All Forum Posts by: Dan Thomas

I dont know the answer here, it is above my pay grade but if I were you this is where I would start.

Talk to a lawyer. I suspect the title company or closing attorney may carry some fault here? If you sue I think you would have to prove damages I believe. The original sellers could probably make a better case than you can but again, speaking to an attorney would clarify that for you.

Out of curiosity what is your role in this? Are you an abutting property owner or something? Can you prove property value reduction?

@Sam Applegate

True. If the op is asking how to find deals I ASSUME she may be in the early part of her journey. I don't think you can get a true sense of what you are buying from behind a computer. Yes I agree you can get 85% there if you know what your looking at. Much less if you don't. I've bought property sight unseen. It all worked out for me. Was it luck? Probably.

Im not a fan personally of suggesting to a newish investor that they can create a viable business at a reasonable risk tolerance from behind a computer. Sure you can get there and maybe it works for some but I think that is introducing a large bit of risk in general.

All my opinions, and to each their own.

@Shivani Kumar

You would need to operate on a very large scale, or have access to a TON of airline miles to make it worthwhile flying to inspect properties you are interested in.

The only properties I have bought out of state are turnkeys or ones I can drive to in a few hours or less. If you don't have trusted professionals in the area you are looking at I think you should do some serious ROI calculations on the trips out there, the time developing the relationships, the time marketing and managing, etc. Is the juice worth the squeeze? I would suspect you would be better off talking to a reputable turnkey provider.

Why not texas? Seems like it has significant long term potential for investors.

@Jake Mercer

Yea, clearly this worked out for you but I would be hesitant to suggest that path as an across the board suggestion. You seem to have a lot of DRIVE AND THE ABILITY TO GET THINGS DONE. This may be a loosing proposition for someone looking to get rich quick/do this as a side hustle. That is the message I've received from the arbitrage youtubers..... it's the way to be a millionaire tomorrow without any of your own money..clearly not the case for most.

It will take some one who is scrappy and resilient to make this work. There are other options for folks with limited capital that may be more suited for the average new investor with limited capital. Saving/Partnership/creative financing/ etc.

@Jake Mercer

Cool story man. Out of curiosity what will 750k NET for you annually. My str (owner operated) nets 12-15% of gross depending on yearly expenses. I would imagine arbitrage would come with less overhead (before starting companies and hiring folks) just wondering how your experience compares to owning.

@Kar Sun

A few thoughts....

1. Is ac mentioned in her lease as an amenity? If yes. Pay to get it fixed today. Doesn't matter what it costs it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. If no, I think bringing a portable unit over is going above and beyond.

2. Heat is a stressor. As previously mentioned 82 degrees is hot. I keep my AC set at 68....when my wife bumps it to above 70 I get grouchy. There is no excuse for treating people poorly but being alittle sympathetic to her situation could go a long way.

Hi Don,

  Excuse the ignorance here.  I have not done any note investing and am casually reading to learn.... A few questions about this example:

1. I am not following your math.  You are taking on a 300k assumable mortgage and doing a wrap for 400k.  Can you dumb down the explaination on that alittle?  I understand that 300k of the 400k will be paying the existing mortgage.  Wouldn't the difference (100k) be a second note on your equity in the deal?  

2. You mention for commercial owner user....why not residential or commercial multi family?  Is that because the assumable mortgage not being available for those types of assets?

3.  What techniques do you find success in for marketing a property like this?  Do you use an agent?  If yes, do you find someone with experience (probably not alot of agents with this type of experience) or do you train them?

Thanks, Interesting post.

I suspect this has a lot to do with the particular PM company.  I have 3 of my houses with 2 different PM's.  One is a very large company and the other is a 3 man show.  They both pick up the phone when I call and would not tolerate having to submit notes in a portal.  The large company works a lot like you describe.  They handle issues professionally and I don't ever really hear about them unless it affects my bottom line.  The much smaller company I hear from a couple times a month, he takes me out for beers when I am in town.  We have a great relationship and great line of communication.  I don't think it has anything to do with the size of the company but the smaller guy it is just his personality.  He cares about over communicating and being on the same page with his clients.

If your not satisfied it is worth having an open and honest conversation with the PM....Let them know that you were very hands on and are used to being more involved.  I might ask for a bit more communication than you are getting and hear what they have to say....If you're not happy with the response, shop around....

@Mark Cruse

I think the "lazy and get rich quick" attitude comes alot from "fomo". The past couple years I've had a ton of friends get "interested" in real estate because they saw the crazy appreciation. They google how to invest and see these gurus telling them how they will be financially free in 24 months using all other people's money....

Fast forward to present day, most of those friends did nothing because they learned the hard way that isn't reality. They are now "waiting for rates to come down" rather than hustling to find deals that still work or making connections in the industry.

It's the instant gratification thing. Who wants to tie up a bunch of their money and do physical labor in your down time to maybe get some of that money back.....robinhood let's them buy high and sell low TODAY. No waiting required to burn their money.

General business insurance is probably a good start.  If you speak to a broker they can look at what you are trying to do and make suggestions on the appropriate insurance levels.  If you are working in other peoples homes I would certainly think insurance would be prudent.