All Forum Posts by: Brant Richardson

My thought is that maybe the branch in my target market would have better connections and closing costs might be cheaper. anybody?

You should rehab the kitchen regardless of whether you decide to rent or sell.

I have been saving money for many years to buy a home in Santa Barbara. It finally dawned on me that I could use my down payment money to buy many cash flowing properties elsewhere and I would be better off. If it also saved me a long commute it would be even more of a no brainer.

When you are in a new job there is the risk that the company will not like you and fire you, then you can't pay your mortgage. The bank sees that as risk. If you are well established at your job then that scenario is less likely and you are a less risky client. There are a lot of other factors that could make you less risky like no other debt (car payment, school loans, credit cards), a high credit score, or a big cash reserve. If you had enough cash left over after you made your down payment to service your mortgage and living expenses for 6 months then you would look good even if you changed jobs. If you are barely qualifying as it is then you should tuff out your current job for a little longer. Motivation to find a deal sooner!

My thought is to just gift the money for the down payment to my mother. She has income, collateral and a decent credit score so getting the loan should not be a problem. She would buy the property and owns it in every way. We have a good relationship and I have no siblings so the property will eventually be mine anyway. It will be years before I have to do something like this, just something I have been thinking about.

I would also like to see a picture of the treated particle board. Very interesting.

Plywood under the drywall...you can't "harden" much more than that unless you go for the industrial look and put in steel plate, classic.

My plan is start funding my mother so she can get an additional 10 loans.

In a previous post I asked about banks doing portfolio loans. One of the banks recommended has an office in a town just South of me here in California as well as in my target market in Kansas City. I called and spoke with a representative here in California to get all my questions answered. This agent wants to take care of my loan needs out of state. Should I do this or should I be calling one of the representatives in Kansas City instead? Does it matter?

Those websites sometimes have the listing agent but will always have the brokerage. Just call the brokerage and say you are interested in "1829 East 10th street" and they will get you to the right person. Ahh, I just noticed that you included that you are looking after real estate office hours.

Opportunity...to get a low offer accepted. Although they must not be too desperate if they are not lowering the price. It feels uncomfortable to make offers much lower than the asking price, whether it is real estate or anything else. It's just not socially acceptable in our culture. As an investor you have to break out of that. When you read about investing, people say you should be embarassed of your first offer and only 1 out of every 100 offers you make will be accepted. It is clearly over priced since it has not sold. If you like the property and can't find some terriblbe fault then make an offer at a price that will make it work for you.
Did it catch you eye because it is cheap? That would be a red flag if it has not sold.