All Forum Posts by: Lisa Johnson

Hi everyone!

Driving around the other day I noticed an abandoned house with notes taped to the door. I took phone numbers one being Ditech the other being a lawn care service. I did research and found out the owner's name and talked with the neighbor next door. I also found out the owner passed away and the house has been vacant 3 years. Armed with that info, I call Ditech. They do in fact have the property but has sent it to a law office. I called them and found out they have some paper work (since 2013) but have set a sale date. They told me to call Ditech back so I did. I spoke with someone in their REO dept. and they told me the owner still has it in his name and even though I explained he passed away 3 years ago, they told me I should call him. (what?)Then she told me that even if I made contact with him (lol) or someone from his estate, they could not sell the house, it has been in default for too long. The previous lender was Green Tree Service (now Ditech). It seems that no one wants to own this property or sell it. Any thoughts on what I should do next?

Hi J, these are really good questions, thank you for posing them. I plan on having a Real Estate Attorney on my team. I am just starting out and so far I have a contractor and Realtor. My role will be the PM / Designer. As far as assets, I do have my primary residence. What is umbrella insurance? I have not read about that yet. With regard to tax advantages using an LLC, I will have to ask the attorney when I find a good one. I live in Alabama and I currently own my own company which is an LLC. It falls under a different type of business. I am a Career Coach. As far as the cost to set one up, I did mine for $350.00 so I will find out if the costs are the same for this new business venture. And, finally, I plan on using private investors and making them 50 /50 partners. So far, I have created an executive summary and have sent it out to people that might be interested in real estate investing vs. the stock market / banks. Best Regards, Lisa

Thanks Eric!

I have been doing a lot of research on BP regarding flipping houses and I've come across some topics that I would like some clarity on. First: Regular home owner's policy vs. commercial policy intended for homes that are undergoing major renovations - which policy is better? Second: Flipping houses in my name or forming an LLC. Which is better? I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!

Hi Olen,

I'm new to flipping and trying to source houses.  With that said, I have talked with several people regarding your topic so I thought I would pass along their knowledge.  Everyone says to go to your counties website having the subject property address and do a property look up.  You would look to see if the property taxes are in default and see when the house will come up for sale.  In my county, the sale is once a year on the court house steps.  Just know that in some state, (mine included) the state gives the property owners 3 years to pay the taxes after you buy it.  Then in some cases the state will allow 3 more years once the first 3 have expired.  So it is a bit daunting.  But here is another idea, talk with the neighbors.  Sometimes the neighbors will know about extended family to the deceased home owner.  Then you may have a lead to buy once either the will or probate has run it's course straight from the heirs.  I hope this helps and wish you luck!

Hi Jeff,

You might try talking with your local Building Inspectors. 

Best of luck!

Lisa

Thank you Anastasia!  That helps.

I hope your application comes through soon!   Good luck on all your flips!

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site as of yesterday and since joining, I've been reading a lot and loving every minute of it.  I am working on establishing a company flipping houses in my area.  With that said, I have a couple of questions that maybe one of you can help me with.  Regarding investing, I will need to have an investor on my first flip.  Right now I'm in the process of identifying a properties, dealing with my Realtor and talking to contractors.  Tomorrow I'm meeting with the Chief Building Inspector and Community Development Manager in my city.  I guess at what point in this process do I speak to an investor and present my calculations showing profit?  Is there a preferred method?  Thank you for your help.

Hi Charlie,  

Thank you for this valuable information.  I will go to the State of AL website and take a look.

Lillian is a growing area.  I remember when it only had a caution light and maybe two or three businesses lining Hwy 98.  Now it has a full stop light, ha ha, and dozens of new businesses throughout the community.  The Lillian bridge still offers one of the best views on the gulf coast.  

I appreciate your help!

Thank you Charles.  I will check into it.