All Forum Posts by: Guy M.

Pay the $25K to county and dump your wife's condo. That's step one and two. 

You're bleeding money

I'll just be honest... I'm on here for hours.

Do I consider this a distraction? Not in my humble opinion (for the most part). There's tons of knowledge on here. In any case, I'm moving and shaking all the time on top of being on here constantly. 

But I'll say this, if BP is a distraction from a person's goals, I would suggest that person log off and make something happen. DO SOMETHING takes precedence over EVER LEARNING.

This may get me in trouble but here goes...

There are A LOT of people that sit on BP and talk RE all day long and have NEVER completed ONE deal... no... not one. How do I know? I don't, but I stand behind this assumption because people are people.

I would say to those types... step into the arena and stop being paper champs. You have the knowledge, now take the risks.

Hi, Francis.

I know a lot of investors don't get into out-of-state properties, which is absolutely understandable. 

I have a rental in Virginia now while I'm in the St. Louis area. I use a PM and they are excellent. I've had zero issues so far, and it's been three years. I just purchased a property a few days ago and plan on hiring a PM as well.

I'd say a couple of factors come into play when deciding (this is just my two-cents)...

- The quality of the tenants

- Your monthly expenses (fixed, such as mortgage + taxes + insurance, etc.)

My VA house is in a good neighborhood (No home less than $300k) and the tenants usually have exceptional credit scores and/or good paying jobs. The Ferguson, MO house I purchased was bought with cash, so I have no mortgage; therefore, vacancies won't be too painful. Also, I'll have large reserves for repairs.

 Welcome to the forum, Drew.

I've been to Warner Robins, GA. Nice homes for low prices... that's what I remember.

This is probably going to sound a bit bazaar but it happened...

I connected with a seller who want to get rid of her house badly. I had no money and my credit was laughable. The only thing I had was the knowledge I gained from this website, Carlton Sheets, Lonnie Scruggs, etc. and I planned my approach and went for it. My areas of "expertise" were wrap mortgages and sandwich leases. 

I offered to rent-to-own her house with the intent to get other renters in her house under a sandwich lease-option. I can't remember the numbers exactly but let's say that:

My contract with the owner:

Earnest Money: $1,200 (to be paid with 120 days)

Monthly Rent: $1,100

Rent Credit: $200

Term Length: 3 years

My contract with the tenants (3 times):

Earnest Money: $3,000 (paid owner $1,200 leaving me with $1,800)

Monthly Rent: $1,450

Rent Credit: $150

Term Length: 1 year

I rented this place out three times. Two tenants were evicted but I kept the earnest money paid ($3000 a pop). The last tenants paid on time, but could not qualify for a mortgage at the end (that turned into a war because they wanted their earnest back, by the way... they lost that war). 

With all that said, you could earn some quick capital setting up a FOR REAL no money deal (that rhymed). Then you could take your earnings and roll them into purchasing your next deal.

When I was managing a lease option back in '07-09, I saved all the rental income in a business account. I used every bit of it for reserves and paid myself nothing. 

The only portion I spent was the non-refundable earnest money. I rented the place out about three times, so the earnest I received was close to $5,000-7,000 total for the three years + the additional money left over when I gave up the property. Not much but it was money I didn't have before.

All in all, I'll always have my reserve built up before I even think about taking a draw or reinvesting.

What's your problem?

There is absolutely no excuse for your response, guy. Are you so high and mighty that you feel the need not to graciously say nothing at all? The opening poster was simply trying to gain a different perspective. That's nothing new. 

One of my primary duties is instructing, and I have asked for many opinions on different subjects so I can share what other people do in the real world (good or bad) and not just my own practices.

If you were smart, as you'd like to think you are, you would have simply not posted. But I see you have a lack of emotional control that turns you into a bully on the internet. 

I'm really restraining myself like a decent human being because I could get really barbaric on you right now.

ANYWAY... let me return to the ranks of the normal people and provide my opinion on this post.

 Congrats!

We were just by Chesterfield, MO. Good to see another local winning.

This must be Missouri week or something... everybody is finding deals.

I assume you would pay cash for this property.

Depending on the amount of financing/fixing you have to do that will make your monthly payments not worth what I'm about to suggest... I'm a buy and hold guy, so I would naturally tell you to buy and hold.

What's the rent rate in that area? 

Congrats, Ryan.

I just purchased a property, all cash, in Ferguson a couple of days ago. I plan on getting renters in right away, but I'm using a PM. 

Kyle's advice is an excellent start.