All Forum Posts by: Marvin McTaw

Hi @Brandon Davis! Welcome to Bigger Pockets. I'm here based in Dunwoody near Perimeter Mall but I invest in Cobb County as well. What specifically are you looking to get into? I might be able to help. 

There are plenty of REIA meetups out in Cobb County that might be good to go to. There's also a North Georgia REIA group. The one thing I'll tell you to watch out for is the constant sales pitches you'll get. You will generally find great (free) resources here that are way better than many of the "seminars" that are pitched there. Feel free to shoot me a message if you'd like to connect.

Hi @Lane Hamilton! Welcome to bigger pockets! I'm in the Atlanta area as well. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat in more detail. 

Check out Matt Schuurman of Shafritz & Dean. They have offices all over metro Atlanta and their primary office is in Suwanee.

Hi @Micah Redden. I'll put it on my schedule. See you there! 

I am purchasing a property Subject To and selling it via Owner Finance. We are collecting a down payment upfront and will also have a monthly spread between the Subject To payments and what we collect in principal and interest. Does anyone have any suggestions on things I should be on the lookout for from a risk standpoint before we move forward and close?

Part of the reason I am selling this property via Owner Financing is because the existing financing has a balloon payment due in a few years. With owner financing, I hope to eliminate the refinancing risk by having the option to sell the note to pay off the original note. 

There are a lot of moving parts here and I'm hoping to draw on the wisdom of the community to make sure I don't miss out on anything critical. A couple issues I need help with, haven't resolved yet with my attorney: 

• Property Insurance: the existing debt requires insurance. Insurance is not escrowed. Should the current owner keep that in his name? Should the new owners (i.e. B to C) take it out in their name and add the current owner as a beneficiary too?
• Property Taxes: taxes are not escrowed. Should I escrow for taxes to make sure they are paid?
• Credit Reports, Bank Statements, Employment Verification, Background Checks, Child Molester: I've been treating the buyer in the same way I treat lease option tenants and doing the normal checks on that front. I typically review this for problem issues but would prefer them to be reviewed by someone professionally, primarily because I've been super busy. Any recommendations on companies to run these reports for me?
• Any Other Issues I Need To Think About or Consider?  

Hi Julia Hicks! I'm in the Atlanta area. Relatively new to holding rental properties (have a few) but have only tried cash for keys once. It didn't work. Currently going through the eviction process now for that occupant.

Brandon Schlichter Nicole W. Brad Clarizio - thanks for bringing up this question and answering it the way you all did. I got a call from a company that suggested exactly the same thing Brad was discussing (LLC for every property over 50k and Alaskan based managing LLC for all properties). It seemed a bit overkill to me. Thank you for your input. I will be looking into better insurance options. Thanks!

Hey @Account Closed that's a little bit more complicated to determine because you have to look at the easements, variances and what the cities will actually let you do. You generally have to have a certain amount of space between the houses, property line, street, etc. 

I have a friend who's an architect by trade who is pretty good at and enjoys figuring that sort of stuff out. Let me know if you want an introduction. 

Hey @Patricia Joseph most of the weekend events with the Atlanta REIA cost money (even as a member). The majority of the weekday events are free for members and low cost for non-members. You can see a Calendar of all the Atlanta REIA Events Here.

If you've never been to any of the events, I recommend going to the weekly "Have's & Wants" meeting on Thursday. There, people talk about what they have (e.g. deals, financing, etc.) and what they want (...well I guess the same). That's a good place to start as it is free for members and non-members alike. 

Another sub-group that I've been to before and liked is the Creative Financing Sub-group. It meets once or twice a month at a local restaurant. I think if you're a non-member it's like $5 or $10. 

As far as the weekend events, you have to look at the Calendar and also just pay attention to the special announcements they have. 

Welcome to Bigger pockets @Jonason Holland! Feel free to message me with any questions you might have or if I can be of assistance to you.