All Forum Posts by: Courtney M.

Originally posted by @Cody L.:

 Pretty heavy on the hashtags 

 No kidding. Also I'm a #liberal and I've always paid my bills and not trashed a single space my entire life...might want to check yourself before you throw out labels.

You're going to run into miserable people no matter what you do. Heck, there's a crazy lady on the HOA which my husband and I belong to. She's tried to pull all kinds of stunts and I would absolutely hate to be her landlord. I also run into similar personalities at my day job. I'm in sales so they tend to tone it down to me personally but they absolutely at times blast my company and "threaten" to create a competitor. LOL okay.

At the end of the day a lot of people hate "the man." Treat people with respect, stick to your lease and the laws, and let the crazies roll off your back as best you can. 

@Dillon Seal, I'm confused regarding the HML's requirement. Typically you need an exit strategy for any HML because you don't want to pay the points/fees for a long period of time, as that will eat into your profits. Secondly, if you plan on not selling the house, and just refinancing it, do you qualify for a refinance? You need to figure out that first and foremost. Most banks will do a cash-out refi for 70-80% of the home's value. So what you really need to do is calculate the costs of the HML fees and then determine if you can pull all your money out if you do a refi and not a flip.

@Marc L., each state operates differently but I believe with auction prices you have to actually win the auction and make the payment for the house within a very short time period, likely not enough time to raise money from private money investors or hard money lenders. Also, with auctions, you need to be aware of types of liens that may be on the property. I'm not an expert, but I know certain liens are wiped out with the sale, and other liens stay with the property and must be dealt with by the new owner. I'd definitely try to connect with another local investor that's purchased auction property to give you more insight.

Depending on your market, $5k may not be enough. There's lots of creative financing like seller financing, private money, etc., but what the gurus don't share is you often need a good track record first before someone is willing to help you out.

Great job! The rehab is amazing - and so are the numbers!

Thanks for your thoughts @Gilbert Dominguez. This certainly seems like more trouble than it's worth. Even though I live in SoCal, I'm investing in Michigan (Westland area). $20k in reno to add another room is a pretty bad ROI - I'd rather take on a full rehab with a higher ROI, likely.

Good luck! I'll be following this post!

Is your agent an investment agent? There's a world of difference between a residential and investment agent that understands what you're trying to achieve.

The biggest key, I've found, is getting a decent team. For me, it started with an investor-centric broker, which is extremely important. Don't waste your time with residential agents. From there I have received good recommendations for a mortgage broker, handyman, etc. I actually found my broker here on BP so once you choose a market, definitely set up some keywords and run some searches to find who is active in the area.