All Forum Posts by: Andrew Syrios

It really depends on the HOA agreement. Some HOA's don't care, some are basically petty fascists.

Welcome fellow Kansas Cityian. I would go the leverage route probably, although if you can find private lenders like ma and pa folks who are only getting 0.2% or whatever in a CD that you can offer 8-10% interest, that would be the best route.

In my experience, the best way is through personal connections. People need to trust you to be wiling to lend to you and so it's vital to have a good relationship with them. This could be friends or family or other people you meet. But it will take time to gain a stranger's trust. It would certainly help to have some deals under the belt to show them. But I would also recommend putting together a prospectus and business plan. Also, it would be good to prepare an "elevator speech", basically a quick rundown of what you do and why people should invest with you. But be prepared to spend a lot on lunches and dinners.

How's the retail market? That's the big question. If there is a good spread between what distressed and retail homes are selling for and plenty of activity amongst retail buyers, then fix and flip is probably a better strategy. If not, a wholesale strategy to buy and hold types is probably a better way to go, or perhaps lease options.

I would not accept the first month's rent and deposit by check, but after that, it's usually OK. Occasionally one will bounce, but it's a hassle (and expense) for tenants to get money orders each time and you don't want to be dealing with cash. As long as you don't accept the first payment as a check you should be fine.

po box or office: yes, home: probably not IMO

To save time it would be best to send them all together (put it in the bcc so you don't send everyone's email address to everyone). It's more personal if you do it separately, but the only way I would do that is if you have a virtual assistant do it. Even then, I don't know how much more effective it would be.

What group of potential sellers are you sending these too? Either way, two notes:

1) Put in a call to action, i.e. "Call me today at ___". You're basically making a polite demand that will increase the number of calls you get.

2) I've heard several places that putting a P.S. in such communications is always a good idea. Either make it a call to action or sweeten the offer (i.e. we'll pay closing costs or something). Often times people will skim the text, but they will almost always read the P.S. At least so I've heard.

Why not just wholesale it to another investor who has the cash to buy it?

You can usually, but it's very expensive. If you own it free and clear it would better to go to a traditional bank.