All Forum Posts by: Jack B.

 Much more reasonable since you are paying the brokers commission. No way to get the buyer to eat the closing costs? That's one thing I hate about real estate. The transaction costs are outrageous!

 200K (actually closer to 130k if I 1031, the 200K counts capital gains and recapture if I don't 1031) buying AND selling 2 million worth of real estate. You paid almost half of what I paid just to BUY one 800K property, not even factoring in any form of taxes like capital gains taxes for selling like I did....Again, I just paid 7K in closing costs on a house in Seattle that costs a hair less than your MF in California...You got ripped off, like it or not.

I describe it as a place where you can buy illicit drugs, weapons, etc. oh wait that was silkroad. 

 Sweet Jebus. Unless your property taxes are 70K a year you got ripped off. I just bought a new house in Seattle for just a hair under your MF purchase price and paid about 7K in closing costs, title, taxes et al.

HOA is a deal breaker for me. Have one house in an HOA and it's a PITA. They have immense power with little oversight. Backed out of another property because of the fact that it was an HOA. Have never heard a single investor with anything good to say about an HOA, and even if they do now, their tune will change in time.

 You paid 79K in closing costs on a 775K deal?? That seems high.

Any particular reason why trading for cash flow? Also, what is your projected total ROI on the new vs. old properties?

As the above poster pointed out, your background as a GC is valuable to a role as a flipper with a hard money lender or creative financing. However; if your house is still underwater since the collapse from a decade ago, then I'm not sure the market your are in is a good flipping market. It sounds like demand is low and supply is high, keeping prices depressed. Although I know a lot of people like to tout these no money down real estate strategies, they are like unicorns when they do work. The reality is that it takes money to make money in RE and you need more like 80K instead of 8K. Perhaps pool your money with a family member. You provide the labor they provide the financing. Get some money saved up and repeat on a larger scale. Also, as a GC I would think you'd have more thank 8K saved up to invest, no?

First off, you sound like you don't know much if anything about housing or investing. I don't think you are quite ready to buy with such little understanding of these things; you need more education. Buying a house then renting it out has to do with the contract you sign, not Texas State Law. Usually you have to live in it for a year before you rent it. unless you buy as an investment property outright, which has higher DP and interest rate requirements. I've been audited, but I do actually live in them before I rent out. 

Second, you can't borrow much money from a 401K for a house purchase. Last I read it was 10K. Unless you are buying a Tiny House with that as a DP you're not going to do anything but lose money on the rental. This again goes back to the above flaw in your plan. You don't know how to even calculate the numbers yet to see what's profitable and what's not. If 401K is your only DP money right now, you're not going to get a cash flow positive unit very easily, if at all.

The way around your DTI ratio is to use creative financing, but you have more work to do before you get to that point.

While I like the bill and rent application idea, I keep all my tenants on MTM leases for this reason, no need to post a 3 day pay or quit. I'm going to have a heart to heart with him if he does not pay the fine with the rent next month like I asked, based on his credit history, utility payment history, already one late payment in a few months, and constant HOA notices that he now tries to claim are not his fault. Just bluntly I will tell him that he is clearly the problem and if he doesn't pay or cooperate, I will send him a 20 day notice to vacate. He has become one of my most problematic tenants. I don't know what it is with tenants, almost all of them seem like abject losers. It's like they can't figure anything out or pay anything on time. Yet somehow I pay the bills for multiple houses on time every month. Idiots...My patience is wearing thin with this family especially.