All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

You could always Lease Option to a Tenant/Buyer. Get a few thousand dollar option fee upfront, and generally get the high end of market value for rent. My tenant/buyers give me just about zero headache. They pay on time and in full each month and i haven't heard a peep out of them in months. 

As far as property management goes, i would shop around and get some feedback if you decide to go that route. A good property manager is golden, a bad one will bleed you dry each month.

During my PCS moves or deployments i used to use "good ole boy network" for property management. I'd leave keys with a primary and alternate point of contact i.e. former teammates that i trusted to go check in on the property and take care of small things when needed. Not the ideal situation but if it saves you $135.. 

Good luck to ya!

Lloyd Stanton.
American.

Following up on an application from a crazy potential tenant scored me my first 6 subject to deals, and i wouldn't be doing what im doing today if it hadn't happened! This gentleman called and sounded real smooth on the phone, but always had "issues" with ***********.com when filling out his application. I finally had his wife complete hers, and apparently he didn't think the eviction would come up on her report. So just for my own amusement i called the landlord that filed the judgement, and within the first 5 minutes of the conversation he dropped, "are you looking to buy some more rentals?! we're getting divorced and want to get rid of all of ours"

Lesson of the day: Call ALL the previous landlords of sketchy tenants! They might just be the motivated absentee owner/seller you've been looking for :)

One neighborhood junkie would need less than a minute to pop that little lockbox open. 

http://fox40.com/2014/09/16/real-estate-agent-finds-squatters-in-for-sale-home/

Having a lockbox on a wholesale deal definitely gives you ease of access at your convenience, but in my personal opinion, that convenience isn't worth the liability of something happening to the property while i was responsible for access. Just my opinion. If it works for others, keep on keepin on!

Lloyd Stanton.
American.

I've heard of folks requesting/requiring a lock box on a wholesale property; however, I personally would never ask that of a seller as i would never want the keys to my house hanging on the doorknob outside!  

I usually give the seller's a day or so notice, and definitely at their convenience. If you've got more than one buyer wanting to look, get a few together at once that way you're not inconveniencing the seller. 

Hey @Andrea Tapp 

I have the following in my purchase and sale agreements and overly emphasize it when walking the seller line by line through the contract before they sign it. 

"INSPECTIONS: This contract is contingent upon the Buyer’s and Buyers’ Partner inspection and approval of the property prior to transfer of title. Seller agrees to provide access to the Buyer’s representatives prior to transfer of title for inspection of the property. Inspection must pass Buyer and Buyers’ Partners Inspection Process. "

I tell sellers that i plan on bringing on a partner/other investor in the project (which is the truth; if options for buying it fall through, i wholesale) and let them know that prospective partners on the project will also want to do a walk through. 

Lloyd Stanton.

American.

@Destiny Hall
Contact the seller and build some rapport! If you're just starting out, get used to talking to sellers! Work on your script/pitch and eliciting the necessary information needed to determine if it's a good deal and what options the sellers are open to! Find out why they're selling, what kind of issues the property has, how much they'd accept if they got a cash offer today etc. 

You never know until you ask.

Maybe find a local investor to JV with who will help walk you through it.

Good luck!

Lloyd Stanton.
American.

@Chance Cooper Is this person an agent of a real estate company whom you've contacted to have your house listed for sale? Or have you listed your home FSBO and this is someone who's contacted you?

If this is your agent, id make a call to his company asking why he's not acting in your best interest.

If this is a response to your FSBO, he's an investor just looking to gain cash flow off your property until it sells. 

If you proceed with this course of action, be VERY weary of the "we pay all maintenance" line! Do you think a person who is technically just "leasing" your house, will pay for an HVAC unit if it goes out? Nope. They'll either make you pay for it since the property is still yours, or simply tear up their option and walk away. 

I was stationed at Bragg for quite awhile and our little investor network of former SF dudes are always looking to buy investment properties around there! Shoot me a message and maybe we can help each other out. 

Lloyd Stanton.
American.

I just finished up my first (and last) month with a 15x60 billboard. 

I had driven by the empty billboard every day and stared at it while i was stuck in traffic and figured..if bandit signs have netted me close to $60k this year, a billboard should bring in a small fortune!! Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

We kept it simple, bright, and contrasting to its background:
WE BUY HOUSES CASH

Contact #

Website

The vast majority of responses were from local contractors looking for work and other investors, with only a handful of leads. Did it pay for itself? Yes, and a little over; however, i could've funded my direct mail campaign for most of the coming year for what the billboard cost. As several folks have said, its great for brand recognition, but not worth it for lead generation.

Lesson's learned!

Definitely go find a investor friendly attorney in your town! I used generic forms for my first wholesale deal, and ended up with a sharply worded two page long email from the closing attorney outlining everything that was screwed up. 

Once you find an attorney who understands what you intend on doing, draw up a list of questions you may have on the subject, and invest an hour or two at that attorneys hourly rate to have all your questions answered..a CYA session so to speak. Money well spent.

While their is a vast amount of knowledge, and experience on this site..the people on this site aren't going to be there if you screw up and end up in court. 

Im on my 7th Subject To deal and came across an issue. In my previous deals i required sellers to change the username and allow me to reset the security questions/password for their online account access for their mortgage lenders, ensuring only i had access to the account from closing on; however, those previous deals involved mortgages from lenders separate from the seller's primary financial institution.

I ran into a hiccup on a great deal im about to close on, and i'm guessing i'm just lucky i haven't had to deal with it yet. The seller's mortgage lender is also the seller's primary financial institution; therefore, allowing me access to the mortgage information allows me access to the sellers checking/saving etc. The seller obviously does not want to allow this, and I don't blame him one bit, as neither would I. Just changing the mailing address won't work, as it will screw up their mail, and cause unnecessary grief with their financial dealings.

Any Subject To experts have a work around for this?