All Forum Posts by: Lawrence Potts

Hey Josephine,

Typically once it’s reached the auction door steps, there’s not much you can do. Typically that’s dealt through the county sheriff department. During this time, the sellers have a way to settle the debt owed to reclaim title, but most do not get the money in time.

I’m not an expert in foreclosures but you can try to buy it at the courthouse steps. You’ll need a check for the full amount ready to sign right there at the end of the auction. Most if not all mortgage lenders will not lend against foreclosure properties.

You will not be able to get an FHA loan on it unfortunately.

I hope that helps. Foreclosures like this one can be a great opportunity to buy something below market value but the requirements make it have a more difficult barrier of entry.

Grants pass is a very tight market, very low inventory but deals are still being made there. 

Hey @Kris Jolls!

My wife and I were just in Maui in January 🤙 I’d love to help you out, let’s chat sometimes, I’d love to hear about your strategy and goals and see if I can help you get there. 

Great question!

I think there are people finding success in Corvallis. You’ve got attractions with the university, trails, etc., and I know some people did well with traveling occupants. AirDNA can show some great insights as well.

Corvallis is facing a huge housing crisis and have recently made zoning changes (as of this month) for ADU's, etc., so I'm assuming that the Airbnb market could find more success. I would recommend reaching out to @Jesse Brown, he's an expert in the rental space in Corvallis.

I guess it depends on the property and who you want to target as well. I think to answer your question, yes, Corvallis/Benton County has a lot of potential for STRs, but you can hyper focus on a specific niche in STR in this area if you wanted. Great question! Thank you for posting.

Hey Jarrett,

I think a lot of investors have PTSD from 2007-2008. We have to remember WHY it crashed: bad loans. People were given loans that shouldn’t have been and they couldn’t make the payments, secondary markets stopped buying, houses began getting foreclosed on, massive government bail outs, etc.

Those bad loans are not funded anymore. Lenders have very strict lending requirements now compared to prior 2007-2008. 

Right now we have massive inventory shortages in purchase and rental space. We are severely behind in building new. The Feds pushed down interest rates to historic lows back in 2020-2021 to encourage people to borrow and spend and reinvest the trillions of dollars printed back into the economy to prevent a collapse from the lockdowns. This meant that those who kept their jobs and were making decent money had more buying power. It also meant that marginal buyers could get into the game.

Now interest rates are back to 2016-2018 levels. Prices are very high in high appreciating markets and marginal buyers are no longer able to buy. Because demand (number of buyers) is decreasing, this may force home prices to settle down a bit. But with low supply, it’s hard to say what will happen with prices.

I think a “crash” could happen because of our highly inflated dollar and supply chain issues, fuel prices, etc., but real estate will not be the cause. In fact, real estate is one of the best hedges against inflation.

I don’t focus on interest rates too much. Yes, it can factor into your cashflow. But the average home owner moves after 7 years. People refinance all the time. Chances are in Medford, you’ll see appreciation each year and when you see your equity hit a certain point, you’ll probably cash out refinance and buy more real estate, therefore changing your interest rate anyways. So I don’t focus too much on it here because it doesn’t factor too much into my strategy or my clients’.

With that being said, we are looking at a different situation than 2007-2008. And what we do know is that our dollar today is worth less tomorrow. So buying an appreciating asset is safer than keeping your dollar sitting in the bank and waiting for the home run deal. There are deals out there: you don’t find deals, you make deals happen. That means you may have to find something off market. Make deals on properties that have been listed for +45 days. Look at other markets. I think the best time to buy was yesterday and the second best time to buy is today. People here can see everything we are seeing with low inventory, rising rates, and high demand, and they are still buying. 

It’s important to see these things but also important to look at our history and see what factors caused crashes and then analyze our market. And then you have to see what fits your strategy.

You can also reverse engineer worst case scenarios too: let’s say you buy a turn key rental and the market crashes. What’s the worst case? You have a rental that may be worth less than when you bought it. But as long as it cash flows, so what? You hold on to it until the market gets back up and then you have equity. Is your market high demand for rentals (the answer is YES)? Then you don’t have to worry too much about vacancies. Just keep a reserve for if you find yourself vacant for 2 months, you can stay afloat. Write out a strategy against the worst case scenario and then determine if that is something you’re willing to take on.

Hope that helps!

Welcome Jarrett!

Congrats on your first purchase 👍🏠 That's a big milestone, the first of many purchases. The BRRRR book by David Greene is an excellent read, especially if you're looking at growing your rental portfolio. Set up your keyword alerts in your settings for Medford, GP, or whatever you're looking for. That's probably the best way to find regional forum topics on here. We are not the biggest area but there are a lot of active investors in the area!
Thanks for chiming in, post any and all questions you have.

@Nick Taylor,

Thank you for posting! Over time, Real Estate has proven itself worthy in the long run. There are a lot of different side-hustles you can do from home, they all take consistency and a lot of time. I understand the feeling though, it feels like you're looking from the outside in through a glass wall and you're watching everyone pick up amazing deals and getting rich quick. I would describe in detail exactly what you want your first STR to look like, where it's at, etc., and work backwards from there. Figure out how much it is going to cost, how you are going to buy it (how much down, who is your lender, etc.), and what you need to look like on paper to get there (your credit score, down payment, reserves, etc.). I'd recommend getting your house in order first: build up your reserve and savings, build that credit score again. Start budgeting. See where every dollar goes. Are you in the positive or negative every month? Track every dollar, assign it a job, and become the master of your own finances. Once you dial that in, then you are in position to make a move on a deal.

Having that equity is great, but it'll be hard to access it when your credit and reserves paint a different picture to the lender. If you can improve those two items, you could easily get a HELOC or refinance your current mortgage and use that to purchase your first STR! Lot's of people do that. But just understand the risks involved with less reserves and poorer credit and understand the steps involved before the deal comes:

You could have a deal fall in your lap right now but if you're not prepared for it, it doesn't matter how good of a deal it is, it'll fall apart. Spend time researching and always be looking at the market, what is trending, changes in the market, financing, etc., but use that as motivation to get your house in order for that first deal. I hope that helps and gives you some clarity as far as direction. Cheers from Oregon!

@Gerald Yawn PM me, I’m interested in that deal. I am active in GP. Thanks!

Great job! There's a huge housing demand in that area. I'm glad to see you providing that, especially in the medium term rental market. Was that an attached ADU or detached?

Hey Jason!
Congratulations on starting this new journey! My suggestion is to talk with a local bank or credit union loan officer and tell them what your strategy is and where specifically you plan on investing. It's almost as if you're giving them a business plan. Ask them what LTV's they offer, how quickly you'll be able to refinance, what down payment and closing requirements they have, etc. But also talk to other investors in your local REI meetups and ask! I had a few rentals in the area, PM me.

Most hospitals will have a housing coordinator for specific regions within their HR staff. Try calling the hospital’s HR directly and ask them if they are in need and where they prefer to be located in? Some will refer you to AirBnB, VRBO, or furnished finder, but either way, you should be able to find an answer. It’s a great way to talk directly with the demand and discover how they’re looking and then you can market your supply directly to them!