All Forum Posts by: Peter M.

Well honestly 600/month is a pretty good return. That's 12%. I mean your not going to be able to live off an investment of 60k no matter what investment vehicle you use. 

It sounds like it has potential but with only 10% capital it might be tough. Yes you could owner finance and get the property with that 10% but then if you have no money for repairs how will you add value? What happens if something goes wrong? You could wait a few years, hope it appreciates and then refinance to do some of the repairs/conversions but banking on appreciation is pretty risky. Better to partner with someone who can bring in more cash and experience as this is a pretty complicated first deal.

Check out txtaxsales.com It has some good resources. Harris splits its sales into districts and each have sales every month. 

You would have to contact the owner and get them to agree to sell you the property before it gets foreclosed. You would have to pay off the note, all penalties and fees for late payments, back taxes, as well as any other liens that have been placed on the property. If you an do all of that and still turn a profit, go for it. Otherwise move onto the next. 

A notice of trustee sale is a bank foreclosure. When a homeowner gets a mortgage the trustee on the deed of trust is usually a bank officer. If the person living in the house is the owner and the property has not been foreclosed on then yes you could get them to sell you the house. You would just have to pay off the note and any late fees to the original lender for them to release the lien. If the people living there are just renters then no, they have no authority to sell you the house. The trustee won't sell you the house because they don't own it until the foreclosure is complete. 

Honestly though, why would you buy a list like this without knowing what you were getting or what you were going to do with it?

I've called the police while watching tenants take appliances out of a unit. I had all my paperwork to show the police proving it was my property (deeds, leases, etc,) and they told me it was a civil matter. I realize it is frustrating but there is nothing you can do about it besides file in court. The police cannot determine who is telling the truth and who is lying, that is for a judge to decide. As @Dennis M. said, never leave anything that has sentimental importance to you in the hands of a renter. I hope you get it back as well as the money but this may unfortunately be a very painful and expensive lesson. 

Yes you file in the county where the property is located. Since you have his address it shouldn't be a problem. Each state has different rules on how you can go about collecting the judgement so you would have to look up state specific laws or speak with an attorney. 

Kitchens and bath are usually the best bang for your buck. Just don't over improve in relation to the local market.

If you refinance, your "purchase price" would be how much you are refinancing for. For example if you know the property will appraise for 200k and the bank will give you 80% LTV, then you could refinance 160k.

Figure out how much the repairs will be, add what you want to invest elsewhere, and as long as it is less than 160k and the new rental rate can support it, do the refinance. A 30yr loan at 5% for 160k would be about 850/month so add taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, cap ex and as long as your monthly rent is at least $100 more that that, it would probably be a good deal. You could always take less out as well. 

Well if the seller says rents are 3500/month and expenses are 40% thats $1400 and if you say your mortgage would be $1500 that leaves you with $600/month. 600/month is $7200/year which makes your ROI 12%. If you make 800/month that is 16%. Both are good numbers if you compare it to stock market returns. You still make the 1% rule wether the rent is 750 or 875 but the 1% rule is just a guideline, you can't actually base real numbers off of it.

If your offer is accepted make sure you get all the leases, proof of expenses over the past year and an estoppel statement signed by the tenant and owner for each unit. Also, don't put all your faith in Zillow's estimates. Get your agent to run actual sold and rental comps in the area.