All Forum Posts by: Mariquita De Mira

I realize I am late to the party but I just watched an all day webinar by Anderson Advisors on Tax & Asset Protection last Saturday and found it very beneficial and informative that I was interested in signing up for their services. It is quite pricey. I did some research first to see if they are even legitimate and what their reviews are like. This is what I discovered if this helps anyone out who Googles about them and ends up on this Bigger Pockets forum thread.

On Reddit, there were several negative reviews like really bad ones of current clients who can't seem to exit from their services and who have spent and lost lots of money due to lag times, mistakes, etc. on the part of Anderson Advisors. Here is a link to it: https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/sz6udf/who_has_...

Also, I received an email to review them so I clicked on their Google Reviews and saw that they had 4.8 Stars. Interesting I thought, that they have that high of a rating. When I checked their reviews, I first started with the negatives ones and they were similar to the ones found on Reddit. Then I checked their positive reviews and discovered that the people who gave them 5 stars were rating them highly on the Tax & Asset Protection workshops. Not on their actual services! Hence, they sent me a link to give them a review on their workshop only, which I agree is excellent but I've decided I'm not going to sign up with them given what I've read on Reddit. I'm not suggesting anyone do the same. Just do your due diligence and research before you make any costly decisions. 

I use both Zillow and Turbo Tenant to screen tenants. You can email them the application which they will pay through these sites. 

@Dan Vleck Good food for thought. It's just that I don't think I have enough in my brokerage account to liquidate for closing costs, reserves, etc. I am researching Self-Directed IRAs so I can transfer my retirement money into them and use it instead for real estate. If you have any recommendations of companies that do that, that would be great. Best wishes! :)

@Daniel Anshus It sure does, doesn't it? Yes the sale of my home will cover emergency funds should it sell (which we're pretty confident it will in this market) but until then, I need to have $20k down payment and try to scrimp to get the remaining for closing costs. If I use my brokerage account for it, I'll have maybe $5k for reserves but may not have enough when I close again down the road to refinance into a Conventional loan from a Contract for Deed before I receive the proceeds from the sale of my house...unless I'm incorrect in the order of how it works. I've looked into both refinancing (my rate is already low so I would save maybe $50-$80 a month but pay $4500 in closing costs) and a HELOC (they look at my DTI ratio and the numbers didn't work out). But thank you for your input. Best wishes! :)

@Noah Chappell Good morning and thank you for getting back to me. I totally agree with you especially about not having an emergency fund and everything going wrong, which they will when one doesn't have a backup plan or reserves. It happened to me a few years ago after I closed on my house, got my car stolen and had to get a new car, then got laid off and had no emergency funds. It was a scary position to be in. I think that is why this deal is stressing me out as opposed to making me feel good even though the numbers appear to work. That would be awesome to run deals by you! I appreciate it. Best wishes!! :)

I live in the Twin Cities and have been looking at duplexes to move into and house-hack to get started with real estate investing. I made a 6-Month Contract for Deed offer on a duplex located in a B/C area with 3 bedrooms and 1 bath in each unit priced at $290k. It appears it is in solid condition and move-in ready. The bottom unit has been occupied for 6 years by the same tenant who gets some assistance to help cover her rent at $1600/month which about covers the monthly mortgage. She just recently signed a new lease and is a good tenant. When I move out, I could potentially collect $3200/month in rent from both units. 

The reason my agent and I arrived at a Contract for Deed offer is because I still need to sell my house before I can buy my next property due to my DTI ratio and I need more time to prep my house for sale. However, the seller of said duplex already has an FHA offer but was willing to consider mine. Our offer was $290k, $20k down, 4.25% for 6 months. He countered with $295k. But after my agent and I started to review what I need to bring to the table, it appears I need another $5k for closing costs, inspection, etc. I have exactly $20k and no more unless I want to move some money from my brokerage account or borrow it. However, if I were to do the former, I will have no money for reserves or emergency funds and I keep thinking how the worst can happen like a furnace going out, I get laid off, etc. and now I have no net to fall on or umbrella to cover me.

As much as the numbers seem to work I don't have all the money on hand to do this deal. However, I'm wondering in this hot market with most rents not meeting 1% rule and in this case it is more than 1%, am I letting a good deal pass me by or will there be more deals down the road, I just need to be patient. This is a huge financial decision and I'm terrified of making a mistake: spending money I don't have to buy an investment or passing up a great investment opportunity, hence it's worth moving heaven and earth for an extra $5,000. 

Sorry for the long post and appreciate any guidance on this major decision. Thank you very much in advance!

@Scott Jensen Good point! It does raise a red flag. Thank you for getting back to me! Cheers!

@Jordan Moorhead Thank you for getting back to me! Much appreciated!

Hello Fellow BPers! I am renting my guest bedroom in my home and have potential roommates who have expressed interest. Roommate #1 is a 30-year old female medical student who is moving from NJ to MN for a year. She won't have a job and claims her father will be paying her rent. The problem is I haven't met her yet to get a good vibe. Roommate #2 is male and looks to be about 50s-60s and claims he has a couple of jobs as a data scientist working for a well-known company in the Twin Cities and a workout instructor (I plan to verify his employment) and I have met him and seems like a decent person. I'm female in my 40's. Who should I pick?? Help and Thank you in advance for your feedback!! Cheers!!