All Forum Posts by: Chris Lynch

Hi BP members.

I'm due to move to Guam in the later part of the year. I'm looking for information and guidance on getting my RE License over there, and hopefully a lead for part-time work. I've found many resource on obtaining it stateside, but information is thin for Guam; I am aware I would have to exchange or retest to get one back in the states and meet state criteria.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

@William Hochstedler

I do know why it didn't tag you the first time.

@williamhochstedler I think you're correct, I put this post in the REO page because the department of Altisource I called was the REO. Public deed and tax still list the original owner, state (ma) financial statement list the owner as preforclosed in Nov 15.

Sorry if I seem confused, i am, still very very new and learning, all I know is: yes current numbers do not work, but I will continue to stalk this house; anything under 200k is great (some room for ok profit), but I would black market some of my organs to get it near the 160K mark or less.

Thank you for the advice. I had heard some auctions open high because people have defaulted way early in their morgage. I will watch it and see what goes, I'd rather get it from an auction than a preforeclosure, I know they can carry some legal troubles.

Silver lining, on the same street are two fresh divorces, identical houses, one house kicked her husband out and she then had an affair with next door's husband. Potential pair of house and motivated sellers.

Hi BP community, 

I've been tracking a property in my mom's neighborhood that would be an ok rental, but much better as a flip. The property has been sat vacant for 3-4 years. I found out it went into pre-foreclosure a couple months back. 

I made an effort to get in contact with the owner but - no reply. Found the it was held with US Bank, called them they said it was transferred to Ocwen Loan, callled them they said it was sent to Altisource, called them and they told me it will be up for auction in a couple of day.

Here my problem: Altisource said the opening bid for the property will be $284K. The max ARV of the street is $295K. Should I just walk away from the property, I mean the opening bid is way way too high. Running comps, knowing that not only has it been vacant for 3-4 years, and that the inside was trashed by previous tenants. I would not offer above $160K. I wouldn't even expect a regular buyer to even offer above $235K

Additionally I've never dealt with auctions. This would only be my 3rd property.

Any advice?

Hi my name is Chris, my wife and I are very new to the world of investing. I'm currently active duty military and our niche is rental properties for military young, singles/new families (do what we know). We leverage VA benefits and military housing to acquire properties and have a safety net in the process.

We got the bug for houses years ago but never acted, lack of knowledge, fear, and naysayers held us back. As far as our backgrounds, I was a handyman/landscaper before the military, and my wife was a rental manager (I got most of my trade through her). 

Our first property was a family home, we paid 90%MV, it desperately needed up dating, after a $20K  - plus my sweat - reno on the inside it looks brand new, outside is still the same, but there's no work needed. 

Biggest thing I learned on my first: play hardball, pay less or walk away, always inspect the property yourself (if possible) or get a second opinion, choose a good realtor. We were new, and very uneducated, we let the realtor (highly recommended to us) supply an inspector. Now I would not recommend the realtor or inspector to my worst enemy. Both were in cahoots and steam rolled me, additionally the realtor was very unprofessional.

 The both cost me time and money. Property needed major water damage repair inside (luckily is was very recent and white water), had I known,  and it would have cut the purchase price down to 60%MV. I tried taking them to court, but didn't because I was sick of them both, I swallowed it a lesson learned, repair the damage and moved forward. Apart from that, its a great rental with an indefinite supply of tenants. My second property is a 2 bed apartment, that one was sound, just needed paint and light fixtures updated. Now we're looking to get a third, though it's different (niche and area). The tenant would be my mom, there's a vacant house (3 years) on her street, identical to her house just with a garage, she wants the garage. If I can acquire it, she'll rent it for the mortgage price, and let me keep whatever profit I can squeeze out of the sale of her house, its a win-win for me because i'll have a no hassle tenant for the next few years, make so money from her sale, and until she decides to move, she's putting equity in my pocket. Though first step, get the place.

Family and friends still think we're crazy, but more frequently ask questions and for "our thoughts". 

We try to learn and grow everyday, and we know BP is a great source and tool to help us do this.

Thank you,