All Forum Posts by: Pat McGrath

Good luck! Even finding profitable rentals in sacramento is not easy or w/o risk. pls remember you still need to do ground work & learn the various areas and their specific pros/cons. South sac has lots of cheap places...but for a reason. North highlands is cheap....but for a reason. Think of blind lady justice holding her scale, one side is risk, one side is coc return. (Ok so think "high" is actually the bottom of one side. So high risk places usually have higher returns)

Would they consider partnering with you to improve the property & resell? Id approach my friend that way first. Are you sure its probate or could it be a trust? As mindy pointed out, you also need to understand what your finances are, what you can borrow using a mlo or even a hard money loan or bring some friends into a joint venture. all have their own risks/rewards of course so it comes down to your risk tolerance.  Mindy gives good advice...

good to know. I know a number of northern cali folks who are at their witts end with cali politics, prices & laws. Oregon or idaho seem top of their "move to list".

honestly the trick is this. agents (like myself) : its hard to work with first time investors...they are new and want a lot of information and contacts and want to follow the robert kyosaki (sp) method of look at 100 homes, offer on 10, buy 1...do you think any agent has that much time? sorry, not really. unless you are partnering with me or giving me something in return or maybe we are old college buddies.... around here the markets are very competitive too, so yah better be serious and not make low ball offers and drag me around town to 100 homes.

its simple...but not easy :)... Well you have some advantages to NOT being an agent, like you can sent "i want to buy your house" w/o having to declare your an agent and generally less rules you have to follow. ANy house you buy or sell you would (or could) have to pay an agent the commission. If you make friends with an agent, that may be a better option there. You also don't get the immersion in markets, connections to others, if you are not an agent, so you have to go create those relationships pretty much on your own (which is possible of course). Being an agent is a more legit/respected profession (most would say outside this site) compared to being a wholesaler, which some see as people who are trying to undermine a sellers ability to sell for max price & therefore maybe seen as a snake oil salesman. Make friends with an agent and then pick their brain, have lunch with them once a week and see if you can form a relationship where you both make money. They supply knowledge and some contacts, and you can direct mail sellers and then pass new MLS sellers/leads onto that agent. Think win-win. Or even "givers gain".

The streets in lincoln have lots of older homes in need of work. I actually saw an reo a few week ago that was a wreck. Heck i saw someone buy one on C, then level it, & they have clearly run into buliding issues. Some infill the last few yrs too (empty lots w/new houses). Or a burn down on H... ouch. You still have to compete with FTHB & investors on mls, as wes pointed out. Just really competitive & dont believe TV or the gurus (funny how tv they dub in the rehab cost OR the arv OR they are always off on arv but market bails them out) I wish i bought my whole street back in 2010...oh well. Are you good at any trades? Im more of a jack of all but master of none. I know a lot of local trades as well the last few yrs.

Ive lived here for 14 yrs so seen it change a lot 

any contract worht a spit should have an appraisal clause in it, where you can walk if it doesn't appraise...in CA, contracts favor the buyer...the courts will NEVER "make" you buy it...but they will make a seller sell it.

that old be aware of lead and asbestos as well. make sure your walls and floors and foundation are good...otherwise, yah get a contractor in there (or 3) to get you bids

Let me check w/my broker to be sure , but if its on the mls any agent can see & likely bid, per mls rules. If you can pm me the listing # or address then i can verify & we have a person onnour team who lives in oak park i can connect you with

ahh ok. I have a fellow agent who lives in oak park. Some good opportunities there. @Chris Full he means woodland (just north of davis), not woodland hills.  You could probably get a better rate outside wells. I have a friend at summit funding, where they get direct fha rates (not sure it that helps on a investor loan tho).