All Forum Posts by: Jean Bolger

It looks to me like you are actually doing here what Rick Harmon suggests; a letter with a theme to appeal to a particular seller. And of course you are reacting to your dislike of rejection, it's only human. I think it's totally appropriate to 'tiptoe' in this situation. You're basically walking into a stranger's funeral- tiptoeing is more appropriate than shouting "who wants to make a deal?" It's hard for people inside the RE investment scene to understand how weird these "probate vulture" letters that appear out of the blue seem to the general public. They don't even know how you KNOW somebody died- I think it's good that Eric's letter addresses that. BTW, "Probate vulture letter" is not my name for it, this is what my sister, a non-investor and the executor of the estate, came up with after receiving a few. The ones that try to be "sensitive" mostly end up being syrupy or creepy, and most of the others sound like greedy shysters. If you come across as respectful and, well, more human, you'll get more deals. You'll also ruffle fewer feathers. That's not important to everybody but I (for one) am glad it's important to you.

I think it's pretty good, Eric. This would have certainly gone down better with me than the letters that I got after my Mom died. (The one printed over an old-style sepia tone photo of a little girl on a swing really got my goat.... um, manipulate much?)
Obviously, not everyone responds the same way in these situations, but I think this comes across as businesslike but caring. It will be interesting to see if it changes your happy/pissed off ratio!

I bought my first house as an owner-occupied duplex. I was self employed and had to get Mom & Dad on the loan to qualify, which was a little humiliating (I was over 30 fer chissake!). I wish I could say I was prescient, but probably I was just lucky; that house was in the right place at the right time. I sold it 12 years later (2010) for $200k more than I paid originally and bought a HUD foreclosure for cash. I love not having a mortgage much more than I loved living on the "hip" side of town!

I had a worn out laminate counter top in my old house resurfaced by "Miracle Method" ( I don't know if they are national- they are a franchise that mostly does tub/tile resurfacing). This was an odd depth counter and contained an odd-sized cool old sink and would have a been too much of a custom job to replace cheaply. It looked great! Can't speak to the longevity because we sold the house soon after.

I just upgraded my account with a year subscription. I don't actually need the extra features, but I've learned so much here, and I can only imagine how much money this will make/save me in the long run. What's the cash on cash return on good information? I don't know, but I think this is $50 well spent. Thanks, BP!

Hi Pat! I'm a self employed musician as well. Yes, it will be really really frustrating to work with banks and lenders who hear "musician" and think you spend all day on the couch smoking dope. But enough venting!

You WILL have to present two years tax returns every time you turn around. Just keep that in mind when you're doing your taxes. Report everything, even the gigs that don't send 1099s, and don't get too enthusiastic with your deductions. It will be worth more to you in the end than any tax savings now.

Other than that, when you get to the point on talking to lenders, try to present yourself to them as a business person (which you are, after all). In my own career I have played a lot of music, sure. But I also do contract negotiations, marketing, operations and project management, logistics, web development, advertising, bookeeping and public relations. Think about all the things you do, and see if you can turn it into compelling info to include with a loan application package.

BTW, I think you're doing exactly the right thing. Twenty years from now you'll be playing the gigs you want to play- not the gigs you have to play- and you won't be sweating about your future the way the other guys are....

Along the lines of K. Marie's post- Is there a toilet? We had a very odd -almost flowery yet rotten-lingering smell in our basement around the bathroom in our new (former foreclosure) house. We ended up taking out the toilet and it had all kinds of weird......growth... (I don't know what to call it exactly, and frankly I don't want to think about it too much because it makes me gag) in the empty areas of the underside of the toilet, not where the water goes, just the empty parts of the structure. So you might want to take up the toilet and have a look, and I'll go wash my hands and try to take my mind off this memory!

Hmm, I didn't think it would be a problem once you had been there a few years with consistent payments. But Michele may know more about that than I do. I lived in my duplex for 12 years (liked the neighborhood, and the tenants didn't bother me that much... after all, they were helping me buy my house!). At that point I was able to sell the place and buy a single family house for myself for cash, no mortgage needed. This was a stroke of luck, to be sure, due to the sudden popularity of the neighborhood I bought in and the drop in prices in the surrounding areas because of the foreclosure crisis; it's not a scenario I would have planned for. But deciding to start with an owner occupied multi remains (in my mind) one of my best financial decisions. Of course, I know nothing of your situation Seth, either personal or financial; there may be other better options for you. This is a great site to learn and find ideas- there's more than one way to skin a cat!

Owner-occupied mortgages are easier to get, with lower downpayments and better terms. Also be aware that unless ( or until) you have two years of prior "landlording" most lenders will not let you count rental income as part of your income on a mortgage application. So to buy two properties you'd need to be able to cover both mortgages on your regular income. That's a pretty high debt-to-income for most folks starting out. I bought a duplex and lived in it for my first home/investment and it worked well for me. I refinanced after a few years and bought another multifamily.
oh, and if something's leaking at 9 at night, your tenant is going to call whether they're next door or not!