All Forum Posts by: Joshua Parr

You should have a criteria of what makes a deal work for you. This should be based on Cash on Cash Return, Cap Rate, cash flow, etc. Comps are somewhat irrelevant when buying investments for the long term. Not completely but you should be buying for cash flow with a great return on your money invested. If you are buying to flip these properties then the comps are much more important in that case. You are saving the seller the hassle of selling properties individually though so you should be getting a bigger discount. 

My market is very different from yours so I can't speak to your market specifically. I would see what people in your market think and ask advice from experienced investors in your market. Most places though, people can get at least a 10% cap rate / 10% Cash on Cash Return on off market deals. Best of luck!

If it's a reputable company, you should be able to get your money back or they might offer to send someone else out to resolve any issues. I would definitely try and get your money back and then I would find another electrician that will do things the right way. I suppose I'm more on your side with this. If it is a bigger company with several electricians on staff, I wouldn't mind them sending someone different out as long as they pull the permit and do things the right way. I wouldn't let the same guy back into the property though. Anymore, I give contractors one chance and if it's not up to my standards, I won't use them again. Best of luck!

You definitely touched on a lot of the main points. If they are bad tenants and don't pay on time or at all, you can still evict them because they are breaking the terms of the lease. If the old landlord didn't have a written lease, you will need to do a lease with them. If the rent is under market value with a long term lease, you should take that into consideration when purchasing and running numbers on property. Best of luck!

If you want to work with them to figure out this deal, I would suggest all of you go to an experienced probate attorney and explain everything. It may not be worth the hassle for any of you to worry about the house. She shouldn't have to pay Medicaid. However, Medicaid can file to take the home to pay off the bills. It's a complicated scenario and like I said, consult a good attorney. I don't know all the details (and I'm not an attorney) so I will leave it at that. Best of luck! 

Normally you can look up the tax/owner mailing address and info on county auditor site. After you get the info, there are plenty of different ways. The two most simple being direct mail and skip tracing to get their number to call. Hope that helps!

There's a book called "Timing The Real Estate Market" by Robert Campbell. Haven't actually read it but have heard good things in the past and it's on my list. You'll have to do your own research to see if it's worth getting and what you're looking for.

There are plenty of good books right here on BiggerPockets shop on different subjects. Most people on here recommend "Rich Dad Poor Dad". If you are looking for a good one on the numbers side of things, I would recommend "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow" by Frank Gallinelli. Can be a tough read but great content. There are links and downloadable spreadsheets available in the book as well.

I don't personally believe in doing subject-to deals unless you have the funds and are willing to pay off loan if the bank should call the note due or if the bank is willing to sign off on waiving their right to accelerate note in the case of it transferring. I wouldn't bank on that though. I definitely wouldn't wholesale it to a 3rd party. That person may leave the seller to figure it out themselves if the bank calls the note. In that case, the seller would get foreclosed on and be left to pick up the pieces. 

I always think the better option is to find a great short sale agent and negotiate a short sale to get the seller out of the property altogether. A good agent can do this more easily since the people are in pre-foreclosure. Banks don't want to foreclose because it costs them a lot of time and money. 

Just my opinion. Best of luck!

If it's on the market, I wouldn't bank on anything coming of it. You could talk directly to the owners about owner financing if possible to make the numbers work. However, if you can't make it work then just move on. There are plenty of other houses out there. Best of luck!

It really comes down to what they want and work a deal off of that. First, you have to find out if they are even open to a seller finance. If they are set on price, then give them their price and you get the terms. 

Here's an example: They may be asking 200k. Give them that in payments of $555. That's 30 year mortgage with 0 down and 0 interest. If they want the money sooner than 30 years, let's say 5 years, then do a balloon payment after 5. In that 5 years, you'll have paid down the property $555 x 60 months which is $33,333. A tenant should be paying that though. And after the 5 years, you should be able to refinance or sell it for a profit. Maybe do a lease option with tenant. In the meantime you're collecting rent of $1,200 minus mortgage of $555. So $645. I don't know what taxes are but you should still be cash flowing positive with insurance and reserves for maintenance. 

Now that's just an example. They may want interest or a down payment or whatever. So the main thing is finding out what they want and figuring out something that works for both of you. If you can't agree, on to the next deal and continue to follow up because they may change their mind a few months down the road. The great thing about owner finance is that there are a wide range of terms that can make sense and you can get creative. I would just assure them that whatever you agree upon, you will have an attorney draft everything up so it's legit. That always gives people peace of mind.

Best of luck!