All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

@David Abed I just sent you a PM. Reply by email and we can discuss details. Talk to you soon.

Robert

@Morenike Arraheem I wouldn't buy any of those lists. You can meet cash buyers at auctions at REIA meetings and by calling landlords with properties for rent to name a few. Spend some time listening to the podcasts and reading around this site and you will find a laundry list of ways to find them.

@Justin Campiotti Simply, lots of buyers overpay and banks don't actually pay anything other than the cost of sale and a commission to the auctioneer. It is often part of the process that lenders have to complete the foreclosure by "buying back" the property to collect on the insurance for the underlying loan they originally made on the property.

Sometimes the lender's representative will have a number that they are authorized to bid up to, that actually is below FMV, but they don't disclose that. Savvy bidders will bid up to their own number to see if the lender's rep will stop bidding before they do. That's how an occasional good deal is there for the taking at these auctions - from my experience. There's always a risk factor in not knowing exactly what you are buying because there's usually no inspection period before you buy and you are committed to purchase (usually the same day) once you are the winning bidder.

@Marcus Hendren you have a secured agreement with money "in your pocket." I wouldn't go getting creative and jeopardize what you have to try to squeeze out every bit of profit you can. Just my $.02.

Would that even be permissible by building codes? You will get to a point that you don't have enough bathrooms to accommodate all those people?

@Chris H. the formula changes based on your strategy and your finances. Are you trying to buy/rehab/sell (flip) or buy/rehab/hold? There's holding costs and transaction costs that you have to factor in the equation. The holding costs are very different for self funded (your own cash), bank financed, PML funded, or HML funded deals. You have to figure out your costs based on your specific circumstances. That "extra stuff" probably applies to whoever created the spreadsheet you found.

@Marvin Stewart I've been dealing with my own rental properties for over 20 years. I retired from the military in DEC 2012 and have been a full time REI since then. Feel free to call or email me.

The "rent to own" strategy is one I'd rather not use. There's a very low percentage of RTO "buyers" who ever become owners. But with all of the crazy over personalization ideas people get from home makeover shows, I don't want to deal with my nice neutral color paint job covered by little Johnny's alien adventures or a tribute wall dedicated to somebody's memorial, or who knows what else?

Welcome @Marvin Stewart I also invest in CENLA! I'll be there today as a matter of fact. Hope to see you around BP. You picked a great place to get started. Let me know if I can help you with anything in Louisiana?

Maybe my colleague @Robert Ruiz can help? This is right in his neck of the woods.

I sure wish you could see where people are when using the app @brandon turner! I saw it at a house in CA and it will only work in a mild climate w/o hard freezes. Oh well, I'm sure you'll figure something out!

If it's a small wood frame structure, a porch that can be enclosed by screening-in or similar can work well for a "laundry room" that doesn't cost living area or have to be air conditioned? Just an idea that I've seen work well for retrofitting older or small homes.