All Forum Posts by: Robert Lorenz

Anyone know a good one, preferably something current and with sample or usable contracts?

Just found this today, looks very doable:

http://www.azinvest.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=44

@Joe Splitrock I didn't mean anything you said was negative, I meant the negative attitudes shared by lower income families.  All it takes is one bad apple to spoil the lot, but one good person working diligently to bring or keep an area up isn't enough.  It takes a network working as a team for the common goal....  my miscommunication, I apologize.

Is it out of line in the case of slumlord/neglectful ownership to just ask the tenants if you can get a peak at the place, maybe snap some pics and get a soft estimate before you submit an offer?

 This is why the investment has to be in the people, the families, and the community, not just the real estate.  Nobody can logically presume that just throwing money at the problems people in poverty face will have any kind of long term impact.  It takes effort, time, hands-on experience, and boots on the ground.  The more people you can get straight and above board, the more impact you can have around them.  Negativity spreads like wildfire.... but the flames of positive impact need to be fed, fanned, and nurtured.  Incentivizing financial education and job/skill training is a good way to do that.  Converting people from a "poor" mindset to one of "contributing member of society" is a process.  For me, it took realizing that we were planning how to spend our "tax return" three years ahead of actually getting them...then it dawned on me that if I made too much money to qualify for that crap, I probably wouldn't need to worry about being able to afford the stuff we were planning to buy with it!  It was only then that I began to have epiphany after epiphany... like an awakening of sorts. Being able to show a parent "the light," even if it has to be done one at a time, can change not just their world, but your own as well.

Speaking of slumlords, is it unethical to approach the renters in a slummy multi and ask them details about how much they're paying, how much they like the place, etc... and offer them a better deal/better place? I'm thinking of using that tactic against the non-responsive owners of the run-down MFR's/SFR rentals in my area, even if it feels kinda like I'm "playing dirty." I'm hoping if a few of them move out, it puts more financial pressure on the owners to let me take over the property... so long as they don't realize I'm the one doing it (gotta be sneaky ;)

BEST. THREAD. EVER! 

I always recommend joining AZREIA & PREC, excellent networking and education. It's cheap ($200 a year covers both) and you're sure to meet some excellent contacts.  Your first meeting is free, check them out at azreia.org

http://www.moneycrashers.com/become-section-8-hous...

http://www.creonline.com/blog/section-8-rentals-th...

just in case you have any more questions about how to make it a profitable endeavor, try Google :p

If you don't want to do it, that's fine, but it's not fair to the people who want to, let alone the people who ARE, for you to lay down this one-size fits all, hands down, all-encomp assing, conversation-ending negativity. I'm sure you're successful at what you do, and that's great. I appreciate the insight you have regarding REI from your perspective or your niche... but for some reason, I doubt you are the authority on this subject.

I like the back and forth, but try not to be so soul-crushingly authoritative about something you likely have little direct experience with or have even spent 10 minutes outside of this thread learning about.  You sound like my Poor Dad...