All Forum Posts by: Michael Borger

What's the problem with a spec home if you get the land cheap enough and can keep your build costs low? If you can get 5000k piece of land for 150k, put a 275k home on it and sell it for 650k - what's wrong with that? Anything is possible if your purchase and construction costs are low enough.

Don't overestimate the difference between Hawaii and other places. There are only two main things to be aware of: 1) obviously, the higher price point (a benefit, not an obstacle), and 2) leasehold properties which might never come across your desk anyway.

The rest is just fundamentals: marketing, understanding what makes a deal, and good buyers -- same as every other market.

Even when I buy a property on another island, I generally use First American in Kailua. They can work with any property statewide. Toni Tudor coordinated dozens of closings for me over the years but just retired. Jessica Faamai is now the branch manager there. Angie Goya has also done lots of my short sales. Either should be able to help you out. 

@Sean Dougherty Overall, you're correct. The seller cannot take monetary proceeds from the short sale, however, sometimes the bank will allow for relocation funds; my short sale negotiator is often able to provide a small amount if it has been the seller's primary residence. It depends on the situation and the servicer/investor of the note.

Whether the PR can be monetarily compensated or not is better left to an attorney (or ask the servicer/investor how they handle those situations). However, your statement was: "Bottom line is: What would be the benefit of a personal rep to sell a house via short sale?"

If the personal representative is truly looking out for the best interests of the estate, which ought to be assumed, then they should view the short sale as a better alternative to a foreclosure. In other words, they should act as if they were the seller themselves. Would they advocate the estate gets foreclosed upon?

@Andrey Y. Sure - give me a call today and we'll chat about it.

"My instincts are always correct". Of course, that's not true for anyone.
"I will assume every person who replies is a SPY for coaching programs and Utah, just to be on the safe side!" Not a helpful position to take.

You sound as if you're out to get to everyone who dares transact business without a realtor. And not every company out of Utah is a scam. More so, wholesaling can be done both properly and improperly. I've done plenty myself - just two this past week - and the sellers have been very happy with the end result. I've also seen it done poorly and leave people worse off - again, blanket statements are not helpful.

The same can be said for coaching companies. There are good and bad ones, and good and bad results among them from paying customers. Painting them all with a broad brush of impropriety is neither credible nor accurate.

I've used Ken Lau to do my evictions. I almost needed one done recently on homeowner/residents in Ewa but got them out without any cash for keys - just the threat of being foreclosed on and kicked out on the street. I'm moving toward lease options - Hawaii might have some possibilities, but I'm doing them in Alaska remotely. Tenants pay on time because 1) I give a modest rent credit for doing so, and 2) they pay a non-refundable option deposit so if they play games they're risking a 5-figure loss.

Hi @Brenden Mitchum - cool background. I was initially a PhD student in the geography department at UH focusing on coastal matters. I did some field work in Thailand, other work in SOEST and had an RA with NMFS for a bit before leaving the science world behind (at least professionally - it's still my top passion). You probably know my friends Max and Justin in the same field. I live in San Diego now, though Hawaii is still my main market. Lots of opportunities here in SD though it's definitely a competitive market -- a house hack would be a good way to go, especially if you can lease option it.

50k on a flip in the next 12 months? Of course, it's possible. I'm buying a fixer in Wahiawa next week that I'll make more than that on. You just have to have your education in order and market like crazy. You can make more than that just wholesaling which is even better - no contractors, just in and out.

@Joel Florian I invest in both Hawaii and Alaska. I flip, wholesale and do lease options. I just started a nice lease option in the Foxhall neighborhood of Anchorage on Monday and have another upcoming in Eagle River with others in the pipeline. LMK if you might be interested in more flips (if in the Anchorage region) before you head to Hawaii or if you want to talk about a lease option on your Alaska property.