All Forum Posts by: Jay Hinrichs

The Verdict is OUT! You also get scammed by ORES ?? - OutStanding Realestate Solutions - "Queen of Mobile Homes" Chimene Van Gundy Plans to Plead Guilty to scheme - read the San Antonio Times Express April 25 2025 - the articcle states "Van Gundy, who raised about $18.5 Million, "used the funds for different purposes, such as making payments to different investors, paying undisclosed sales and commissions" and paying herself and othersm the document states. Wire fraud CARRIES A PENALTY OF UP TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON AND A FINE OF UP TO $250,000, while filing a FALSE TAX RETURN CARRIES A PENALTY OF UP TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON AND A FINE UP TO $100,000. The charging document says Van Gundy and her husband reported total income of $168,296 in 2021, FAR BELOW their actual income. Prosecutors have given Van Gundy notice that they intend to seek the forfeiture of property upon her conviction. Judge appointed Charles "Charlie" Adams as receiver (713)858 1341 to take control of her firm and her personal financial affairs. Part of the receiver's job has been to locate ASSETS and PRESERVE ANYTHING LEFT TO CREDITORS ... including $5 MILLION that went to "UNDISCLOSED OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS". Judge Dib Waldrip ordered the "QUEEN" to vacate in 2024 an order for THE SALE OF HER HOME with the proceeds being deposited with the registry court and that evil queen has been wearing an ankle monitor after she failed to appear for a deposition" - having also falsified a document presented to the court by her Doctor that after a fall she had a "tumor in her brain". "A BANKRUPTCY judge granted a motion TO DISMISS Van Gundy's bankruptcy case in Sept 2022 because she had NOT complied with obligations as a debtor under the bankruptcy code. She was unable to answer MANY questions during meetings with creditors, saying she had MEMORY ISSUES AFTER SUSTAINING A BRAIN INJURY from hitting her head on a concrete table when she fell in late 2021. SHE DIDNT KNOW WHAT CAUSED HER FALL" (LMAO!!) I personally believe she'll suit the color ORANGE while she sits behind bars - while her little children get to be taken care of some one else ... she should be ashamed of herself ... Grateful for Charlie for his due diligence and that JUSTICE is being SERVED ... lets see how much we all get back from our investments ...

https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/chimene-van-gun...

sounds like pennies on the dollar is what investors will get back.. thats normally the case if you get 10% back count yourself very lucky.

I agree, unfortunately in many of these situations the money is long gone and people are hoping there is something there. When people reach out to me on what to do, my first response is: assume its all lost and if you get something consider it a win - but do not expect to get your initial investment back so people can prepare accordingly.

keep in mind if they have independant legal council ( defense Lawyer not state provided) those lawyers demand Large up front retainers. usually in the hundreds of thousands to half a million .. thats where a lot of the investors money ends up.. Investors pay to sue them themselves and the defendant uses their money to pay for their lawyers.. Kind of like a divorce were couples use their own resources to fight each other and end up broke.

1 Vote

Ya no retirement for us old dogs.. its too much fun and you need to do something to keep stimulated in my mind.

Also I have seen many of those type of storage facilites all over the US as I travel to the markets I work in..

Good luck with it.. Much easier than building container homes that's for sure.. one of my good buddies has a container building home bizz he has sunk millions into over the last 7 years or so and is just now making a profit .. Relaventhomes is the name its in Oregon really nice stuff.. he did an 8 plex but it did not sell and I know its underwater.. but he has the dough for these type of ventures he wanted to do it for environmental reasons was his first motivation.

3 Votes

Quote from @Matthew Paul:

The best bang for your buck would be townhomes , then duplexes , then single family . But pushback from neighbors and the council can be costly in time and money

Other than the product .. your land values are so low that you dont have much if any equity as doing the underground (Horizontal) will cost as much or more than the lot values.. so if finished lots are only worth 15k then I would think the 4.7 acres has zero value .. since you will be in the lots more than they are worth to develop them.. this is a common problem in low value lot areas or INNER cities were you can buy lots for 1 dollar to 10k that already exist and have all utls.. Unless we are missing something here.

@Eric James U may want to communicate with Eric he does this same thing in I think W Texas and makes it work. but he is totally hands on from what I have read here on BP

2 Votes

its a specialty niche no doubt.. those that think its easy and guranteed rent usually end up in a bad place.. those that Micro manage every aspect and are local and know what to expect can make it work..

