All Forum Posts by: Chris Vasquez

Playing it conservative. Using the 70% rule and do 1 property a year would beat 10%. That's if I sell, add to current savings and buy a more marketable foreclosure.
I'd have to flip 2-3 lower end houses by not selling and use current savings. Unfortunately the lower end houses take alot longer to sell. That market is pretty sketchy.
Or I could just put 50k into Apple stock options. Sell them when it makes a $10 move and make the same money. Lol, if it were only that easy.

LOL, I hear ya. Just make sure you get a receipt for everything penny you spend. From work done all the way down to a box of nails. You can write it all off your taxes. As far as contractors, pay them with a check. I feel better knowing there is a paper trail. Especially if the tax man commeth.

Can you bite the bullet. Pay off the cards completely. Close the accounts. Save your credit??? Your gonna need that credit to pay for fix up of the houses. Contracted work, Home Depot etc... If you ruin your credit you will be relying completely on cash.
Think of your paper trail for right offs when tax time comes around also recourse when the work is not done properly. So much easier. Plus its leverage during the property holding period. You may need the cash for an emergency. Like a new car,a trip to Vegas or a honeymoon vacation with the new wife to piss off the Ex. Ya never know. Seriously, do what ever you can not to screw up your credit. Go to ehow.com search Bankruptcy discharge. Good info. I hope that helps. We're not all as lucky as J Scott.

As an exRealtor from S. Fl. Im well aware of conventional lending. I was laughing to myself when I posted the NoDoc/Stated comment.

Charles, I agree fully with the tax strategy aspect. I have owned my current res longer than two years and have made it a point to hold my main res for at least that amount of time or close to it. That's another plus for the sell now catagory. As a CPA are you familiar with holding a main res less than 2 yrs? To my understanding of the Rule. There are some deductions just not the 250k. Thanks for you reply.

Mike,
I was thinking the same thing. "It may take a long time to appreciate." My area has had a 4% value increase yoy. Not much but it's a positive. I have a bad feeling we're going to have a double dip in the RE market. To many outside economic factors. So, anything I buy to flip has to be well below market. I have no problem renting until then. As far as Hard Money goes, I hate the idea of borrowing at those rates. Private may be an option but a last resort. If I sell I'll have the cash and won't have to rely on financing. Maybe I'll start my own HM lending. That seems to be were the money is. Let me know your situation. If your comfortable with that. Thanks again
Chris

Hey Brendon, If I sold I wouldn't be taking a loss. I would be making a 40% net profit. As far as the Nomadic life style," Nomad is my middle name." Good idea for LLC though. Nomad Properties LLC. I'm sure it's been taken already. Crunching some numbers. If I could refi. As per local rents. I would be at break even. As long as there were no Op expenses or vacancies. The real problem is getting a bank to do the Refi

I see the direction your going with Refi'ing. That is really the crux of my delema. To what I have researched on Refi. I would have to show income. As described in my post. I can't and at 80%LTV it would cut my net down to half of what I would get if I sold. Which would make it tighter for me cash wise. No doc and stated income loans have been banned in the state of Penn. If you know of a way around that. I would love to hear your ideas.
Thanks

I would like some opinions from the Pros here in BP. Here is my situation. I currently live in a property which is actually to big for me. If It sells at market price. I will net approx 40%. Which will double my cash reserves to buy and flip REOs. I do not have a problem with renting a small place during the recon period. Professional bachelor so I am not tied to familial constraints. Since the RE market crash I have been leary of jumping in. My market area is more of the mid to high end. So, REOs are few and far between until now. I can't show income for the past 2 yrs. I've been trading stocks through a retirement account and cannot show as income. Screwed myself out of future conventional financing. Credit score is excellent.
Which scenerio would you choose in my situation.
1) Stay where I'm at? Pro: Low interest rate on mortgage. Wait out the market for more appreciation. Maybe y-o-y 3 to 4%. Con: Living off of cash reserves from previous RE profits and forcing me into lower income areas to invest. Which are not selling as well right now.
Or
2)Sell my current home. (I know, at or near the bottom of the market cycle). Pros: Net 40% equity profits. Debt free. Double my cash reserves. Recon properties in better neighborhoods and have comfort of the extra cash as reserve. Live in the property until it sells then move on to the next one.
Cons: Can only do one property at a time. At least for now. Which woudl be the same in either scenerio.
I have adopted a traders mentality over the past 2 yrs. Bulls make money, Bears make money and Pigs get slaughtered.
I think I know the answer to my own question. I would like your opinions though. Thanks to everyone at BP. You guys and girls are great.
Chris

Joel, If you have never done a flip before. Use your cash on the first few. If you are buying at 20k and spend 20k for rehab and sell for say, 80k. 50%! That is a nice profit. Get a few under your belt without the added pressure of paying off a loan shark cutting into your profits. Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew. There will be plenty of properties to make money on. Just be patient. Besides, by using HM lenders it sounds like it would cost you around 10k. That drops your profits down to 33%. If you could do one house per Qtr. Bought fixed and sold. 40k x4=160k. That may not seem like a lot to some of the big guns here but for a beginner, SWEET! It's better than workin for the Man. JMHO.

Oh, I agree. I understand escrows fluctuate but for them to charge me an arbitrary figure to put into a seperate "Just In Case" fund premeditatedly(you like that word?) is Rediculous. I like that Flying Quote from Dels post, by the way.