All Forum Posts by: Matt Crusinberry

@Michael Henry, Right on... Well, as I stated before, feel free to reach out. I have an idea of what you're after, and I would be glad to point you in the right direction as you begin this journey. Good luck!!!

@Ryan Hanrahan, Before you go asking anyone for money, I highly recommend you have a solid idea of what your numbers are going to look like. Now to answer your questions in a direct manner, yes to both. You can use a private money lender more than once, or as many times as they'll let you (based off of your negotiation skills), and it's recommended that you figure out the amount you may need prior to taking on the project. There are a lot of questions here that you're not asking, that should actually come before these questions. You may want to pick up a couple of the books on here (BP) before you start shopping around for a property. Learn from other's mistakes before you make your own. I wish you the best of luck, and feel free to PM me if you would like more specifics.

@Shannon Ma, Welcome to the RE investing club!!! I would suggest grabbing some of the books on this site (not necessarily from this site, as amazon has them a little cheaper) and read them, along with listening/watching the podcast. You may find the podcast on the many outlets that are available, but I personally use youtube. Good luck! 

@Chase Woodard, I would highly recommend you check out Jay Scott's books. They are filled with the answer to this question and the many more you'll have along the way. Good luck as you move forward.

"The Book on Flipping Houses," and "The Book on Estimating REHAB Cost." 

@Kirby Davis, We use both personal names and LLC's for our properties as well. As far as insurance, we use rental insurance (standard for the most part) and then we put it under our umbrella policy. It's a little more expensive, but it pushes past the 2mm, and it's added security. Also, I have heard of ways around this, in regard to acquiring the loan in your name but upon closing being able to put it into an LLC. While I've never done this, nor have I researched it out to point you in the right direction, I do find it interesting and something we'll probably look into. This goes without saying, but I'm sure a good RE attorney would be able to speak better on this. Good luck, and I hope this helped out a little.

@Patrick Felt, You may want to visit your local county courthouse and confirm what the liens are on the property. There are different types of auctions that you may attend, and each comes with a different set of rules. I would suggest you learn these before you move forward. Also, you're going to want to enter with your no more than amount. You typically need cash on hand to buy these properties as well (not all, some can be financed), and you may be hard pressed to find a HML that will lend on the property. Again, this goes back to the type of auction you're about to enter as well.

As far as your question in regards to what your end game should be, I would suggest you look at your goals. Which strategy is going to help you reach them. Break down the different scenarios, what your market is doing or where is it going, and which one is going to be more beneficial to you? Another question, how do you know it will only require 25k in repairs? Do you have access to the inside of the property or have you gone thru it with a general contractor? These are just some things to keep in mind before you get too far along. I hope this helps and good luck!

@Aaron Cameron, My wife and I just left Clarksville about 3 years ago. I would recommend just sitting down with your local bank and see if they would do a refi on some of your equity (assuming it's there). You could also do a HELOC on your property, which the local bank would have info on as well. PM me and I would be glad to send you the questionnaire that I use when trying to find a bank that will give me the best rates/deals. Different banks will run different specials on loans to acquire business (like any other company out there). I would start there, and good luck!

@Account Closed, that means you can put down 1% and borrow 99% or 15% and 85%. You can do whatever you can negotiate with any of the strategies I have given you above. 

@Account Closed, Hopefully this helps point you in the right direction. To give the most direct answer... Yes, you pay the seller a monthly payment. Now what is interesting about this strategy is that you are trying to get as much as you can, as far as terms, and the sky is the limit. There are several ways you can go about this, and I'm sure there are more that I am just not thinking of right now. I'm sure others here on BP would be able to give you some other ideas as well.

One is a "land contract" (at least that's what it's called in OH and PA), which you are essentially paying off the price of the home (i.e. 100k home you pay 1k a mo, 1k x 12 = 12k, 12k - 100k= 88k left after 1st year). This can be done for any amount of time (e.g. 5 years or 100 months, or whatever you can negotiate). They could ask you for a type of balloon payment at the end of 2 years (or as many years as you can get, to include 100 mo.), where you pay 1k for 24 months, and at the end of 24 months you pay house off in full. Again, whatever you're able to talk them into based off of their situation or their needs. You're a problem solver...

You could also make them the bank and pay on the P&I (at set price) as if you took out a bank loan. This too may have a balloon like payment, or a set date where you pay it off at a set time (kind of like an arm). This usually comes with some sort of down payment, but anything is negotiable.

You could also try to do a rent-to-own or option to buy contract where rent is a little bit more (sometimes), but after 3, 5, or 7 years you figure out a way to buy the house. This typically comes with an option to buy amount (we charge 3.5% down, so the people can have the down payment when they go to closing). You could essentially be doing this as a sub-lease to someone else while they do it to you. The 3.5% will go back to the end buyer (FHA loan) when they close at the end of the contract. You may want to consider if they own the property or if they currently have a mortgage on it (this applies to all the strategies). This is where the "due on sale" clause comes into play.

The hard part is finding the individual that is willing to do this, and you meeting their needs. There are other moving pieces in each of these strategies that I did not go into, but that need to be considered for each (i.e. do they have a mortgage, insurance, etc...). I recommend you continue to do your research. Again, you're a problem solver! I hope this helps and good luck!

@Matthew Askew, I would say this all comes down to your ability to find a property that works with those numbers. I would also recommend looking into an alternative route (i.e. seller financing, partnering, sandwich lease, etc.). While your saving and learning your chosen market, continue to learn the other strategies that you can put into your tool box. I hope this helps, and good luck as you continue down the route of REI.