All Forum Posts by: John Slater

 Hi Jesse.  Probate can be a great lead source, but yes there's a lot of competition and you need to decide how you will separate yourself from so many others marketing to the probate leads.  I used to get my leads from the court system in San Bernardino and Riverside, its pretty easy using their system but i don't know about LA.  One of my partners bought a probate and while helping the owner actually go through probate, he said he would receive stacks and stacks of mailers from people offering to buy.  again, what separates you from everyone else?

Personally, I found the foreclosure market better... probate just take too long and if they have a probate attorney, the attorney usually has an investor in their pocket..

Hope that helps.

Hi... I'm a buyer, happy to look at any property you get under contract in So.cal.

 HI... I haven't seen any.  Multi-family properties over 4 doors aren't easy to come by in LA or CA in general, and are generally pretty expensive.  

 Hi Steve.

I;m not sure what state you are in, but here in CA here's what I would say.

Is there a mortgage on the property or is the presumed debt just from Medical etc?

I would get a pre-lim report from title, along with getting the daughter to fill out a 'statement of Information' with the moms details so title can process to see if any personal liens are against the mom and the property.  When you have that information, then you'll be able to assess a way forward.

If it turns out there are more debts against the property than its worth, then i'd personally walk away from it.  The daughter can't just quit claim it over to you, probate has to be filed first, and who is going to pay the cost of the probate?

Lets assume the pre-lim and SI comes back good and the there is equity.  I would then propose a partnership with the daughter.  If she can't pay for probate, then you have to make a decision to see if you risk is worth it to pay probate and then hope she stands by her word to sell the property once probate is complete.  Legally, she can't sign a purchase contract with you until she officially owns the property after probate is filed.

The pre-lim report may or may not show debts from medical, but for sure with the SI title would be satisfied with that.  

Hope that helps.

Hi Elias. I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but i'm not sure now is the right time to be buying land and taking on new builds. We are in a funny place in the market right now, and for me I believe the market could take a little dip in 16-24months. If that happens, then buying land now and getting in to a year long process of building won't be the best way to start. The LLC side is easy, its just finding the right attorney to draw it up and register it. I'm part of a real estate club and I can tell you it isn't easy to get it up and running. The club i'm with has been around for 10 years and we have great systems in place, funding, contractors etc, but it took time and money to build it, and more time to get it to where it runs great.

yes, no different than if it was owned outright, assuming the loan can be paid off in full from the transaction.

With the market where it is right now, and the uncertainty of where the market is going, personally I wouldn't...... If the market was to take a dip, i'd be thinking about where that would leave me.  However, for a short-term fix'n'flip, it might be worth it, personally i'd be nervous on a longer term investment right now.

Hi Bill.  I found myself in a similar position about 5 yrs ago.  Tired of working like crazy.  I didn't quit my job straight away, mainly because i couldn't afford to, so I started RE and bit by bit closed deals until I'd saved up a years salary and then jumped in full-time.  FT now for about 3 yrs and definitely enjoy the lifestyle of working for myself rather than other people.  My old jobs didn't give me a retirement or benefits, so that was an easier decision.  My advice would you don't know until you try it.  Start in your spare time, see how it goes, and see where the potential is for you.  I joined a real estate club because I knew I needed to be around other people all doing the same thing.  That way, when I did feel like quitting, I at least had the right people around me to keep me going.  RE isn't for everyone, but from my experiences most people that quit do so because they didn't make the kind of money they'd hoped for in the short-term, even though there isn't anything short-term about RE.  I worked on a messy short-sale with title issues for 13 months before I got paid on that one..... but the pay-day helped me quit my final job....  just my thoughts and being part of a club I meet a lot of people who come in, but then only those with the right mindset stick it out and see the fruit.

Hi Floyd, i'm local in riverside and in the business for last 5 years, part of a local group.  Feel free to DM me.