greg

Yes, it's a good service. I used them a lot when I lived in CO and found the vendors to be legitimate - especially as their ability to get future work depends on your rating of them.

TTFN,
Greg

Just an aside - and I fully expect to get beaten up for this comment - but, if you had asked in the interview process of the pottential tenant... "when I run background check and a rental history report will I find anything that would be a point of concern?" and he had noted to you that he had been evicted, and then given you a reasonable expolanation of why he was evicted - would you then consider renting to him.

Or, if he had given a "dead beat" exucse for the eviction - could you have not saved the expense associated with the background check?

It's just a question - be kind with me my fellow BP'ers. I am but a poor fix and flip guy with little knowledge of the landlording process. But I am a quick study!

Hope I am not hijacking your thread also. Please remember to answer Manna1's question.

TTFN,
Greg

I'm not an attorney, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

If I have a standard "accepted" document in any transaction I always prefer to refer to an addendum for changes. In my mind it keeps things cleaner.

As it is your first deal - and particularly because most court systems favor the tenant - I might also have an attorney draft you the rental agreement. It's money well spent if you intend to try to enforce it. If, however, you don't intend to inforce it - then it's just a piece of paper/agreement between to parties that they both hope the other will honor - an ammendment will be more than adequate.

TTFN,
Greg

Cam,
If you follow the post's on this site you will find the 50% rule - that most people seem to like regarding rentals. This is, that 50% of your gross rent will be used up with expenses to run the rental.

So, if you have a property with 1,200 rent your income monthly will be approx $600.

If you choose somewhere else to live, that will cost you greater than $600/month, you may as well stay in the home. If you can rent a small appt close to your work for $400, then you're up $200/month.

Another alternative is to rent a couple of rooms out to third-party people (housemates) and get your $600 that way.

Hey, it's a problem I would like to have had when I was 22. Take your time to make the decision.

TTFN,
Greg