All Forum Posts by: Margie Fuller

I was in your shoes once and went to college and then got my real estate license and work for a real estate company. While I got a lot of experience that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise, the business didn't pay very well where I live. If you have a $70,000 opportunity take it and work on your real estate license on the side. That's the great thing about real estate is that you can work it full-time or part-time. The one thing I would do differently would be to house hack instead of keeping my primary home. Take those opportunities while you're single because once you're married and have a family it does make it a little more complicated. Sales doesn't have to be a miserable job. Any job is what you make it. Take the opportunity of being face to face with lots of people to begin your networking. Sales is a great opportunity to build all the skills that you will need to make you a very successful person in communication so take advantage of every opportunity that you get.

Hi @Tim Hall. I live in Waycross, GA and was curious to know if you still own these properties. If you do I'd like to know more about their rental history and discuss with you what you plans are for them. 

I haven't personally owned a property where tenants were on public assistance, but I have managed one or two units out of a large inventory that did. Of those, they always paid because the money came directly to the office. The negative is in the maintenance agreement. You'll want to be sure that you know what their damage is before buying because when they come to do the inspection, the owner frequently has to make the repairs. Hopefully, the PM did a walk through and has a signed walk through agreement. The government assistance part is good on the payment, but bad in that they have no skin in the game. Fortunately, the 2 that I encountered still had respect for their home and didn't create a lot of damage. They also stayed longer because the rent was guaranteed for this location, whereas, they may not get approved again if they move. Just something to consider. I wouldn't let it be a drawback. Just do regular inspections and have your contractors report anything that may attention as they go in and change fire alarm batteries. It's the best way to keep your eyes on damage regularly.

All of the advice that I have collected on this subject here is to use every means necessary. HELOC is a great option if you have equity in your FHA home. They suggest checking with local banks and credit unions. It seems it may be easier to build a relationship with them because of their connection to the community versus larger banks. Also, private money is an option. I have read a lot of posts and watched a lot of BP YouTube videos that indicate a lot of people are able to get private funding by asking the owner to finance. Brandon mentioned that 30% of homes are mortgage free, so that means 1 in 3 that you ask could possibly have no mortgage and be more flexible with owner financing. That was very encouraging to hear. I wish you the best!

Hi @VB Phom. I haven't made my first recent purchase yet, but I have consumed A LOT of BP podcasts on YouTube. If you haven't checked there, you really should. There are so many examples, you're bound to find one that almost fits your situation to a T. What I can tell you from having watched them myself is that you're in a good position having $80K to work with. One thing I have learned is that there is no "one way" to invest. You find the method that works best for you. Perhaps consider what your short-term and long-term goals are to see if you should use that $80K now or hold it. I personally would look for private money and would want to have it available for rehabbing. Then refinance and get it back out to be available for future properties. That is with a "Buy and Hold" strategy and begin the passive income coming in. Definitely check out the YouTube video on how to use the BRRR calculator. I have used it, and it was super helpful. I spoke with a lady about buying her home "owner finance" and after putting the numbers in, I realized that I would have to offer her $20K less than what I had originally anticipated to be cash flow positive. I guess we'll see how that goes. Fortunately, I'm able to share my findings with her, so I will at least have support for my offer. I wish you the best. Look for Bigger Pockets on YouTube.

@Winn Vu If she signed for it, maybe she lost it in the process of moving. If so, ask her to pay for the stop payment. As long as you stop payment on the check, there shouldn't be a problem with you reissuing a new one. If it goes through in the future, that would be on the bank. Not you. 

@Jacob Hanson LOL, I wish I could fine people for cold calling me! They have found a way to use a phone number resembling mine to call me on. Obviously fake. There's no way for me to track them. I think cold calling is too much work. Surely there is a better way to reach that target market. What about direct mail? I know it will cost more, but time is money, and you'll spend lots of time on the phone and perhaps a fine according to some of the above posts for cold calls. :|

@David Hanor if you're going to submit a low offer, support it with evidence of why. At least submit a letter to the owner showing that you're submitting the offer respectfully, and would like to explain how you are coming to your offer number. If it's a property that you feel very seriously about, go ahead and do the inspection now, and provide it along with the offer as support. If it's been on the market for a while (in a hot market), then there's a reason why it hasn't moved. Unfortunately, it may not be because of the house. Someone here on BP shared his Realtor had been living in his home without his knowledge. YIKES. There are all kinds of things that could impact it's availability for sale that may make it appear the price is an issue, when it may not be. I think an explanation would go a long way to soften the blow of a low offer. 

@Michael Foster Having worked in insurance, I may be able to help out here. Flood insurance is different than hazard insurance, in that, flood insurance is guaranteed. It's backed federally. Your property could flood every single year, and they will back up the policy (at least until someone on a governmental level messes that up). Hazard insurance is provided by the company that you have insurance with, so if you continue to have claims every year, they will typically cancel your insurance at the worst or charge what feels like a penalty for having used the policy at best. So my suggestion is the same as the others here, if it's good on the numbers, go for it as long as you carry flood insurance.  

I've heard of people using this method before. I haven't personally used it, but after my husband rehabbed our primary home's tile bathroom, I would totally consider it for our spare bathroom. It was A LOT of work and what a mess! You may want to Google some pictures of the Miracle Method to see some before and afters. I actually like @Scott Weaner suggestion of beadboard if it's going to be a rental. 

https://www.miraclemethod.com/ceramic-tile-paint.h...