All Forum Posts by: Ramon Cuevas

@Account Closed First of all, I would like to say thank you for putting yourself out there and trying to be a resource for some of us who are just getting started. I grew up in nyc and went to school in Albany, man I do not miss those winters up there..lol

How do you self manage so many properties? I hear from all the guru's and on a lot of these forums, that you as an investor should concentrate on more high level activities, like finding more deals and outsource the property management part.

My goal is to try and rent my primary home in the near future and find a 2-4 unit that I can house hack for a while to build enough capital to eventually get into larger apartment buildings. Instead of hiring a property manager, I want to initially handle the management side of things and buying home warranties on both properties to try and keep maintenance expenses as low as possible.

Any advice/guidance will be appreciated.

@Shawn Pottschmidt Hello and welcome to BP. From my limited experience as an investor, when talking to an owner of an FSBO, I think the first thing would be to gauge their level of motivation. I ask questions about their particular situation and how I can be of service to them before getting into details about the home. For example, what are their goals with the property and ideal situation. Usually, if they feel comfortable, the conversation is pretty easy and you get to hear their life story. In the majority of cases they feel their home is worth a lot more and that's the biggest challenge that I have come across so far in my journey.

Good luck!

@Donnell Durden Hello and welcome to BP. I have some experience with reverse mortgages from a previous job. I don't understand the part about the bank owning the property, usually the bank is only the lien holder and needs to go thru foreclosure proceedings in order to claim ownership. Has the bank already foreclosed on the property and is trying to evict your uncle? FHA guidelines will allow your uncle or the community agency to purchase the property for 95% of the appraised value. If the appraisal is lower than what's currently owed, this becomes a short sale situation and the following closing costs can be deducted from the sale proceeds(realtor commission up to 6%, title search, owner's title insurance, property taxes, transfer taxes and even closing attorney fees, if needed). I saw this exact situation happen all the time with family members and it usually does not turn out well, especially if your uncle is not in a position to try and purchase the property.

Please feel free to reach out with any other questions.

@Nicholas Patrick I really think that it depends on what your goals are and what area of real estate you want to focus on. It appears from your profile that you are interested in MF, with a degree in accounting the sky is the limit. I worked as a property manager for a few years and spent the last 8 years working at a mortgage company doing short sales among other things. Experience in sales is often touted as a good skill to have in any profession. Any job even if not related to real estate can provide skills and experience that will help you reach your goals. Watch or read about Steve jobs and how a class in calligraphy served as inspiration for the Mac keyboard, very inspiring story.

@Miles C Roth Forgot to thank you for the last response. Good stuff!!!

@Jason Arnold Welcome to BP, Jason. I posted a similar question not long ago and got some good advice. One of the best options to consider is selling the property via owner finance. Mark Podolsky aka the land geek has made a successful business from buying raw land at a discount and either flipping or selling via owner finance.

Good luck!

Hello BP,

I am a newbie investor in the Austin area which is a super competitive market. For the last 6 months, I have been reading, listening to podcasts, joined my local REIA and also try to attend real estate related meetups a couple of times a week, long story short I have yet to do my first deal. In late October after listening to a podcast featuring Tom Krol, I was able to obtain a list of code violations from the city of Round Rock which contained approximately 1500 names and addresses. I was not sure what kind of response I would get and decided to split mailing into two campaigns a couple of weeks apart. I am using postcards and to date I have not received any calls. Is this normal and should I be concerned? I understand that it takes more than 1 campaign and the fact that my campaign was around the holidays which can be a factor in the number of responses. Also, has anybody used Cris Chico's blind postcard and had success?

Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

@Account Closed Welcome to BP. I came across this situation a few times when I worked for a mortgage company. I believe the only way to remove your name from the mortgage is to refinance the property in his name. This should not be considered legal advice and you should always consult with a qualified professional before following anybody's advice or recommendation.

Good luck to you.

@Adonijah Short Welcome to BP. I admire the fact that at the age of 16 you are already considering venturing into the world of REI. My advice is to always try to start investing with a primary residence and a low down payment loan(FHA or USDA) the latter is for rural areas but allows you to buy a house with almost $0 out of pocket. You obviously need a job and credit history in order to qualify for a loan. Feel free to google FHA loan requirements to get acquainted with what you would need in order to qualify for a loan. You need at least 3.5% down payment for the FHA and if you are able to get the USDA, can roll your closing costs into the loan which would minimize your out of pocket costs. Owner financing and Subject-to are other ways to buy a home but I would consider these more advanced strategies and maybe not the best for someone just starting out.

Have you considered or are open to other areas outside of Austin? Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park etc?

@Kyle Kieke I love Liberty Hill, we had been driving around here for about a year looking to buy something before we sold our house in Cedar Park last year. City is looking to revamp the downtown area and I have seen a lot of growth here over the last few months.

I have not looked at anything in San Antonio but have heard from a few different individuals that the rental market is great and there is a lot of cash flow.