All Forum Posts by: Clifford Paul

You can't borrow money for a down payment. You will have to show mortgage company your bank records. If you lie to them it's mortgage fraud.

@Alan Pederson

Alan you will have the last laugh!

I got a lot of negativity in the early years but just keep on buying rentals. Became a millionaire @ 29 and a multi millionaire by 42. Who's laughing now... I am! Money doesn't buy happiness but it does buy freedom to do whatever you want in retirement. 

Stay the course and never give up!

@Kevin Schultz

Yes you will definitely need cash at the time of the auction. You can pay with cash or cashier's check only. If you do not pay at closing of auction you will be liable for 20% of property value plus fee's.

You will receive a sheriff's deed without warranty, you may not be able to get title insurance on the property. You can not take possession of property for 20 days after auction date.

Property owner gets 180 day redemption period unless it's a homestead exemption /ag exemption property then it's 2 years.

If property is redeemed they have to pay you auction price plus 25%. However if you rehab the property you just rehabbed the property for free. Any money spent on the property other than general maintenance (mowing, tree trimming etc). Can not be recovered.

You will be liable for any liens on the property. 

Now a word of caution. If you are new to real estate investing buying at auctions is not the best use of your time or money. 

These properties are all D class properties and if a C or B property actually makes it to auction you won't have a chance unless you show up with 200k in your pocket.

It's pretty easy once you have a great property manager and other people to do the little things in life that take up your time. Like laundry, lawn, pool, house cleaning, car detailing, dog sitter, ranch hand and personal assistant. Come to think of it I could spend a lot more time here. 

@Paul Aguilar

You are getting some good advice starting out with just 6k is dangerous. What if you need to replace a sewer line or a roof? I personally wouldn't buy yet until you build up some more cash.

@Steve Vaughan

It took 4 months to complete due to scheduling problems with subs. The only over the top upgrade was good quality wood looking tile throughout home. I hate carpet and have gotten tired of replacing it after 35 years of investing. I rather spend a little more up front on tile or wood floors than spend more over time on carpet.

I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures on BP. It took me a couple of months just to get my profile picture to upload. LOL I'm about to start on a 546 sqft Flop I bought for $25k that I will be a Airbnb and a place for us to stay when we come to the city. I would love to document it.

I keep track of that other house and it finally rented after 112 days. Only after they went in an painted it and did some landscaping. The funny thing is our market is also tight on rentals so that house must of really stunk. 

The only owner occupied loan I know of that requires more than one year is the Texas Land Board loan which requires 3 years.

http://www.glo.texas.gov/vlb/loans/home-loans/inde...

@Colb Fogg

Dallas is very tuff market to flip in as @Bart H. has said. I have been buying 3 to 4 flops a month for the last two years and reselling them to buy and hold investors. HGTV has increased my net worth like crazy. My advice is the same, start with a house hack. It's the safest way to get into real estate investing.

@Steve Vaughan

Two thumbs up! Place looks great and it sure is a good feeling providing a nice rental property. My last rehab took one day to rent because nothing else on the market at the time even had fresh paint. When I finished that house the house around the corner had been for rent for 68 days @$1200 a month. Same sqft as mine. Rented mine in one day for $1895 a month. A nice rental goes a long way.

@Anita Muhammad

Short answer is No!

Being a landlord is a lot of work that's why most of us on BP are real estate investors. Why deal with tenants when you can simply pay someone to handle all the headaches that comes with being a landlord. 

Now if you asked is being a real estate investor worth it. The answer would be a definite yes. Do you want to retire early? Do you want other people to work for your income? Do you want to live in the best neighborhood and your children go to the best school? Then become a real estate investor not a landlord!