All Forum Posts by: Carol Venolia

 Hi Bri,

I'm happy to chat some time! I've been participating in tax deed auctions for a full year now--have done 8 CA county auctions. You have to love it for the chase and be willing to go after "scary properties," in my experience. But I did pick up two properties at auction a few months ago. Finally! We've got a lot of great county auctions coming up. If I haven't yet said so in this thread, I highly recommend the DVD at

http://www.larryweingarten.com/page/store (scroll down to Tax Deed Deals).

Thank you so much for offering to preview San Joaquin or Alameda County properties!

Best wishes,

Carol

Hi Orlando,

Lots of good advice here so far. I recall my thrill the first time I saw a mobile for under $1K. But now I've seen mobiles for $1, $50, $100, etc. It's a strange world. If you keep looking, you'll probably find more of those apparent deep bargains.

And sometimes they really are good deals! Often (especially in 55+ parks), somebody died or ran off and whoever is left holding title just wants to get rid of the thing and its attendant monthly space rent. So, as many have said here, it's all in the inspection. If you can fix it up for a reasonable cost--and you then can rent or sell it--go for it! Without due diligence, you can end up with a big money pit.

If you haven't been following John Fedro's stuff about investing in mobiles, this is a great time to start.

Good luck, and keep on learning!

Hi Steven,

I'm in Northern CA and I do all my investing in-state. I look outside major metropolitan areas and seek bargains by combing MLS for the rare fixer that pencils out, taking part in tax deed auctions, inquiring about abandoned houses, and buying mobile homes. It's working for me! Best wishes in your endeavors.

Hi Gina,

I buy, fix, and rent out mobile homes in California, and so far they're doing fine for me. I've even found some rare parks that allow subleasing and have low space rent, which makes for great ROI when I can buy cheap.

I strongly advise following John Fedro, who knows it all in this arena (

http://www.mobilehomeinvesting.net), and watching the Mobile Home forum here on BP. 

Mobile homes are fun, and with a little due diligence you may prosper!

I do buy and hold mobile homes, and they can be very good investments. But you have to, first, find out if the park allows subletting. Or maybe you're planning to flip it? If the latter, you'll need to know the laws around carrying back (few lenders will lend on old mobiles).

In either case, you'll need to run some numbers to determine the value of this investment. Dawn is right on in recommending that you study everything John Fedro puts out. Here's his website:

http://www.mobilehomeinvesting.net

Hm, looks like that link didn't come through whole. Just go to ************** and click on tax deed sales, then Solano County.

Hi Ria,

I invest in California real estate and have done just fine. I don't have experience with Vallejo, but I do know that there are lots of Vallejo houses in the Solano County tax deed auction coming up (

http://www.**************/storefront/index.cfm?var1=725630&level1=1&sfid=844#-2)

. If you can grab a fixer at a low price in an auction, that might work out for you. You can check on city-data.com and Trulia for neighborhood-specific info about which neighborhoods have more and less crime.

Let us know how it goes!

Hey Patrick,

My partner and I are already signed up for MHU, so can't help there, but maybe we'll get to meet you there!

Hi Julie,

A lot of Californians bypass the expensive coastal strip and look inland (or north or south) for investment properties that pencil out better. Good luck!

Carol

I use the same interior colors on all houses. I found a body color that works well on almost any exterior, but I like to vary the exterior trim colors in response to the style of the house. I consider that best of both worlds.  :-)