All Forum Posts by: John Warren

look for one that fits your needs and doesn't pressure you to sell it do floor time.

In Illinois you have to work for a sponsoring broker. You also will need to pay for your MLS fees, sentry card access, and whatever fee you pay your sponsoring broker (if any).

The upside is that you have access to the MLS. You won't find that the MLS instantly opens the door to investments you couldn't find on Zillow, but it does help you learn your market by looking at historical data. You also have access to tax records, mortgage histories, etc which can be nice when you are figuring out an offer.

I would get your license if you have the funds to hold it (plan on $1500-2000 for the first year for school and fees). Once you get it, go find yourself an investor friendly brokerage to work for!

HI BP community,

I am considering going outside the Illinois market to grow my buy and hold portfolio. My wife and I have a four unit that we just refinanced, and we are hoping to complete the sale of our home which will free up even more cash. As I was considering buying more properties near me, I was hit with the unmistakable reality that real estate taxes in Illinois stink... so I began considering two other markets.

I have family in Southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana. My mortgage guy is licensed in Indiana as well, so my team would already be partially in place.  I also live only one hour from NW Indiana, and many of the rental markets there seem very appealing. I have not started narrowing down exact towns, but taxes in general seem pretty low.

I also have a good friend about 40 minutes south of Milwaukee. That area is also in a more business friendly state, and shows potential for better long term cash flow. My family lives just south of the border, so this would give me a good excuse to visit more!

I could easily get a real estate license in either state since they are both reciprocal. This is one other competitive advantage I could bring to the table.

So I guess my question is, if you had to pick a state which one would you pick and why? My strategy will be to buy single family homes or small multifamily properties below market value and then refi most/all of my money out to keep buying more. Which state would you choose?

I am with a 100 percent commission brokerage. PM me if you want more details. I am in the same situation as you (full time job, etc).

Hi @Account Closed

What is your long term goal? Are you looking to build a whole sale business or do you dream of having passive income?

Wholesaling is not for everyone. I could see many people having more success with a small rental or live in flip as their first investment strategy. Wholesaling requires tons of sales and marketing ability and cash to market if you want to keep it up.

I am just starting out and decided to get my real estate license. It only teaches you a little bit about investing, but it just seems simpler to me than wholesaling. It also gives access to the MLS which has so much useful data.

Thanks again for the information @Bill Gulley!

I am consulting with my attourney to make sure I get this right. I will make sure to follow up with the results!

@Bill Gulley thanks for the advice! We definitely are not trying to confuse this owner, and I can tell you she is not senile! I think she has a rough idea of the value of the property, and we just want to make sure we make a smart, fair offer. 

At this point, I am leaning towards a seller finance deal. The only issue is how to structure it so she is protected in her ability to stay in the unit. I hesitate to do go the life estate route, but that may the way to go at this point. 

Thanks all for your good advice! We are crossing our fingers on this!

@Matt Motil @Ben Leybovich and @Neal Collins thanks for the advice! 

Our meeting with the owner went great. She does not need the money, and it appears that a master lease option will not really solve her issues. She is tired of the management since she is older, but has kept the building in immaculate shape. She seems like she doesn't want to relinquish control since she is proud of how she has kept the building over the years. It will command top rents (granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, etc), and does not appear to have deferred maintenance. Her owner's unit is gorgeous, and is probably over improved for an apartment set up, but it would be perfect for us as we would want to live there.

It looks like at this point we will offer her an owner finance deal and a conventional financed option with the owner finance option being the slightly higher purchase price. She mentioned that her mother was a real estate developer, and she actually brought up the idea of seller financing!

 I need to speak with a lender as I have been working in the residential 2-4 unit side for the most part, but do many commercial lenders allow the seller to carry a second note for part of the down payment? Is that something I should run by the lender before I mention it? This was another idea I had from listening to Ben Leybovich's podcast!

Thanks!

John

HI BP community,

My wife and I have an opportunity to view a five unit building in an A area near our home this Saturday. We have been looking for a building to owner occupy as part of our strategy to "house hack" (I know this is not 2-4 units, but the town is awesome).  This building was found through a direct mail campaign, and is owned by an elderly lady. After talking to the owner several times, we are finally getting to see the inside of the building. We need your advice on how to make a "creative" offer. Here are some of the issues:

-The owner is elderly and wants to stay in the building.

-The owner recently had to evict a tenant who broke into her unit.

-There are three vacant units in the building.

-We will have only about $40,000 to offer. We are in the process of selling our home, so we may get an additional $50-75,000 after we sell.

So in this case, what are some creative strategies we could use? Could we offer a master lease with an option to buy? Should we offer owner finance with a legal contingency letting her stay? Has anyone bought a building and let the previous owner live in the building somehow?? I know the BP community has some very creative investors (I am listening to one of your podcasts now @Ben Leybovich!) Let me know what you all think!

Thanks!

John

I am taking the properties in my own name @Dale Stevens

I am going to quitclaim after the refi goes through. I had not heard of any banks doing refinances on residential properties for LLC's!