All Forum Posts by: Jeff Rabinowitz

This buyer wouldn't go for it because it is much more risky.  If you own the property you do not need transactional funding.  If you do not own the property you are not in a position to take a mortgage loan on the property.  That note you are asking the buyer to fund is an unsecured promissory note.  You are correct, the money is yours the moment it transfers but the buyer might never see it again.  What if instead of walking to the other room you simply walk away?  Have you closed a transaction this way?

@Brandon Luke, I know landlords who would include this charge--I wouldn't.  You have the right to object to any charges you would like but the procedure is probably governed by State law.  In Michigan, the tenant must respond in writing within 7 days of receiving the itemized list.  If the landlord does not agree and you feel strongly enough about this you could file a case in small claims court.  There will be a filing fee but you may get it refunded if you win your case. 

This group attracts active investors, wholesalers, landlords and lenders.  They also welcome novices.  People come in from several Counties.  You can meet people who can help you solve problems or you can do business with at these meetings.

If I don't know the person I will only send a colleague request if I see an area where I may be able to help, if it looks like we work similar geographic areas or there is some potential overlap of interest.  I put the potential overlap in the message.  How else will the new contact know what I saw?  There are some on BP who seem to be constantly adding to their colleague list as if it is a contest.  If you add too many of those people to your network you may find your dashboard full of notices of all the colleagues who have added new colleagues and little else.  I use the dashboard to get an idea of what my contacts are doing.  When it fills with new colleague connections it has little value to me.  

I cut the clause below from a notice of a Show Cause Hearing on a property I owned which had delinquent 2012 taxes.  (I have sold that property).  The Show Cause Hearing for that property was scheduled for 2/5/15.  If the process is not halted at that hearing there is a Judicial Foreclosure Hearing (scheduled for 2/19/15).  After that the property will revert to Wayne County on March 31, 2015 if the taxes have not been paid.  You may still be able to redeem the property after March 31st but I do not know the procedure.  I suspect the Treasurer would still prefer the taxes be paid rather than place it in the auction.

Only the 2012 taxes need to be paid to stop the tax foreclosure.  Then the same process will continue for the 2013 taxes.

(Sorry, couldn't figure out how to insert the clause from the notice).

I use a combination of these strategies.  I schedule multiple appointments on only a couple days and the appointments are staggered by 15 to 30 minutes depending on the property.   I make it clear that the prospect must call me when they are on their way or ~30 minutes before the appointment (or however long it would take me to drive to the property).  If I do not get a call I do not make the drive. 

I only wait ~ 15 minutes after the last appointment.  If the prospect is not there by then or has not called to let me know they will be late I leave.  I have had prospects call when I was only a couple blocks away and I will not go back.  Unless they had a good excuse for not calling before they were late (and they looked like an excellent prospect in all other aspects)  I will not schedule another appointment for them.  

This is an audition, an indication of how well they follow directions and how much courtesy they have.  If they can't get this right I assume that they may have difficulty paying rent on time also and move on to the next prospect.  

@Tyson Herman, it seems like you have a great start. There are a lot of Real Estate Investor Associations in SE Michigan. Oakland REIA, Macomb, MREI (meets in Troy), Renegade Detroit Investors (Meets in Corktown, 1st Tuesday of each month), and a meetup group that formed here on BP are a few. They should be fairly easy to find with a web search. I can help with details on a few of them if you'd like more info. The meetings attract investors at all stages and most who attend are there to share and help. I met several of my partners at REIAs. You may also.

Hell, Michigan is actually a very nice little town.  

Matt, if the seller wants to give me that home I will be glad to take it (depending on the neighborhood but that does not look like too bad an area to me).  I'd even give the seller a couple grand.  I'll turn it over to wholesaler partner of mine and I suspect it would be sold in a couple days.  

@Matt R.  if I heard correctly this house was last sold at $1,500.  (The first buyer overpaid and probably had no business buying in a market they didn't know.)  Of course, I don't know what that owner paid to rehab the house but I suspect it was ~$5K or so.   I also don't know the address of this house and even if I did I don't know Detroit well enough to assess most of the neighborhoods.  I do know that rent in Detroit is often $650-$850.  I suspect the house featured could be sold for $10-$15K now, maybe less depending on whether the mechanicals are still in place.  If that is true, the investor who purchased the home at $1,500 is probably still in a profitable position.  If the house is sold in that range the next investor who purchases it could do alright.  If the next buyer gets this for <$10K, depending on the neighborhood, they could do well.  

The video shows a dirty house with a broken door, some broken windows and a dumpster load of trash.  (A dumpster can be rented for a couple hundred dollars and a couple guys to clean out the house would also cost a couple hundred, maybe less.)  It also shows that there has been a recent paint job so the house may not need another complete paint job.  It shows the kitchen floor was recently tiled and I didn't see any damaged tiles.   The surrounding houses look fairly well maintained.  I saw no thugs,  In fact, I saw a passer by stop and have a conversation with the videographer. (Again, I do  not know this neighborhood and did not see the previous video). This house may be able to be put back into shape for a few grand and rented again.  

Now, this is not the type of house that I hold but I know people who do very well holding, rehabbing and selling houses like this.  Those who hold screen their tenants well and watch their properties closely.  They are local and know the neighborhoods.  If takes more time than suburban rentals but it can be profitable if that is your cup of tea.  It is certainly not for everyone.