However one just needs to consider the tenant base of section 8 basically nationwide.. your talking single mothers and multiple children .. those are the toughest situations for the homes for on going maintenance and repairs. And if does not matter if your section 8 or not but you have small children living in a home your homes are going to take a lot of abuse.. Kids are kids and they bang into things they break things they break window shades they stand on oven doors they spill things etc etc..

6 Votes

Atlanta, Georgia

if your trying to equity share with the seller.. you simply do a participation note and mortgage I have done quite a few of those over the years.. not in this scenario generally with small builder/developers which really is what you are.. just in the retirement STR side of things.

Also elder abuse is going to be high risk.. I would for sure have any of these deals blessed by the sellers Attorney.. Once sellers attorney signs off you have no further liability as long as you follow the Note.

0 Votes

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Tina Swanson:

Hello! I just recently acquired 2 plots of land in St Cloud Florida in a gated townhome community from a tax deed auction. I own the 2 units at the end of an 8 unit block. 3 of the plots are still county owned and the remaining 3, 2 are owned by out of state companies and the 3rd by a single gentleman. My original plan was to build the 2 units then sell them. But the site is currently unbuildable especially without owning all the lots in the block. I am trying to figure out what my exit strategy is at this point. Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated!

There was a reason these went to tax sale and no one wanted them. Hopefully you did not pay too much for them but basically your best bet isto let them go to tax sale again and eat your losses.

When buying at tax sales due diligence is key. You could have avoided this with the research.

Common sense also prevails in many instances where if there is land in a townhome community - why did the original builder not build there as townhomes are not built by individual owners.

agreed the exit is either the greater fool theory or contact the adjacent owners and make a deal they are probably in the same boat you are in.. I have seen some in FLA ( I had one client in particular that I funded there) that actually did pretty good buying low value land and flipping it.. She made so much money that she left me to go on her own.. Also she was a lawyer or law student who had not taken the bar so she could do her own quiet title work big advantage to her.. Smart lady that one. I sure hated to see her go ..

1 Vote

Quote from @Don Konipol:

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/1239975-do-pr...

This thread was last week.. yesterday I funded this deal for this investor.. Not saying this is common.. however the investor had his title work done he had some cash and I liked the project so I started working on it with an email Monday the 21st to the title company and Title company referred me to local attorney for doc prep ( note and TD) Docs were to me by Wednesday to review and approve .. Docs were approved within 30 minutes by me .. ( I happened to be in Milwaukee that day touring RE with @Marcus Auerbach of BP) I approved them Docs went out fed X to the borrower he signed Thursday and fed ex back to title .. And I sent in the funding wire on Friday and it closed.. Borrower had a hard closing date he needed to make and well we made it no problem. So when the question comes up on BP can a deal get funding in 5 days in some cases sure.. Not generally going to happen with a Broker .. PM it can.. I do my own valuations so no appraisal etc etc .. True Equity based transaction.

But Borrower has to have some cash which this borrower did and a very nice plan to build a custom spec home.. So hoping it all goes great for him..

Great deal. About 7 years ago we were approached with a slam dunk deal where the lender couldn’t come up with the money to close - probably a broker disguising himself as a lender - anyway the transaction had to close in 48 hours and we did it. BUT - everything g was lined up and since I am the sole underwriter/decision maker we are able to move fast when necessary.

More typical is the borrower who comes to us through a broker who has not ordered title work, doesn’t have a survey (necessary for commercial property in most states) needs an MAI appraisal, and whose contract to purchase has probably already expired. Also typical is the borrower who came to us through a broker 3 days ago; he has to close by the 30th or he loses $50k earnest money. He was all gong ho for us to get him a term sheet, which he promptly took to the seller to get an extension, and once that was achieved began shopping for a “better” loan. He’ll be back in 30 days when he hasn’t obtained
better” financing and he has 5 days to close or lose his earnest money. I will either reject his application or go ahead with the loan adding 2% to the interest rate and 2 points additional origination fee for “aggravation”.

One Solo lender in San Jose CA I used to work with way back in the day. Had a standing add in the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle..

" I make loans in 3 to 5 days" was basically all it said.. very savvy lender I brokered a land deal for him in Northern CA that he had developed is how I met him. Unfortunately he was one of those pilots that had no fear and well that cost him his life when he tried to do a barrel role in his Piper Turbo Dakota over Lodi CA. and lost control. I then helped his wife unwind or service the remainder of his loans until they paid off.

PS this was a land deal in Dallas so survey was done title was done just needed to draw the note and trust deed.. And as stated borrower had plenty of cash to make the deal safe for this type of loan for me to do.

