All Forum Posts by: Tom McGiveron

from the way real estate has taken off into the stratosphere - i would say the answer is definitely YES.

but it takes time and effort. most people don't invest enough time into anything other than working for the man, and watching tv,

aaron -

plan out what you want to do.

how do you do this?

start learning about investing -

read or listen to:

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing - by Robert Kiyosaki.

put the 20k away for about 6 months - talk with as many people in real estate, finance as possible. get used to the lingo and when you're ready, sit down and either create or get help creating a financial plan for yourself. take a realtor course - get your realtor license or possibly hook up with a mortgage broker - help processing loans, selling etc.

it will pay off in spades.

you have to network.

i know that sounds like a cliche, but it's the truth. doors open up ALOT when you start talking with other investors. even though rei is extremely competitive, there is plenty to go around...or so it would seem.

but i'm curious. "adding value" and "finding deals" are two seperate things...somewhat.

obviously, to find "deals" you need to find a property that is most likely, in need of repairs, either by you or by an assignee (wholesaling).

but strictly "adding value" is a seperate category in and of itself. commercial buyers really rely heavily on the potential to add value. with commercial real estate, the swings of just fixing leaky faucets and doing redoing the landscape can really increase value A LOT. or so i've heard - (i've never owned any commercial real estate myself). but if you do the math, it really can add up.

anyways, as i was saying, "adding value" depends on many different variables, for one - CASH or available CREDIT to do what you think will add value. for instance, making a 2 br into a 4 br would certainly add value to a SFH, but do you have what it takes to swing this? this then becomes an important piece when evaluating and pricing the property before you purchase.

hope this makes sense. of course, you can look at "buying low" as "adding value"...but that's not really (to me) what adding value is. that's just simply cutting costs from your pocket...the Value of the property does not increase by simply "buying low".

wow L,

sounds like a good opportunity to grow up FAST!

http://www.viviun.com/Real_Estate/Thailand/Agents/

http://www.siamrealestate.com/

http://www.century21.com/home.aspx

I HAVE NO AFFILIATIONS WITH ANY OF THESE LINKS.

i just googled thailand realtors, international realtors.

do you have ALL the appropriate paperwork?

get a friend and fly there. make it a business trip.

start learning about business NOW.

forget about making "fast money"...take your time and L E A R N a little

good luck. this sounds like an interesting opportunity.

duh.

my bad.

:lol:

fizzle,

step one and step two

GO NO FURTHER.

print out this post you wrote.

keep it.

file it in a draw and mark it as "when i was VERY new to investing."

commit yourself to studying on rei...but...also look at yourself and answer these questions:

what is my current financial situation?
how have i handled my financials in the past?
what is my business experience?
what are my weaknesses?
how can i improve them?

read Rich Dad, Poor Dad - by Robert Kiyosaki.

your plan has many holes in it and some of it just doesn't make sense. through your writing, it appears you don't fully understand what it is you're saying.

clearly you took a long time to think alot through - but you've got a long way to go.

here's your program: (listen to whatever books you can on audio - this saves time) - get all reading material from LIBRARY
week 1 read Rich Dad Poor Dad
week 2 finish this book - take a good hard look at yourself
week 3 do your personal financial statements - start reading a book on rei by Bronchick or Shemin
week 4 - 6 call a few realtors in your area and use the conversational skills you learn from reading rei books - get general information. also do your second personal financial statement.
ALWAYS ASK:
"IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD BE ASKING YOU THAT I HAVEN'T ALREADY?"
week 7 - 10 - read your third rei book - try out "Buy Even Lower" by Frank and Heller - start looking at classifieds and legal notices - find a CPA AND ATTORNEY - THAT INVEST IN REAL ESTATE!!! tell them you want to start investing in the near future. by this time you probably will have at least the basic lingo down so that what you say makes sense.
week 11 - 15 - develop your business/investment strategy - your business plan (can be a two pager - no silly 18 page formal business plan)
this is your first plan - do your third personal financial statement (are you managing your personal finances efficiently yet???) - consider your business entity - sole proprietor, S-Corp, LLC, etc...
week 16 - look at some properties with a realtor you have chosen. speak to a mortgage broker and begin learning about financing prospects.

from here on forward will depend on your ultimate strategy for investing. this is a general time table - you might be a quick learner - you might hit week 6 and realize you want to wholesale - go out and by week 16, maybe you've already wholesaled 3 deals and made 25,000 (unlikely but definitely possible).

through this process of learning, it is important to pay attention to major subjects of rei like financing and title insurance and other related issues - learn the "how's of the business"..like how does title insurance work anyway. from my experience, the first time i read a title insurance and coverage packet, i was like...WHHHHAAATTT? ain't no book gonna prep you for that!

also - pay attention to yourself, how you manage money, your time, etc.

