All Forum Posts by: Helen Kirk

I will also be attending my first courthouse auction on Tuesday! Good luck to both of us. I've gone to the courthouse probate office where they have workstations open to the public. The only thing you can do on these workstations is a search of property records. I found that there is a small lien on one of the homes I'm planning on bidding upon. It is a HOA lien for 700 dollars. I'm not sure I want to bid on this home now, since I really don't want to bid on homes with HOAs, however, it is in a really good neighborhood and would make an excellent rental, so I might go ahead anyway.

Anyway, check with your county courthouse to see how you can do title searches on your own.  It is good to educate yourself this way as well.

Hi @Brian Gibbons

Thanks so much for replying so quickly.  I've been overdosing on watching you tube videos this weekend, and have watched a couple of yours in the mix.  They have been very helpful.  You certainly know your stuff!

This seller does not want to lease or rent out his property.  He just wants to sell it and move on, so I would have to actually purchase it from him before leasing it out to a tenant-buyer.  He is also using a realtor, who is an acquaintance of mine, so I can't talk with him face to face.  I have approached his realtor about being the go-to realtor for my business because we get along so well, and she says she is very knowledgeable about creative financing.  She can't represent me as a buyer's agent for this purchase however.

I'm afraid that I won't be able to make a profit on this deal, and since it will be my first one, I'm hesitant about going forward with it and getting stuck with a property that I won't be able to find another buyer for.

Don't know about the Long Island area, but here in Lee County Alabama we have an online GPS that shows property lines.  Just click on the property you are interested in and the last owner's information will pop up.  From there, you can check tax status, and address.

Hi everyone, I am a newbie and feel like I'm about to jump off in the deep end. I've got my LLC set up and funded with 23K. I've not been to any seminars or guru training...yet. I'm interested in a nice 3br 2 ba property at $229K that is owned free and clear. The owner has tried to sell this property, but hasn't had any offers that he will accept. He may be a bit high on the price, but not much. Other properties in the area have similar asking prices. He is willing to do seller financing. I am thinking of purchasing it at his asking price, then lease-optioning it to another tenant-buyer with a non-refundable down payment of 40K with the option coming due within 3 years (maybe up to 5, with extensions). My attorney says he has experience doing this. I don't have any kind of buyer's list, and am concerned about finding someone who will take this deal.

Am I biting off more than I can chew?  Any advice?

@Cecil Russell You can set up a LLC with just yourself as the only "member". I just did it in Alabama. It was easy, going through my attorney, and I was able to get a federal ID number within minutes after I got the LLC registered. You need that federal ID for setting up a bank account for your LLC. I still haven't closed on any properties yet, but at least I do have my LLC in place for when I act.

I still feel that I need more education in regards to controlling properties without using my own cash, but I'm going to at try to purchase some auctioned REOs or foreclosures and getting my feet wet that way.

So how does this work with a line of credit.  Is the flat fee a one time deal, and you can use the line of credit, pay it back and use it again over and over?

A special warranty dead means that the current owner can only guarantee that no liens have been placed upon the property during the time the current owner has owned the property.  You still need to do your due diligence and check the title as much as you can. I've gone to the county courthouse and checked for any liens on the property I'm interested in.  You could also pay to have this done if you aren't comfortable doing it or are not sure if you have caught everything.

I'm in the same boat.  I have a little cash that I want to use to bid on a property listed on auction.com but I'm not sure if it will be enough.  I have been pre-approved for loans in two separate banks, but it isn't cash in hand.  In any case, I don't really want to spend more than I have on this auction, so if I don't win the auction with what I'm willing to spend, so be it.  I'll find another way to fund my first property.

I just had my LLC formed through my lawyer. I asked him about Series LLC's and he thought it was overkill right now since I don't have any properties to put in the LLC. If I remember right, he may have said that we could change the LLC at a later time to include the Series LLC type. I also was thinking about keeping my rentals in a Trust with the LLC as the beneficiary and keeping properties to flip within the LLC itself. Hope this helps, but you really need to discuss this with a lawyer.

Here is one within the Auburn, Alabama city limits.... it may not meet your requirements though.  The map showing the location is wrong. It shows the property in Opelika not Auburn.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/649-Lee-St-0867_Opelika_AL_36801_M88145-02681?ex=AL560604191&row=22