All Forum Posts by: Gregory Childs

Attorney fee is probably $600 - $800 (depending on your area and the complexity/size of the transaction) usually it is a flat fee. Contact someone at your local REIA for a referral.
TTFN,
Greg

I like the reports from Scott Sambucci at Altos Research:
http://www.altosresearch.com/customer/Altos_Research_National_Report.pdf

Also John Burns does a good mmonthly recap of market data, plus a blog:
http://www.realestateconsulting.com/

TTFN,
Greg

Maybe that's why I haven't got many deals lately - generally been paying 10% or less.
It's worth reading these posts, as sometimes your business practices don't meet with market standards and you suffer getting decent leads.
I feel like a cheapskate all of a sudden. Need to look at my marketing structure and make some changes. Back to the drawing board.
TTFN,
Greg

Atlanta is much like Chicago and any other MSA - you have to be very selective on where you buy.
We have experienced some of the theft (A/C units, Kitchen appliances, etc.), even having alarm systems in place - so your Realtor was being honest with you.
We have bought properties from McDonough in the south, Decatur, Stone Mountain, Grant Park, all the way up to Cumming in the north.
Each township has its strong neighbourhoods and you simply need to find a Realtor/Bird-dog that you can trust - we have used Alan and Ming Richardson from Solid Source Realty for some of our Atlanta deals and they were knowledgable of decent neighborhoods to look in, etc. you're welcome to call them to see what they have available.
Hope that helps,
TTFN,
Greg

I'm on the West Coast of FL. Certainly in my neck of the woods SFH rents have come down 15-20% over the past few years - but to be fair if you have a well located multifamily it will rent, as people don't want to deal with maintenance in the heat.
I spent 4 hours yesterday weeding my half-acre yard - so I speak from experience!!
TTFN,
Greg

I would stay away from Condo's - SFH have dropped so far in price that the differential does not compensate for the mgmt fees.
TTFN,
Greg

Send me a couple of samples of SFH properties. What I need is:
My cost, est repair, ARV (after rehab), annual taxes, est rent rate, prop details. Send to my email.
We currently do business in Indy/Atlanta but my partner is moving to Medford OR, so Sacramento might be of interest if the numbers work.
We would also consider sub $1MM multifamility (opportunistic) properties.
TTFN,
Greg

Florida is a mixed bag. I live here but invest out of State.
The market definantely has some bargain props - we haven't seen this level of pricing in decades. However, Florida's unemployment rate is high and wages are low (relitively speaking).
Also, you have a lot of "investor money" here; so the investors are pretty agressive going after the high return props - so what is left over is pretty bland. Plus, if you are looking to "add value" to a property you have to be aware that some of the hurricane regs are expensive to refit, or comply with, on the rehab front.
My thought, if you are looking at a long term hold FL still has good pottential; who doesn't love palm trees and sunshine. But in the short-medium term you can do better elsehere.
If you decide to move ahead in FL, as long as they are on the west coast, I would be happy to drop by and take some photos of the area for you or help out in some way.
Hope that helps.
TTFN,
Greg

Joshua,
Are you trying to do this in your backyard? My partner is looking to close this week on a 84 acre ranch in southern OR (Medford) so we have looked at the market in OR to see if we could do some deals - cash flow was a challenge! Your property price/rent ratio's are pretty tough.

If you want to do business in OR you should probably look at multifamily - small appartment complex, etc. SFH would be tough.

We invest in Atlanta and Indy and can buy correctly (to create equity and cashflow). We just didn't see that we could do that in OR. Good hunting!
TTFN,

Greg

In 2010 we averaged just under 28%. We use our own cash, so we don't have any financing costs to contend with in our ROI.
In this market, I believe you need to project a 30% return to even consider a deal - that way if things go wrong (as they sometomes do with the best of planning) you can still come out smelling good.
First rule - don't lose money. Second rule - buy correctly or don't buy at all.
Saying all that, we did lose on one deal in AZ last year - but that had to do with lousy timing and not necessarily bad business practice.
We don't have any magic formula, we just look at a lot of deals before we move and keep to our budgets once we're in. Works for us.

TTFN,

Greg