All Forum Posts by: Chris Ramos

Hi Amiris

That's a hard question to answer without knowing more about your abilities. 

Do you have cash and credit to buy and Hold (typically needing 20% to 25% down)? If yes and it fits your goals then buy and hold. 
Do you have funds and the ability to remodel a property? If yes and it's of interest then do a fix and flip.

Do you need cash to get started? If yes then I would consider Wholesaling to get started.

The most important thing is to get started down one path or another as you never know where it will lead. Please feel free to send me any specific questions and I'd be glad to help. Hope this helps.

Howdy

I've found the areas I own rentals in (Utah, Indy and MI.) are all similar. Leasing is easiest from May to September, so buying in March to May would be best. But I've found it to be less competitive to buy from November to February. Traditionally the slowest time of the year and seller's tend to get a little more motivated. Hope this helps.

Howdy

Good Question.

I have a lot of rentals and one of the most difficult items for my management company to do is to get them rented. This has motivated me to seek out other leasing agents. I have 4 outside leasing agents and a second management company's leasing agents helping one of my management companies get caught up. So with that being said I would market yourself to owners that have rental properties. Not sure how easy or hard it is for you to look up county records for property owners and then focus on ones that own a high number of properties, possibly send them a generic letter (try and liven it up) offering your services. Another thought is to contact management companies directly and see if they are in need of help with an outside leasing agent. You'll probably get a lot of No's but as they say that's just one step closer to a Yes. I hope this helps and please feel free to send me any other questions you might have.

Howdy

I just sent you a PM with contractor info.

Howdy,

Yep send questions anytime. Remember if you don't ask then you definitely won't Receive.

Hi Marilyn

I think it depends on how aggressive you want to be. If you can say that someone referred you to them then a knock on the door would give you the quickest results. Or a phone call if you can get a name and number would be next best, but remember don't try and negotiate it over the phone just try and set up an appointment. And the last choice is a mailing a letter. Most likely if they are behind in their payments and have received a notice of default then a lot of people will have or will be sending them letters.

It just depends on what your most comfortable with.

Hope this helps, feel free to send me a message if you have any  specific questions.

Good luck.

Howdy

Just to clarify - are you saying you have a seller who is living in the home they are in a bad spot financially and you want to wholesale the deal to someone else? And is your question what to do about the owner living in the property?

Howdy

I've had a lot of rentals in Indianapolis in the areas your talking about, with a lot of mixed experiences.

I'm curious who your property management company is, I've used four different companies their. One is great two are so so and one is a crook.

If you want to PM me who your using I can give you some feedback on them as we most likely are using the same companies and I can give you a referral and hopefully some tips.

Howdy

@Jason Clinton said it well - if there is enough meat on the bone then someone will lend to you. The majority if not the entire factor in the lenders decision will be based on the property itself. Often even with a good deal I've seen investors have a hard time getting a loan for the entire purchase amount and even then when starting out if you do get a lender to lend you the full purchase amount what do you about remodel costs if you don't have funds in the bank. My thought would be to wholesale the deal and save the cash (saving the cash is the hard part). I wouldn't pay for the list, instead I would just keep searching the internet for lenders and also look up local REI Clubs (Real Estate Investor) and go to one of their monthly meetings. There's a good chance you'll find a local lender or someone who will refer you to a lender as well as someone who is looking to buy a deal from a wholesaler. These meetings are typically free the first time and then $10 to $20 per meeting after.

Great Question.

I personally face this question all the time. Pre 2008 I was all about leverage, my quick answer back then would be buy another asset that will most likely cover the payment on your student loan. Post 2008 I'm constantly scratching my head and thinking which direction do I head. I recently saved up enough money to buy a new car with cash. Instead of buying the car with cash I bought a $45K rental that nets me about $750 a month, which covers the car payment. At the end of 5 years my car will be paid off and I'll still have the asset and I'll be able to put the monthly cash in my pocket or buy another shiny object.  Along with this comes my dependency on the tenants performing and hassles of being a landlord. This adds to my plate of responsibility, but it also keeps me on track for financial freedom (more passive income than expenses).  Some days I think sell it all and cut the chains of debt, free my mind from the responsibility but then I won't have any passive income. I think this is a personal choice you'll need to make and it will depend on your appetite for debt and responsibility  and what your long term goals are. My guess is that if you can find another good asset you should do the math and see how long that asset will take to help pay your student loan down versus just using the cash to pay it off. Another question to ask yourself - Does the asset pay you a better return than the expense of the interest your paying on the student loan. Sorry I don't have a more definitive answer. Hope this helps.