All Forum Posts by: N/A N/A

my realtor and i have a convenient relationship. i give him an address, and he emails me the comps for the neighborhood. i drive it to put a face on the comps. if i then actually want to see one, then i waste his time.

-dean

Mike,

Thanks for the reply. You're right, but things are a little difficult for me right now. I'm in Iraq, and won't be home until June for leave, and then I won't be back for good until Oct'ish. Looks like my father-in-law is about to get it rented out for about $150/mo cash flow. That money is long gone and it's kind of depressing, but that's the last thing I stay up worrying about. When it sells, I'll still get something, and right now I can afford the loss I'm taking. Hell, I'm already planning my next rehab in Nov...

-Dean

berger,

don't feel bad. i have almost the exact same deal that i've been sitting on for about a year. hud, sfh, paid $85k, about $11k repairs, appraised at $117k. actually. you did a lot better, since yours is worth about $15k more ARV. i got frustrated and started looking for a deal, instead of an investment. it's frustrating, but i look at it as a lesson learned. my profits have long since been eaten up by holding costs. hopefully, you'll get rid of it sooner.

maybe it's not what you meant, but it sounds like you know it's not a good deal, and you're still looking for a way to convince your client to go through with it. that's pretty ******. man up, tell him it's a bad deal, and maybe you'll earn a lifelong business relationship. if you talk him into a bad deal, that'll be the only deal you close with him. it's not worth selling your soul for a little commission check. everyone's for sell. what are you charging?

-dean

condos can be a real pain. there's a lot of people dumber than you, and most of them get elected to the board of directors. then, half those idiots seem to make it into a full time job. it really can be a pain. that being said, the right community can be a great investment. my mother is about to buy her 5th condo. she lives in one, and rents the others out. they've had solid price appreciation, and historically low fees. and the atmosphere is so investor friendly that probably 20% are NOO. in fact, they are trying to amend the bylaws to prevent anymore NOO. i can't blame them. you only want so many renters in your little community. my mom, and all her tenants love it there, because it has a strong community feel to it. benefit for her, is that she lives there, and is actively involved with the directors. if you have condo rentals, and are not able to be actively involved with the board, then it's probably a bad idea.

-dean

oh, and as far as condos, townhomes, or single family, that goes back to researching your market. there's parts of downtown dallas where condos are huge, others where you'd want to invest in sfh's. you probably need to pick a small area to "farm," and become super familiar with the market in that area. remember, with condos/townhouses you have maintenance fees which add to your costs, and that might discourage some people buying at lower prices. plus, you have a board of directors that are telling you how to live, or they aren't doing anything, and your neighbor becomes a huge slob... anyway, i've been rambling on for awhile now...

-good luck

tiffany,

i've been following these posts, so i thought i'd throw in my 2 cents. all the articles i seem to find about the housing market seem to indicate that prices in florida have over-appreciated. that's a pretty broad statement, but you need to look into how that might affect prices in your area. it would suck to buy a house, and have it depreciate considerably soon after.
are you just planning on living in it, renting, or rehabbing to sell? either way, i would never pay full price, even if it requires you to do some work to it. as far as being better off with a real estate license, i don't think the license will make much difference -it's the experience you'll get as an agent that will really make the difference. but even then, i've met a handful of agents that had been in business for awhile, and didn't seem to know anything besides how to fill out the trec contract... if i were you, i would get a good re agent that specializes in investments (or is an investor), and tell him what you're trying to accomplish. if you're eager to start, but lacking skills and experience, you can make up for it with a good agent (but you're paying for it).
why do you want to buy with an interest only loan? your investment plans really do make a difference. interest only can be a good way to keep your expenses down if you're doing a quick rehab, and then selling or refinancing a hard money loan with a conventional. also, i hear people talking about buying real estate with negative cashflow, paying interest only, and waiting for heavy appreciation to take place. then selling, paying the balloon note, and walking away with a piece of change. sucks if it starts depreciating. buying re, and basing all your profit (and success) on the possibility of it appreciating sounds more like gambling then investing. then again, i'm sure large fortunes have been made on this type of investing, but the day i try it is the day the market tanks.
remember, "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." the preparation is education and experience, the opportunity will present itself. there's a bunch of posts on here from people that actually know what they're doing. start reading everything on here to get started. then start looking for local re clubs. and get a few books that can help you become more informed about the sector that you wish to specialize in. good luck.

-dean

if you're looking for a used, small truck, i'd go with a toyota tacoma. great truck, just kind of small... i had one and traded it in for a tundra, because i needed the extra space. last year's tundra wasn't that big (just bigger than the tacoma), but the new one is huge. not cheap, though...
i had a gmc, awhile back, and it was pretty nice, but i don't think i'll ever own anything besides a toyota from now on...

-dean

i'm not sure where it's at, but there are posts on here that go into a bit of detail on llc's and s-corp's. they differentiate between which is better for rehabs, and which is better for rentals. they even go into a bit of detail regarding tax and personal liabilities... good luck finding them...

josh,

i like the new one better. they're both busy, but the layout's better.

-dean