All Forum Posts by: Bruce Lynn

Sounds like a neat program.

Just remember that probably none of these houses is move in ready.

But go to the class, hear the stories, check it out.

Tough to mess things up with a 50% foregivable loan on what nice deals are already.

#1.....when do redemption rights expire, so that you can sell the lots or use them.

#2....what does it cost you to sell them.....can you get title insurance.

#3 ...what is your exit strategy....can you sell them and what will someone pay for them.

#4 ...what is it going to cost you to hold on to them before you sell?

#5...how long will it take you to sell them?

Those are some of the questions I'd be looking at.

Sometimes the lots are very very tough to make money on due to the thin margins.

Sometimes the spreads seem good, but aren't.   

You buy a lot or $500 and you think you can sell in the next 5 years for $10,000.

$500+2500-$3500 for quiet title or title fixing....$200/year in taxes..maybe $100/insurance.

If you are lucky and your realtor/broker doesn't want a stiffer flat fee due to the price and market

Maybe you have $800 closing costs when you sell.

So after five years $4500+800selling costs and you make $4700...you double your money...100% return right?

Except over 5 years...so more like 20% return on your money....still not too bad.

I would really want to know my prospects of selling.  Are builders active in the area.  Are they looking for looking for lots....or are people buying and building themselves on the vacant lots.

#1 thing I see that often doesn't sell at the auctions are lots....so make sure this is what you want.

Close at a title company/no ifs ands or buts......you don't want to inherit a bunch of city mowing liens.

I think this is your public expert in FL.... http://buyingtaxdeeds.com/  

The national road shows in my opinion are not really helpful.  

They know the basics, but not enough to help you really know the local ins/outs. 

Seems like there are very few really knowledgeable people who teach/share.

She seems to be one.

I've watched/listened to some of her stuff and I would think her information is useful.

I do not invest in notes, but I would think any investment would be not only based on return, but based on risk.  So someone would have to do some kind of risk profile on loans with ITIN numbers to be sure, but I would think there should be some discount.  There should be more risk versus a loan with same numbers in all other places but with SSN.  I would think job security would be riskier and right to stay and work is risker and therefore ability to repay is higher risk and that you would want to factor that in your pricing.  How much discount?  That's the question.

Depends on the value of the house and where you want the value to be in the future.

I would tend not to use vinyl if I didn't have to in most cases.

If the house is very cheap and renters very tough on it and the budget is very tight, then I might try it.

I have tried it before in a couple of rentals and very high quality vinyl worked pretty good for me.

It was textured and looked like wood floors.  Everyone who came in thought it was wood.

If you use cheap vinyl it looks cheap and people comment that it is cheap.

@Clayton Cook

Great start Clayton...I'd probably wait until end of the season.  I know you guys are busy and out of town a lot during the season.  My thought based on the players I've been around is while you have the headphones on...be listening to something worthwhile like the BP podcasts and less music.  When you are in the room on the road, be studying real estate and not playing games.  That's what the successful former athletes were doing, knowing pro was probably not going to last forever.  Study study study and be ready to hit the ground running at the very last day of the season.  Have everything lined up.

I like what someone else mentioned here....baseball and other sports can have a tight family.  You want to be known as the real estate guy.  You want every referral from every player and coach you can get today.  Build your database now.  You can make some easy money doing this today.  When someone gets called up to the majors, make sure you are there to help them find housing with a referral agent.

At our brokerage we just rolled out a nationwide referral program that can help you with this....but of course you can do it the old fashioned way as well.

What type of loan?  Investment? Owner-Occupied?  2nd home?

A couple of suggestions....

#1....If it is a live auction...go...see who bids....talk to them...find out what their strategy is...take them to coffee, take them to lunch....offer to help do leg work.  See if they will share.  Some will, some won't.  If you can't find them at the auction or if it is online, you can take the list of your target properties...maybe 10-20 and find out who buys them and go hunt them down after the auction or when they get the property.  That's harder and more time consuming.

I have not taken her class, but I've listened to some of her podcasts and read some of her stuff and while perhaps a little expensive looks like excellent info for Florida... https://www.facebook.com/QueenOfTaxDeeds/ I'm sure there are others who charge more and know less.

I would probably not invest education money in any of the nationwide type gurus that come through town teaching tax lien investing.  I've seen several on the 1-2-3 hour Free pitch, that provide both extremely bad information and just out right lied to the audience.

I think another good strategy might be to go to your local investor meetings.  Ask around about who is the best tax sale resource in the group...or outside the group.  I would think you would want to network with people who know your local market.

I really don't expect success with this, but that's some avenues you can try if you really want this lot.  Time is money though and that's the trouble with these lots.  Unfortunately lots of the prices don't make sense and by the time you can get a deal done finances don't work.  You think about purchase price, holding costs for 5 years, and then potential resale value, the returns vs your time are pretty miserable.  Too often the margins are just too thin for most people.