1 Vote

Dallas, Texas

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/1239975-do-pr...

But Borrower has to have some cash which this borrower did and a very nice plan to build a custom spec home.. So hoping it all goes great for him..

Great post and as you mentioned - it can be done and you hit some keypoints;

1. Borrower had some cash

2. Borrower had title work done and was going through the process with experienced people (not a quit claim deed seller finance no title company no escrow etc situation).

yes it was a clean deal. As lenders over the years we all get these.. folks shopping for cheapest money first or through broker daisy chains.. then boom their time line runs out and then we get the call. WE of course make a premium for these services So there does have to be some really nice upside for the borrower to make sense of it as well. I would say I only get to fund about 1 out of 10 scenarios like this that come to me maybe less.. But it can be done ..with true private money.. The companies that need to run credit and get apprasials etc etc just cant get these done that quick.. which is OK i get that.

1 Vote

Dallas, Texas

Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/1239975-do-pr...

But Borrower has to have some cash which this borrower did and a very nice plan to build a custom spec home.. So hoping it all goes great for him..

5 days is incredibly fast! Just the logistics of a wire transfer can take 2 days if you miss the 3pm cut off. We typically close cash buyers in 10 days including title research and policy, prorations, closing statement review etc - and there is not much slack left!

But that's the difference when you work with someone who has been in the biz for 50+ years ;-)

Smart phones help and of course I could not do it without my staff !!! Anyone looking for Milwaukee props look no further than Marcus team.. they have it going on.

2 Votes

Dallas, Texas

Quote from @Chad U.:

Quote from @Greg Miller:

Since the new administration, there is nothing but stories of Canadians (and others) being denied at the border. As a Canadian, I have never experienced this much hostility for investing my money in the US but it seems even people going for business or have business or investments, have in fact been denied. I have 2 investment properties in Detroit and not only do I love visiting Detroit but I like to check on my properties periodically. I don't want to risk getting denied because they deem it as "working in the US"

Would love to hear if anyone has visited recently and what their experience has been.

I get pulled into secondary inspection and questioning on a regular basis since I started in 2013. I got to the point where I had to get an e2 visa. However came across just yesterday for vacation and had no issues, but was with family.

Too funny when the shoe is on the other foot.. I bought a home in Kelowna BC and was going back and forth between Portland almost weekly.. about 6 months in CAD immigration starts pulling me over and grilling me.. IE you taking a job from a Canadian etc etc.. I said nope I just bought a brand new home on the Oakangan golf course furnished it.. I am not using any social services just spending money :).. Well got tired of it sold the house and now I just visit to go fly fishing. And god forbid your hispanic trying to cross into CAD I have seen them tear those folks cars apart and turn them around.. well that was 2002.. :)

1 Vote

All Forum Posts by: Jay Hinrichs

Jay Hinrichs has started 325 posts and replied 41434 times.

Post: Outstanding Real Estate Solutions Scam (ORES)

Post: Self Storage- Deal 16, Great Market analysis, thought I was retiring

Post: Build to Rent 10+ Duplexes on fully owned 5 acres

Post: Considering Section 8 investments, What are pros and cons?

Post: Too many deals! Need some creative ways to stretch my capital

Post: I own the land, now what? Seeking advice about an exit strategy

Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Post: Any Canadians with US investments who've crossed the border successfully recently?

Jay Hinrichs has started 325 posts and replied 41434 times.

Rounded Star Post: Outstanding Real Estate Solutions Scam (ORES)

Rounded Star Post: Self Storage- Deal 16, Great Market analysis, thought I was retiring

Rounded Star Post: Build to Rent 10+ Duplexes on fully owned 5 acres

Rounded Star Post: Considering Section 8 investments, What are pros and cons?

Rounded Star Post: Too many deals! Need some creative ways to stretch my capital

Rounded Star Post: I own the land, now what? Seeking advice about an exit strategy

Rounded Star Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Rounded Star Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Rounded Star Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Rounded Star Post: Any Canadians with US investments who've crossed the border successfully recently?

Post: Outstanding Real Estate Solutions Scam (ORES)

Post: Self Storage- Deal 16, Great Market analysis, thought I was retiring

Post: Build to Rent 10+ Duplexes on fully owned 5 acres

Post: Considering Section 8 investments, What are pros and cons?

Post: Too many deals! Need some creative ways to stretch my capital

Post: I own the land, now what? Seeking advice about an exit strategy

Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Post: Power of BP and yes deals can be funded in 5 days or less with the right private $

Post: Any Canadians with US investments who've crossed the border successfully recently?