All Forum Posts by: Garrett Pearson

@Sarah Vance I'm no expert one way or another but I will throw my 2 cents in. I am overanalyzer so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. If owning a rental property is of any interest, can it rent for enough to cover your expenses?It don't ask, you will never know the answer. In addition to talk to property managers, start advertising it yourself for the amount that you need to cover your expenses. Your response to the ad is the best indicator. If doesn't rent, sell it. You also have to look at the thought of being an out of state landlord, my concern is making sure you have a reliable handyman especially with a one bathroom. A toilet going out in the middle of the night can be a problem. I don't know about there but we have a challenge in Chicago finding good maintenance guys. The next thought is if you keep it are you prepared to do so for the long haul? Also, if you are considering keeping it, I would have a home inspection done if you haven't already done so to see if there are any major components that needs to be replaced anytime in the near future; roof, furnace, hot water, HVAC, etc. I would also invest in a home warranty. Keeping a property that you are uncertain about is always risky because you know the value today but what about tomorrow. I don't to frighten but provide you with food for thought. If the predictions are accurate about the market correction in the next year or so, prices could drop along with the value on your house which may means that you either be forced to keep the house for a longer term or sell it a greater loss. Well, I warned you that I was an overanalyzer :). I wish you the best. I know this is a tough decision.

@Adam Britt First, let me say my heart breaks as I hear your student loan situation. It is sad that this is the cry of so many of our millennials who are drowning in student loan debts to get a degree to go into careers that don’t afford them a comfortable living after making their loan payments. I wish you well and hope that you can find additional streams of income that will afford you the opportunity to pay the loans off and live the life you deserve. Now my cents. I am curious to know why you feel it’s too late to take 6 credit hours to defer loan repayment until you can do a real estate deal whether it is a fix and flip or save some money to purchase and have cash flow or some other stream of income to help pay down the loans. I know it might sound counterintuitive to increase student loan debt to avoid the payments but may you can use a credit card with zero interest to pay the tuition if you attended a community college tuition should be doable. I admit it would be foolish to increase debt unless it was a means to increase income to reduce debt. In addition one of the classes could be a real estate class required for your license. You mentioned the inconsistency of a realtor’s salary but you can do that one a part time basis which can bring in additional income as well as possibility giving you first dibs on some great real estates deals not to mention the invaluable education about real estate. I know this plan doesn’t come without risk and it is not a quick fix but can be a strategy and it’s something to atleast consider. Hope everything works out for you.

@Demetrius Davis It's funny I logged in tonight to ask the same question. I heard horror stories about the village and not being able to pass the inspection on the 1st go around and sometimes it took several inspections to pass. My source believed it that it was a money thing because I guess you had to pay each time the inspector came out. She said it happened to several of her clients who were investors/rehabbers. In addition to the cost, the amount of time that you had to wait for the inspector to come back out was eating profits because it increased your holding costs. I consider my source as being pretty reputable but wanted to hear others experiences. @Dhru Das kind of co-signed the fact the village is allegedly getting money at the expense of investors. There are some real inexpensive houses on the market but if you have to plan games with the village and be upcharged, then I don't know if it is worth it. Back to the drawing board.

@Michaela G. WOW! They really sent you through the wringer. Well you sound pretty seasoned and obviously you have done okay without them. Good for you. Thanks for sharing your experience.

@Jeremy Masson Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad it worked out for you. I'm working with a mortgage broker that got me approved with LimaOne. She said once I get my first deal done, she can get me with another lender that have much better rates. I'm still searching for that first deal. It's tight out here. I'll see how it goes.

@Eric Heinen "If you're not embarassed by your first offer, you're offering too much. :)" 

I have never heard that one before but I love it. I'm going to use that strategy from now on. I think that I will have to find a new agent to do that because I think my agent thinks that is a waste of time on her part.

Hi. I have a question that I am hoping someone can answer. If there was two townhouses that had the same square footage, age and neighborhood (some in the same subdivision/street) and one was a 2 bedroom and the other was a 3 bedroom, approximately how much value would the additional bedroom be worth as it relates to comps? Is there a  fixed price or a formula to make this determination?

@Jason Bott Can you please PM that information as well?

@John Casmon I look forward to coming out to your monthly meeting and having the opportunity to meet you.

Unless this is a Hubzu property, my understanding is that most if not all auctions were cash only and it is hard to get bank financing because there is no financing contingency clause so there is no way for an appraiser to see the property and determine the value in order for the bank to approve the loan. But on the questions about low dollar amount loans, I was told that Citibank and BMO Harris don't have a minimum when it comes to mortgages.