All Forum Posts by: Martha Maxim

I am a newbe to this... I was thinking that I could buy a home for myself with hard money and find a better deal due to buying with cash. My question is, will I be able to refi a conventional loan. I actually qualify for an FHA loan, but if I buy it with cash first, how much below the value of the house does my first loan have to be to have a bank accept me for refi. And how long do I have to wait to refi....
Just trying to be creative..

Tell me, how do you find out the replacement costs in your city? Do you ask the home insurance?

Thank you Michael for the clarification on green houses. And thanks for the clarification on what you consider high crime areas. Where I live and the areas I am considering buying a home is not in that catagory. What I still need clarification on is what you mean by getting at least 50% of replacement cost. I assume that means the cash flow is at least 50% of what a replacement loan would cost? Or is it that the rent that you receive is at least 50% of what a loan would cost to replace the house?

Yes, that is why I ask so many questions.

I am still not clear on what a green house is. Does it mean any home or one that need to be fixed up? Or have I not gotten the picture yet?

What is an IMO?

I looked into wholesale marketing of real estate and was wondering if I could use some of the ideas to buy my own home. I will be a first time homeowner. I was wondering if I could buy a house with cash by taking out a short term high interest loan (called hard money?) and then turn around and refinace it to a normal loan. The question is - will I still be a first time buyer if I have already bought with cash. Are there any lenders that you know of that are good at this kind of creative financing?

California has laws that can leave landlords on the loosing end of the deal. Like how it can take so long to get someone evicted. That is very frightening to me, since retaliation by wrecking your property is more likely. Any suggestions on how to protect yourself?

Thanks Aaron. Now I have to learn how to protect myself and lessen the liability.

Thanks everyone. Michael, you said you would buy in all neighborhoods. What about neighborhoods that are low income, high crime?