GOOD LUCK! keep in touch.

without making this a long-winded explanation of every difference between a noob and an experienced investor...because there are so many differences -

the one thing i would like to point out is this one KEY difference:

it SEEMS...

that many new investors go into buying real estate (those that actually do it) and do for instance...a rehab and sell - they purchase it for whatever...but the bottom line is - they purchase it with an exit strategy that is not entirely developed.

an experienced investor has his/her exit strategy developed with 99% of the details worked out. an experienced investor knows BEFORE they buy who will purchase the property, how long it will take and how much they'll make

the new "investor" has an exit strategy that is hanging in the wind.

reason i'm posting this is because i've talked to many noobs...and there seems to be this recurring theme - they're buying houses and then sitting on them because they're not selling.

i'd say the average new investor, when it comes to rehabs - holds their property for over 6 months...

whereas the experienced investor holds for less than 30 to 60 days, depending on project.

opinions?

i'm not saying i'm right - i'm just throwing this out there. :D

Ethical,

how long did it take you to get to this plateau of excellence?

sally,

how SOLID are your comps? meaning - do the comps match?

have you done this before? [just curious]

chances are you can't assume their loan or at the very least, this will be a challenge at first - you have to speak to the lender...and not just the low level loan specialist - you need to speak to someone who can make a logical decision. obviously, if you have good credit, the lender at the end of the day would be better off letting someone assume the loan rather than foreclose on the property.

and r2 has a point - the sellers are not going to carry anything. why would they? they are in no position to do so. they want out and they want to sell this sucker NOW.

get all new financing, like r2 said - get it under contract - but make sure IT'S THE GOOD DEAL YOU SAY IT IS FIRST.

also - the thing is only 33% rented right now? how long have the other units been vacant? what do you bring to the table that makes you think you can do it better? why couldn't the current owners make it make money? what did they do wrong and how will YOU fix their screw ups?

GA,

be careful buying HUD homes and using gov't loans like the 203k

there are different restrictions and they carry MAJOR FINES if you violate them - even by mistake.

you can't be an owner-occupant and "flip" a property. i presume that you're using the term "flip" to mean rehab and sell ["flip" used in its correct/original way means assigning aka never owning the actual property just the contract].

what i mean is, if you want to rehab and sell a property as an owner-occupant using a 203k - you must live in the property for over one year at least (i think). and you must live there.

if you decide to have your mail forwarded there and have someone rent it from you, like a relative or whatever - you are violating the rules [NOT RECOMMENDED].

purchasing investment homes to live in, fix up and sell is definitely a viable option - it takes discipline and focus - many people who make these kinds of investments can get side-tracked, do too much to the property, get married, have kids...life happens and before you know it, it's not a true "investment" property anymore...it's your home. so you must stay focused.

anyway, original point - you can't "flip" an owner-occupied property - UNLESS you use seller financing or a regular mortgage (and live there for 6 months to a year anyway for loan seasoning purposes).

google:
loan seasoning
investment loans

and look them up on this site and other rei sites.

remember HUD is all about improving neighbhorhoods in low income areas. HUD, generally, does NOT see investors as the ideal for improving neighbhorhoods...why? because it's the gov't that's why! they see investors, especially smaller firms (sole proprietors, small partnerships) as people who want to do shabby work and rent it out to section 8, thus not contributing to the overall good of the community...and generally in my opinion, they're right. i see what many investors do, and they do crappy work, and other homeowners HATE them for adding to the rental scene in their neighbhorhood thus decreasing the overall value of surrounding homes. HUD wants nothing to do with this.

few questions - what are some of the definitive factors that lead you to believe this house is a "good deal".

GOOD LUCK! stay in touch...