All Forum Posts by: JJ Conway

Is anyone going to an upcoming Bossier or Shreveport sherrif's sale? I recently moved here and I'd like to attend both sometime in the next couple months in order to get up to speed on how my new jurisdictions do business.

@Kasan Kelley is it the property location you want? Sounds like you really want *THE HOUSE* in which case I'd say make sure you know what you're getting into before you sign on the dotted line.  If this is a personal project (vice investment) that's one thing.  But if this acquisition is strictly for investment purposes, I like the advice given above, especially WRT researching what *IS* the highest and best use and how much it would cost to-tear down and rebuild.  Oh, and don't fall in love with it to the point of busting your numbers. 

great question!  Like @Carolina E. I try to do business casual because I want them to take me seriously (and that's hard enough being a minority female).  I think it also depends on the role you want to project.  Are you the maintenance guy (paint splatters are reasonable) or the property manager.  IDK if this applies to a man.  IN my church we wear a lot of shiny suits and big hats so I *definitely* don't go in that but my hubs wears a regular business suit/sportcoat so that would be fine for him.  I'm looking forward to other responses.

Along with What @Account Closed is saying, make sure you get your documentation straight so that you ARE actually buying the property - it's YOURS.  And, as she said, if I were the owner and you said "hey would you finance my remodel," unless there were larger issues with the property that I don't want to deal with down the road (roof going bad, poor HVAC etc) I would be quite tempted to try your idea for myself rather than finance YOU doing it.  Just something to think about. 

I **love** the idea of flex space. IDK about your market, but that's big where I lived last year.

@Julie Hassett

Here was my experience with the last property I bought with a wholesaler in Baltimore City:

He "sold" the contract auction style - I was the highest bidder and the wholesaler sent me several documents, including a copy of the contract between him and the owner (plus an addendum lowering the price because my offer would have ate into the wholesaler's $3K profit).  I wrote a non-refundable $100 check to take it off the market and a non-refundable $10 check to him for the earnest money he gave the owner ($10).  Check was written to the title company.  Contract I signed with the wholesaler required me to follow up with a $1000 "real" earnest deposit within 48 hours of clear title, which I did. Had I backed out, I would have lost the $1110 invested up to that point (which I think is reasonable considering the time, energy, and title work). All of these checks were written to the title company except the $10 directly to the wholesaler. I went to closing, along with the wholesaler and original owner at the title company and we completed the transaction.  One thing I would have done differently is charged the owner a squatter removal fee. Definitely insist on a walk-through because people lie. I *did* and there was a fair amount of trash left behind but the property was in good condition so I let it go. I shouldn't have because it turned out the previous tenants relative was squatting.  And it was a little scary to get him out. I didn't want to press the issue because the owner was walking away with so little profit, but now seeing all the work it took to get that property up and running he would have been happy at $0 profit just to get rid of the liability (still was a very profitable deal for me though!!).

I would like to learn more about bond for deed in Louisiana - I recently moved here and I understand real estate laws are different than what I'm used to. @Michael Faulk or @Terry Olivier I'd love the name of that lawyer, thanks!

@Katie West One thing I will say is not to dismiss the appraisal based on a different 2013 appraisal. While VA traditionally appraises low, that's quite a huge difference (23K) and is a sign worth paying attention to. Your situation reminds me of one of my properties- one I fell in love with due to its old architectural bones and the thought of possibly living there. I jumped in without fully researching the issues, and had one problem after another! House was great. It was the direction the neighborhood took that hit me hard.

The other thing is, not to judge the value of a property solely on it's income production. I have a home in riot ground-zero Baltimore City.  It brings in $900/mo.  Someone looking for a 10% cap rate would be willing to pay 90K for that cashflow.  However, the house is really only worth maybe 50K. As in, if I had to sell it in a hurry, retail price would be about 50K and investor price would be about 40K.  See the difference?  Now with you wanting to live there for a bit that does up the amount one should be willing to pay, but still don't discount the appraised value.  Really look at what comparable homes have sold for (not what they're on the market for) around your chosen property.  Wish you the best!

 This ^^^

Research needs to include the typical retail rents in that area so you can ensure the property will attract the kind of renter you want, then build in amenities and value to support your higher price point.  Just not too high, or you'll be left with an empty unit.  Big thing for preventing squatters is quality property and solid screening so you attract good, long-term tenants and prevent vacancies.

 This is good to know!  One step in the process I'm fuzzy on: if the property doesn't sell at tax sale, does the county still sell it? And, if so, does it pass with clean title and lien-free? 

Where I'm at now, those are called adjudicated properties and it looks like you can buy them free and clear (of course, they're mostly junk). I'm still researching and learning.  It stinks that I moved before I had a chance to take your class @Ned Carey

 Hi Beau, great discussion. I, personally, would rather have the 25K profit - duplicate that 4 times, buy a 100K property free and clear and then have BOTH the monthly cash flow AND the net worth. I realize that is not how most investors do it. Just throwing out my perspective.  I've had much less headaches since I switched to a debt-free acquisition model.

Don't need building (well, actually I do- but in Shreveport not Dallas) just dropping by to say congrats to your church. I'm helping to start up a church and finding property to rent (let alone buy) is harder than I anticipated.