All Forum Posts by: Jason C.

Heard this one yesterday-

"I'm not sure what my previous landlord will say about me when you call him, since we accidentally burned his house down."

@Rhett Tullis

thank you

@Kimberly T.

Thank you, and I should have searched before asking a question that was answered so well a month ago!

Hello BP community!

I have a rental property that I just put on the market last Wednesday, and received some promising phone inquiries. I decided to schedule all of them to view the property yesterday afternoon, and I ended up getting three really good applications. I have not fully screened them yet, but these three are looking great on paper. So, in choosing my tenant, do I have to go with the applicant who showed up at the house first, or can I pick a different one that I have a better gut feeling about? Also, what is the verbiage I should use to let the other two know they did not get the house?

I'm a mid-level manager for a major telecommunications company, working out of my home office, and travel frequently. I highly recommend a work at home job, makes it easy to troll bigger pockets between/during conference calls. I invest in my home area of central Texas, instead of in the areas the company sends me.

Give me the 25k, we can put down on a very nice house, rent that sucker out, and I guarantee we learn more than any seminar will ever teach you.

Bank of America also offers deposit only cards. The tenant goes to any one of their ATMs and puts my money in. Easy breezy!

@Laura Levine

John is correct, hard money is going to be a much higher interest rate, similar to buying a house on a credit card. I recently did a deal with hard money for 14% interest only payments, and 3 points at closing. However, they have the advantage of being much quicker to fund than traditional lenders, and easier to qualify for. If the deal is really great both of these attributes will help you to be competitive with other investors. Network here on BP for a reputable HML in your area. I am certain our fellow investors have a good recommendation.

If the property is being purchased at less than full market value, you can use a hard money lender to purchase the property. Some of these guys will loan up to 65-70% of the after rehab value. Then you fix it up, and resell. Conventional lenders are not good for flips, IMO.

I say continue to fix and hold. Why bother fixing it only to receive an after tax profit of about 15k? If I put in 30-45 days of hard work, (yes dealing with contractors is harder than my JOB), then I am going for maximum profits on the deal. A hold acquisition is worth a whole lot more lifetime income than 15k. With that being said, if flipping is something you need to quit your day job, then I can understand that motivation as well.

@Patricia Velez

I'm going to go against the grain here and say do not wait until after student loans are paid off to invest. I guarantee you I did not pay off the mortgage on my home or student loans first. To do so would have require more sitting on the sidelines than I could handle. Ask your self this question, "Is the rate of return on REI higher than the interest rate I am paying on my loans?"

I do believe you need to fix your perception that you have "no extra income" before you can dive in. Read 'The Richest Man in Babylon' as you begin to save money to invest. Part of all you earn is YOURS to keep. Money that is spent on miscellaneous bills was never really yours to begin with.