All Forum Posts by: Hal Cranmer

Hey Dwight,

Check out OnlineFaxes.com. Their service is the same for sending and receiving online faxes, but it can be as low as $2.99 per month. I have been using it for about 2 months now and love it. They send you an email with the fax attached every time one comes in.

Good luck to you,

Hal

My apologies because I have not read through every post on this thread. So someone may have offered this before.

For my tenants that want to pay cash, I give them a debit card to my account. I have the bank set the max withdrawal amount at $0 so they can only deposit money. Then they can go to any participating ATM and deposit their rent each month. 

I make the PIN for their card the address number of their unit. That way they can't say they forgot their PIN (they still do say it on occasion). I also move the funds from that account into another account so they don't see much of a balance in the account.

When I sign a lease with them I print out a list of participating ATMs from the bank's website so they can't say 'I don't know where to go'. 

This also helps satisfy my state's requirements for providing a receipt for tenants who pay in cash.

Generally I don't encourage this. I use the Buildium website to get my tenants to pay online as much as possible.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/07/22/thinking-...

I did rent to this guy.  About 3 years ago.  I ended up suing him in court, won a judgment against him for $7,500, but you can imagine my success in collecting.

Yes I did a background check.  But they gave false SSNs to me.  I was still a little green at this landlord thing and did not verify with other means.

Recently I got in touch with a collection agency who wanted to see if they could get the money back.  I googled my renter and found this article.  When I went through h*ll with him, I called my lawyer and asked if I could splash his name all over the internet.  My lawyer said let it go.

Now I'm thinking the best way to get back at a renter who screws you is to call the local news.  Let them do a story on them.  Then when other landlords are doing background checks on their tenants, they might google the story.

And for those in Minnesota - watch out for this family!

It sounds like the owner owns it and it is paid off. I think he sunk all his funds into it and ran out. Some company apparently 'repossessed' the kitchen cabinets when he couldn't pay for them, so I'm guessing there may be some other liens to be concerned about. I have a very good title agent and will definitely be purchasing some title insurance.

My sister-in-law will be going out to the property with her project manager tomorrow. She is an interior designer for a company that builds high-end basements in luxury homes. They are going to give me an opinion based on what they find.

Happy New Year Everyone! Yesterday I went to see a home that a wholesaler called me about. It's in a very nice section of town with great schools and lots of luxury homes. The house is new construction and the person who built it just ran out of money. All the big stuff is in place and the drywall is up. I would just have to finish it, including painting it, adding some flooring, a lot of fixtures (toilets, vanities etc.), and put in a kitchen - I'm guessing about $100K to do it right. The asking price is around $300K. I am getting all sorts of estimates for the ARV between $525k and $700K. I'm wondering if anyone else has done this before and how did it go? I have flipped 5 smaller homes and duplexes before, but have not taken on a project of this size. I realize comps are harder to figure out at this high end, but I would appreciate any advice. I can raise the funds to buy it and fix it up, but I am trying to determine if it is worth it. Thanks.

Hi,

I have been corresponding with an investor/wholesaler in New Zealand via Skype. He asked me if there is any US mortgages he could obtain for RE in New Zealand. He is very jealous of our interest rates. Anyone heard of anything like that? Thanks.

I originally posted this in the renters forum by mistake. It probably should go in here..

Anyone got a similar story?

Here is an editorial about it expanding on what went on...

Anyone got a similar story?

http://www.justice.gov/usao/id/news/2013/dec/andersonskinner%2012092013.html

Here is an editorial about it expanding on what went on...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/12/william-norman-grigg/police-state-justice/

I'm finding out more about this deal. The builder wants to develop a bunch of lots that were turned over to the bank after the downturn several years ago. In order to secure financing to build out the development, he needs to generate interest. To generate interest he wants to build a spec home. The financing won't come through until he builds the spec home. That's where I come in.

He says he can build it for $120-$130K, and that's what he needs from me. He would then be willing to let me sell it after a few people can see what it will look like. When I talked to some realtors in the area, the comps show it would sell for about $170K-$180K. He would take $5K and give me the rest. He just wants to build it in order to have people buy his other town homes in the development.

The connection to the daughter seems fuzzy. She is already a nurse and is just in school to increase her certifications for more pay, but does not have money coming in to support buying it.

Apparently the guy is known in the community as a good developer who has built townhome projects before. There are 31 lots in the development and 3-4 have sold to other individuals.

I am going to see some of his other projects, check with the local permit department to see what his history is like and do some more research on the comps.

Anything else I should check out? It looks like if I am left with it, the townhome could rent for about $1300-$1400 per month but I sure would not want to do that. Thanks for the help.

Yeah I think that is the way to go. You can also just put them on the doors of houses that have deteriorating roofs, peeling paint, long grass etc. It seems like a really cheap way to go. I have someone who works on my flips and rentals that I pay a low hourly wage to clean and haul trash. He is an extreme extrovert and has no problem talking to anyone and everyone loves talking to him. He said he would be more than happy to walk around a neighborhood passing these out and I told him I would pay him several hundred $'s if he finds me a deal.