All Forum Posts by: Tom Goans

You will burn your bridge with the first lender.

@Luke Boongird,

Seek the advice from financial planners as well as attorneys. They will review everyone's present situation and goals to develop the best over all plan. Be sure to consider family, spouses, death, estates, delusion, and what to do where there are disagreements.

@Joel A.,

Please, please, please have a visit with an attorney where the property is located.

Do not download legal forms from the Internet or used forms provided by someone else. Every state has unique laws that you must follow. On top of that are federal laws. Some cities and counties also have laws you must know and follow. An attorney will work with you to draw up the legal documents to make sure your are in full compliance will all laws. At the same time, the attorney will review your unique situation to make sure you are fully protected, today and for the future.

You will also need to plan how to acquire and hold the property.

An added note; the Young Lawyers Organization has an excellent Tenant and Landlord Rights book. At last check, it is free. This is an excellent book to read several times from cover to cover to know tenant rights. Your attorney can help with any questions. Just the way you post notices is critical. My experience in Texas, judges make sure landlords follow every step properly. An eviction may be denied if you do it incorrectly.

As for dealing with credit and other tenant personal information, there are many laws regarding these issues as well. Your attorney can help you avoid any problems.

Good luck with your business venture.

@Mubasher Riaz,

You need to make a trip to the courthouse to have a visit with the county building department. Your idea may require many approvals, permits, and plans being drawn up by a professional company. The costs and time required may be huge and long.

The first issue I suspect is zoning. Second is parking. Third is utilities. The list goes on.

@Casey York,

It may be the best use of your time and money to move on ... quickly.

If nothing else, time is money.

Not to mention, what is going on here? Will you ever know the whole story? Will it be a good story?

Another point, abandoned properties deteriorate much quicker than an occupied one. A large number of problems can be deeply hidden in the walls. Very Costly Problems. Ask your insurance agent for confirmation. This may lead to another question for the agent, will the insurance company insure the property.

Do not fret. My father always reminded me there are more opportunities out there than I have money or time. Many times, the old-time investors find diamonds in the rough, when others are seeking the easy opportunities that actually offer less rewards.

“Bad areas” is a relative definition. There are some of us who prefer the rewards offered by investing in challenging properties. There is much more to this world than dollar bills. Reach out to Al Williamson for ideas and encouragement.

www.biggerpockets.com/users/alewilliamson

I am not suggesting trying to invent an investment opportunity. Just drive through the neighborhoods you prefer, observe, and take notes. Conduct neighborhood research. Learn all there is to learn about the community and the people who live there.

While driving around, you may spot an opportunity for sale. Or, note the addresses of properties that catch your fancy and reach out to the property owner with a personal letter of introduction - Junk Mail is called junk and hated for a reason. Your letter should tell of your interest in the neighborhood and possibly acquiring income properties - BUT STOP THERE. Do not make blue-sky promises or offer to acquire that person’s property. The owner has been receiving them annually and is probably sick and tired of the junk mail.

Build a relationship with the owner. Let the owner teach you about the neighborhood and investing. As you develop the relationship, let the owner come to you with the idea of selling you his/her investment. By the owner meeting a person who is honestly interested in acquiring his/her investment in their neighborhood, they may give you a special price and offer to finance the purchase because they know you. You are not a junk mailer, you are Meg, our friend the real estate investor.

Just a thought and the lesson taught to me by my father.

Another idea is to connect with the top real estate listing agents in the neighborhood. They are easy to spot. Their name appears most often on the for sale signs. Good listing agents regularly canvas neighborhoods and do exactly what I described above. They become the neighborhood expert ... the real estate go-to-person.

@Michael Quarles,

Thank you for sharing.

I consider the fundamentals of the message could be very useful to a successful real estate career.

@Kathy Armstrong,

To begin with, I am an admitted control freak. With that stated, I never allow someone else control my destiny.

My concern is any company you hire does not understand your target market or your particular investment properties. Every property is unique, every neighborhood is unique, and every target market is unique. A company or individual you hire may think they know your situation and market, they may say they do, but unless they have conducted actual research for the particular neighborhood and target market, they do not. It would be similar to a male stating they know what it is like being pregnant.

If you take the time to create and write your on web content, you will have a better understanding of your investments, your business, and your profession.

There are numerous excellent articles on Google.com that helps to make sure you are creating a website that is search engine friendly and will be ranked higher. Many "professionally" created websites are huge misses to search engines and to the site visitors.

Most likely, the company that host your website also offers free SEO submissions. All you have to do is make the request.

I have been creating my own websites since around 1992.

@Claudia Mexicano,

From my understanding of your post, it appears the lender is having concerns over the transaction.

I am not a real estate agent, so I have no bias opinion. Yet, some consider intentionally buying a property just to resell it prior to closing is playing real estate agent. This could be a violation of state law.

If the lender or underwriter shares these thoughts, they may be attempting to protect their position by getting as many people as possible responsible for the loan and reducing the appearance of being a party to a possible illegal transaction.

In Colorado, a transaction of this nature could be disallowed at any time according to the statutes.

The nature of the transaction may also be concerning to the lender because they may think a con is being played.

The lender may have concerns with the parties in the transaction.

A conversation with the lender may help to solve your problem. I doubt you will be allowed to talk with the underwriter - however, this is the primary decision maker.

@Elizabeth S.

,

To add to my previous posts, it may be wise for you to get an executed Attornment Agreement prior to closing. Your attorney will be able to help you with drawing up this agreement.

An attornment agreement is the written acknowledgement of a tenant that the tenant will remain in the leased premises under a new owner according to the original terms of the lease. The tenant acknowledges the rights of the new owner in the lease, and the new owner acknowledges those of the tenant.