All Forum Posts by: Mike Schorah
Mike Schorah has started 300 posts and replied 418 times.
Post: Where is the motivation in code violations? The disarray itself or the fine amount?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
Where is the motivation in code violations? Is it in the disarray itself or in the fine amount?
I ask this because after contacting 40 code enforcement entities, there seems to be 2 styles of enforcing code violations.
One style of enforcement is code enforcement waits, sends notices, waits, sends another notice, waits, gets a judge involved. Then after a period of time, the property owner gets fined. These lists are usually much longer and have 10-20 people in a month’s time on the list for tall grass or trash/debris.
The other style of enforcement is code enforcement gives the property owner a very limited amount of time to correct the violation, for instance less than a week. Then code enforcement has the sole authority to fine $500-$1,000 per day. As you can imagine, these lists are very short… usually only about 2-3 violators per year.
So which type of list would be more efficient to market to?
Also, some only give closed cases.
Post: Is it worth pulling code violation lists?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
In my area, there appears to be a code violation (tall grass, structural damage, mildew) for every 4,000 people per month.
To get 1,000 prospects/list-size to market to, I’d have to pull 42 lists.
Is it worth pulling 42 code violation lists per month?
Post: Is there any way to find out how much someone owes on a mortgage without PropStream?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
Is there any way to find out how much someone owes on a mortgage without PropStream?
Specifically looking for Salem County, NJ.
Post: Why doesn’t BiggerPockets have a probate forum?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
Is it because probates are hurtful? Foreclosures are embarrassing. There’s a forum for that. There’s a forum for taxes. I’m guessing that hurt crosses the line.
Is it because it sucks? There’s a stigma and it’s not a fun subject?
It’s morbid?
Probates are the perfect scenario for off market investing. Most of the houses are rundown, if not outdated. The reality is: if you don’t do it, somebody else is going to do it for you. When people get older or are sick, they’re going to concentrate on the quality of life. They don’t care about the house. Maybe grandma is in the house for 30-40 years and didn’t fix the roof because it wasn’t in the budget. It’s very overwhelming to the person in charge of selling the house.
Post: Tax delinquencies: What’s a better list to market to?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
A list of 9 months late tax delinquencies or a list of tax delinquencies going to sale in 30 days?
Would the tax sale properties be difficult to wholesale like mortgage foreclosure auctions?
Would it be worth filing a FOIA/OPRA/RTKL/PIA request for 9 months late?
I’m assuming that 9 months late is better since it’s more difficult to get (less competition) and you have advantage of putting quantity into a dialer.
Post: Senators Call for More Scrutiny of “We Buy Ugly Houses” Company - Wholesaling Incuded

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
Quote from @Account Closed:
Oh well, he served his sentence on probation and now has a record.
**************************************************************
Senators, Regulator Call for More Scrutiny of “We Buy Ugly Houses” Company
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s head said the Department of Justice and state attorneys general should be made aware of predatory house-flipping practices, following ProPublica reporting on HomeVestors of America.
https://www.propublica.org/article/senators-call-for-scrutin...
Five Stories of Lives Upended After Dealing With the “We Buy Ugly Houses” Company
https://www.propublica.org/article/five-lives-upended-after-...
"Meanwhile, criminal investigators in Ventura County took an interest in the case. After they found a second elderly victim who was pressured by Evans into selling his house, the district attorney filed felony charges against Evans of attempted grand theft of real property and attempted theft from an elder. He pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted grand theft"
https://www.propublica.org/article/ugly-truth-behind-we-buy-...
I’m not a big fan of recording memorandums because from what I’ve heard, you can get into big legal trouble and you’re clouding the title and you can get countersued. I don’t think I would record a memorandum unless I consulted an attorney.
When a seller is over 65, my plan has always been to talk to family members beforehand. You can’t sign contracts with people that are mentally impaired. You can’t sign contracts with people that are inebriated or drunk. That’s contract law in the United States.
I never make people sell me a house.
I would hope that a title company wouldn’t allow a contract of someone with neurological problems to happen.
How it was explained to me… If you defame someone’s title, they could sue for big damages. They will break it down on cost per day and their pain and suffering and the biggest part is the lawyer fees.
Post: Did anybody hear about the guy who got arrested for wholesaling?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
He allegedly forged bank financial statements. Why didn’t he just get prequalified for a hard money loan?
He allegedly didn’t deliver earnest money. Is it really that hard to come up with $100?
He allegedly never delivered closing funds. Why didn’t he close or cancel the contract within the inspection period?
What guru was teaching him this stuff?
Post: When pulling probates, do you cross the decedent’s address with a parcel search?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
Trying to find out about real estate attached to a probate. I can get the decedent’s address and executor information. But inventory doesn’t show up for 90 days. Can I do a parcel search to find out if the decedent has real estate in the probate?
A parcel search would only show who is paying the taxes, not who owns the real estate. But I can’t think of any other way to find this information out as quickly as possible.
Post: How difficult is it to wholesale a property in excellent condition?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
I have a property where the seller wants $175k for it. It’s in excellent condition. No work is needed to it at all. It’s been completely updated. The comps put it at $285k in excellent condition.
How difficult would it be to find a cash buyer for this property?
Or would this be better to wholetail? Is it difficult qualifying for transactional funding?
Post: How often should you pull the pre-foreclosure list?

- Rental Property Investor
- Posts 423
- Votes 190
Does speed kill in pre-foreclosures like it does with probates?
Not talking about auctions. Talking about after the NOD is filed.
I’ve been door knocking pre-foreclosure prospects, so that makes it difficult to pull them every week opposed to probate where I’m calling them so it’s no problem at all pulling a fresh list every week.
I haven’t gotten into code violations, water shut offs, or fire damaged yet. But I hear you should pull those lists every 2-3 months.
Could I just pull the pre-foreclosures every month? I don’t want to spend too much time/gas/vehicle-wear-and-tear.