All Forum Posts by: Mark Scarola

Save the Date 

Although some of the details have not yet been finalized, I wanted to let everyone know that I've scheduled the next Central Jersey Meeting. It will be on Thursday evening, January 29th. More information will follow shortly regarding the content and location- but I wanted to at least put the date out there now to give everyone a chance to do some planning/scheduling.

Yes, Kevin. I organize a group that meets primarily in Monmouth County. We should have our next meeting details posted in a few days. I'll let you know when it's up so that you don't miss it.

Hi Daniel, 

Welcome to BP.  I organize a group that meets primarily in Monmouth County at various locations. As we get more members from Ocean County we'll likely expand into holding some meetings there as well. 

We're overdue for our next meeting, but with the holidays last month it's been a slow process in setting up that next meeting which I'm still hoping will take place later this month. If you're interested I can add you to the contact list. Just let me know!

Hi Kevin and welcome to the site. Always good to see another Central Jersey person.

That's great @Eddie Marcano. I hope things continue to work out between the two of you. Thanks for the update! 

@Scott Lennox  @Shawn Mcenteer 

I'm the coordinator of a meetup in Central Jersey (most of our members are from Monmouth County). We meet approximately every 6 weeks and although the next one isn't scheduled just yet, it should be sometime in December. All are welcome to attend. If you'd like me to add you to the list to be notified when we have a date set up just let me know...

@Brandon Hall makes a good point about how many of the big name tax preparation places use minimally trained, seasonal help. Not only are they less likely to be able to recognize and help you with the unique aspects of your situation, but they most likely won't have a real understanding of real estate investing. That means you could be missing out on things that a properly trained professional would catch.

As far as the organization thing, I would suggest trying to use categories (such as expenses for property #1, income from property #1, expenses from property #2, etc.) if you use the envelope idea that @Owen Dashner mentioned. Personally, I also make notes on my receipts so that I don't forget the purpose of a particular purchase, what property/deal it pertains to, or what it was that I actually bought if the receipt just has a code or abbreviation (e.g. ASRTD BNDRS). 

Hi @Eddie Marcano, 

I would remind you that HE contacted you. That means he's the one that likely has an agenda. Let him start the conversation so that you can see what he has in mind. He might think that he has something to learn from you, he might think he has something to offer you, or he might think that the two of you might be able to work on a deal together. 

Just be honest. If you're not looking for any new deals right now then let him know that. If you would be open to a partnership and he's hinting in that direction, you can mention that you might be open to it if all the pieces check out. If you think he might still be a good potential mentor for you, I would caution you against asking outright "will you mentor me". Instead just form a connection with him. A mentorship doesn't have to be a formal thing and many of the best ones are not.

As Bill said, yes there is value and as you said, you would have to sell at a discount. But again to followup on @Bill Gulley's post, have you contacted the borrower? Are they in any way looking to work something out with you or are they trying to avoid you? 

If you can get the borrower to start making payments again, even if it means restructuring the terms, the value of that note will quickly increase. You can still sell it if you don't want to continue being bothered with collecting payments and worrying about defaults. Selling it when it's performing will (not surprisingly) mean that you can sell it for a smaller discount than if you were to sell it today as-is.

As far as foreclosure, you might not need to foreclose as much as start the process of foreclosure to convince your borrower that you're serious about him making payments. Sometimes even having an attorney send a letter demanding payment can get their attention. But again, no need to even go that far if you can get the borrower to work with you on your own.

Thank you again to everyone who came out last night. I hope that you found the event informative and worthwhile. 

Thank you also to @Account Closed for his generosity in spending his time with us and sharing all of the information he did about wholesaling both as a potential investment avenue in itself as well as as a way of outsourcing the identifying and locating of potentially investable properties.