All Forum Posts by: John Corey

 What is the story? Why do you want a silent partner? 

Crank up the podcasts. Understand there are many different strategies. Some will be a better fit for you, your skills and background. And some strategies work better in a specific location or at a specific point in the economic cycle.

Start as soon as you can. Do you look to master everything. Keep the first deal or two rather simple. You will bump into things you were not expecting. Some mistakes will be minor and you just paper over. Some will be major and really test your commitment. That is life. There is no way to get started and avoid all the possible mistakes. Just focus on how you will recover.

As the song says, what's love got to do with it?

Wealth creation, smart tax benefits, the physical characteristics of a building and how there is a range of possible ways to go (not one path for all) works for me.

You are worried about looking professional and you are worried about the cost of setting up an LLC which you might not use. I sense a conflict.

What would it cost to create an LLC and then close it later? 

In terms of your offer, if you use your name consider adding "and/or assigns" after your name. You can then make the offer and switch who the buyer is at a later date. Before the close of escrow. If I was the seller, I might question the language. Or, I might see it as a sign that you are professional. It will come down to what you expect me to do. If you want me to carry financing back, I will care a lot who or what the buyer is. You want me to extend credit and you can not tell me who or what is borrowing

You need to make a decision. The fact that you will be presenting 3 possible offers is different enough. Maybe you can flush out the details once you have an indication from the seller which offer they are going to accept. Just be organised and prepared to spend a bit to get things off on the right foot.

 You need to shift your thinking. FM & FM are secondary buyers of loans. They buy what they like. They decided to focus on a niche - investors with 10 or less loans. It is a business decision. Based on the risk profile of the loans. They are the largest secondary market buyers. That does not mean they are the total market for investor loans. FM & FM are not preventing investors from borrowing on more than 10 properties. They just do not want to buy the loans given the concentration of risk if there was a loan default. Someone who has more than 10 loans who defaults is likely to default on many loans is the risk.

Some lenders do originate loans to investors who have more than 10. They are generally portfolio lenders. This means they originate the loans and then hold the loans on their balance sheet (their loan book). They are not concerned about selling the loans so do not tailor the loans to fit what the buyers want. The top buyer in the space is FM and/or FM. So, portfolio lenders do not care what Fannie and Freddy care about. At least not for loans they are not intending to sell. There are loan originators who never hold a loan so they very much focus only on what the secondary buyers want. Their loans comply with the requirements specified by the loan buyers.

A portfolio lender might be a commercial bank who has two departments. A range of loan products for investors with 10 or less and a range of loan products for investors with more than 10. You just need to recognise that even if the name on the door is the same, the loan solutions which are right for the borrower will vary as will the cost, the terms and the other details. You could even have to meet with a different person when you flip from 10 to 11 loans.

As Greg has more or less stated, you will need to shop around to find lenders who are happy to lend to an LLC.

The rates will be aligned with the project type. A development (refurbishment) is not going to be right for a traditional 30 years loan for a development. There are different loan products for different types of risks and project types. So, comparing rates is tricky if you are comparing loans for apples and loans for carrots.

What sites do you think are better? Even if it is just a partial list of what you have found so far.

Are you looking for leads as a buyer or leads so you can list the properties with the local MLS?

Perfectly legal and definitely within what the loan agreement requires.

The ability to get a future loan will depend on the debt service and the income from your 'portfolio' and your personal, day job, income.

Felix, fill in your profile, add a photo and other details so people want to engage with you.

While waiting here, search for a MeetUp or REIA meeting in your area. Where you can go and chat with real investors in a live environment.