All Forum Posts by: Jose Figueroa

I will provide more information so you can understand what I am looking for in list source.

This is how I defined my criteria in list source:

Zip codes: I selected the zip codes I am interested in investing/living in

Equity: 41% - 100%

Property Types: Residential multifamily, duplex, triplex

Options:

-Excluded trustee owned and corporation owned

-Selected absentee owned out-of-state

That's about it...

I have never tried a title company since this is the first investment I am doing. I am not sure how should I approach them to get them to pull this info for me. I have used the tax assessor, but it doesn't offer the options of "absentee owned out-of-state" or equity the owner has on the property.

@Gregory Montalto Thanks for your direct and simple solution. I will call them tomorrow to set up a concierge account and proceed to buy the list.

@Chris Winterhalter , thank you for your response, you are very helpful.

I did call list source, and spoke with a rep. to ask if there was a way to buy this list and they didn't offer me any solutions, they just said there was no way to do it if I spend less than $50.

I have no problems spending $50. I am looking for a residential multifamily, so I can buy it and live in it, rent the rest of the units and get used to being a landlord before I continue buying more rental properties.

The inventory in my neighborhood is low. My next step after getting a realtor to help me find my first multifamily is to take action on my own and look for properties using list source. I am not looking to do wholesaling. After reading many bigger pockets posts about list source criteria, I ended up with 37 multifamilies. Unfortunately, it seems that for my first step, list source won't work for me.

Now that I got your attention...

My purpose for using listsource is to buy my own first multifamily in a very small area in my state. After using listsource to refine my search for multifamily properties, I ended up with 37 properties. Then I proceeded to buy the list for a purchase price of $6.39 and guess what... Their minimum payment is $50 dollars and there is no way I can get that list if I don't expand my search to include properties and areas I am not interested in.

Is there an alternative similar to listsource that doesn't require a minimum amount?

Welcome to the website. If you get a chance, checkout the BiggerPockets podcasts and the guide for new investors. They have a lot of valueable information for new investors.

Chris,

I am in the same position as you. I asked the same question at my local RE investor's group meeting. I got 2 answers. Before I continue to the answers, I want you to know I am no expert at this since I am just starting out as well.

1st answer
This one goes in par with what Wayne says. But to explain a little more, since you are starting out, and assuming you don't have assets right now, you basically have nothing except a mortgage. They also advise that as soon as you have enough equity to get a line of credit on that property, open it, and if you can use it to buy another property but putting that 2nd one on a newly created company. That way you have two mortgages on the same property under your name. Basically under your name you will only have debt... Nobody will want to sue you to take the debt you have.

2nd answer
If you still want to put your first property under a company name, you want to do it right at closing, immediately after buying to your name. Some people say this will make effective the "due on sale" clause, but if you talk to your lender about making that move, you will probably do fine.

I am in the same position you are but on the east side. Since I have in mind that I will be moving from my first owner occupied multifamily property in 2 years or so, I am only considering the properties that will give me positive cashflow. So I use the rules of thumb as if I was not going to live there. Everyone has a different criteria. I do what makes more sense to me in the long term.

If Bigger Pockets was a religion, you could say I have been converted. Thank you for this great guide. I started at zero, thinking that I needed to become a realtor in order to invest in real estate, boy was I wrong. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in investing on real estate.

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate the time you take to respond questions. The idea of finding the TV shows is to share the knowledge I have been gaining through BP with my wife by discussing what's real and what's not on the TV shows while we entertain ourselves.

I am the only one (of the both of us) who reads on BP and listens to podcasts. But those activities are a one person activity and I was looking for activities that I could include her. We share the interest of investing in Real Estate, but we have a baby that takes her time away when she breastfeeds etc...

I have been invited to the Real Estate Investors Group in Warwick, RI. I am looking forward to attend this month.