All Forum Posts by: Justin Cabral

 Thank you for taking your time to make such an invaluable contribution to this thread.

@Michael Lee

Can you clarify or elaborate? Your post looks like it was meant for another thread. You did not specify who you are addressing with your innapropiate comment.

@David Thompson

@Leslie Pappas

Thank you for your comments. 

After reading your comments and doing a few searches, I would like to aqcuire more information about RE crowdfunding for accredited investors. 

In my reading, I came across a platform called PatchOfLand.com that seems to have a heavy following and decent reviews. Can you share your thoughts on this platform and/or others that may appeal to a newbie accredited investor?

@David Thompson

Thanks for chiming in. Sounds like a reasonable strategy for someone who still has much to learn. 

So I guess the million dollar question regarding syndication is how can a new investor finds trustworthy syndicators with a consistant/successful/documented track record and happy investors partners.

Thanks for all the input so far and I welcome more feedback please.

 As far as where I am looking, my searches have been primarily south Florida only because I am more familiar with the geography but I am open to out of state given what @Roy N. mentioned (live-in super intendant and/or property manager). 

@Ken Badziak I agree with you 100% about how volatile the market in south Florida is and I would much prefer to invest in more linear markets for a long term cash flow with exit plan strategy. 

What are some of those markets so that I can look for commercial brokers in those markets that can send deals my way before they hit mls and loopnet?

Thank you for reading my post. Please let me know if I should be posting this in another category.

I'll start by saying that I am a newbie. Other than my primary residence I bought in 2011, I have yet to make any moves in the market and like many new investors I am scared to make my first move.

That being said I feel like if I can afford to, the right move to make is a big one. One address/as many doors as possible. I figure that a 2 Million dollar building with a few dozen units (maybe more) could be a target for my first investment.

Couple questions for those who are well educated in this space...

1- What type of NOI can one expect today on a property like that?

2- It seems like anything I have found listed online (Loopnet) claims to be in the 5-7% range. For a 1st time investor do you think is a 5-7% NOI is enough to tie up that much cash (20% down payment) on a 2M building?

3-  How would you go about looking for a "good deal" (below intrinsic value) in this space? What cities?

4- Should I only be looking in the state I live in?

5- How would you go about perhaps finding a successful mentor that will help find and go in the deal with me allowing us to maybe buy more than one building together?

Thanks in advance for your input. I love this forum because I can hopefully get answers from experienced folks without having to attend local REI meetings and filter through the BS, the wannabe's, and the ones that are just their for prospecting. No offense to those meetings. I think they can be a great forum, but time is money and it is so frustrating for a newbie to break away from their family on a weekday evening to drive across town and attend one of these meetings only to leave more confused then when they stepped foot in the place and feel like they are back do the drawing board.

@Tom Mole

Thanks so much for your write up with feedback. I guess if I really put my head to it, I can really get creative and come to some type of agreement with her.

As far as what I want to do with the house, I want it as my pimary residence for my family of 4 (my wife and girls ages 5 and 8). The house itself is 1-story and not exactly my dream home but it is the neighborhood we would like to stay in and the lot is big enough to build a pool in the backyard and still have some decent space arount that pool. Plus it has a nice size gatedside where I can roll in a small booat or recreational offroad quads or buggies which I would like. 

Could you elaborate what you meant by me potentially taking over payments? I am not sure I have ever heard of this or how that would work.

To fill in some of the blanks I may have left out, I met her in person about a year ago when she first put a for sale sign outside (right before listing on the mls) and she expressed how she wants to get the heck out of there. Sounded like that would help with closure for her. I remember her being fixated on payong off the loan and walking away with 100k. I'm guessing again that living rent free for however long she can has become her best option at this point. However I was not aware of that "ghost loan" you mentioned and I am pretty sure that she is not aware either. 

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

There is a corner SF home that I would like to purchase to have as my primary residence. Here are the details of what I am facing.

Couple that owns it are divorcing. 

Only the wife and 3 teen children live there now. I don't believe she has a steady income because she told me that she just became a realtor and is hoping to gain an income from it. However she had no idea what the square footage of her home or lot was and she did not know what the comps in the area were (this was closer to when she first listed it over a year ago).

They owe approximately 430k on loan.

Has been listed for over a year now asking 540-550k and has not sold. Mainly because it is probably worth closer to what she owes. Same exact house models on her same block have sold earlier this year (February) for 395k and 445k. Mind you the lot sizes were slightly smaller...

The one that sold for 395k was also a corner lot with a lot size about 1200SF smaller than hers and the one that sold for 445k was NOT a corner home and lot is about 1800SF smaller than hers. 

Also important to note that her home has no upgrades from the original build about 10 years ago. 

I have sent her a few text over the year asking about it and she was not open to drop it under 500k (that was 6 months ago). Text her again the other day and she now says 550k. 

Apparently they defaulted on the loan about 4 months ago so I do not know what their play is at this point given that it is still listed. 

My guess is that they figure that to sell it and not make a profit (or very little profit) it makes more sense to stop paying and live rent free until they are forced to leave during foreclosure process. I do not know how long that is taking now-a-days but I have heard of cases where it is hears before that actually happens and the people living there get to save up a fortune during that timeframe. 

Any ideas on how you would approach this if you were interested in purchasing this home at no more than fair market volume?

I have had my eye on it for some time now and I want to see if there is something that I am missing that I have not thought of. 

Thanks for all the feedback. Good discussion points.

After reading your feedback and putting more thought into it I think that not selling my current home and renting it out is a good idea because I can continue to overpay the monthly mortgage bi-weekly to pay off much earlier and the rent I can charge will cover that amount.

As far as where I would live if I rent it, I would like to stay in Doral but again I fee like everything is way too overpriced. For example, why would I buy another place just like the one I already have when the price is probably at its peak? And why would I rent a place like the one I live in for $2400 per month?

@Jean Pierre

Thanks for your input. Are you referring to renting it out and buying another place as my primary residence.

We would really like to stay living in Doral and I feel like todays prices in Doral are outrageous for what you get. Plus I really don't feel like it is a good time to buy in south Florida.

Can you elaborate on your thoughts?