All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

If you want to use a lawyer for your registered agent, do so.  There are also companies that will do it for a fee in CT (indeed, nationwide, for that matter) that range for between $50 and $500/year.  Otherwise, you'll have to use yourself (and your home address).

If you're doing this in the interest of anonymity, that will work (using a lawyer) unless you're also the incorporator.  Your name will appear in the public search on the SOTS website.

 I took three minutes and actually read the law.

If the landlord is the owner, I'm relatively certain this doesn't apply.  He is an owner/builder not a contractor (to whom the $500 level applies).

Your question is probably moot.  

I question her motives.  

 So, I'm pretty sure you wrote this original question a looooong time ago.  I am just seeing it.

I can respond to it.  

I am currently in a mastermind group.

We meet every week.  The leader of the group picked the people from across the internet based on the fact that the people in it were committed to self-development/success/personal betterment.  Most of the people in the group are readers/followers of the Miracle Morning.

Our goals are our own.  We bring them to the group.  The group provides not only accountability, but also (which is the point) the mastermind aspect.  They (cumulatively) see things that each individual would not.

(I pay $70/month to be a part of the group.  I believe you should pay to be in a group like this.  If you don't (and, more specifically, the other people don't), you will eventually drop out.  Paying money keeps you all focused).

Though I am already intensely focused as an individual, it really helps me to know that I will be "reporting in" every week.  It holds me accountable and keeps me driving to the outcomes I have set for myself (publicly).

On the personal advice, yes, though it didn't start out that way.  Here's the thing; I can't give someone business advice without it affecting their personal life and vice/versa.  So, it has inevitably (and organically) morphed into advice across the board, where applicable.

Within one meeting, we removed one individual, simply because the schedule didn't match.  We have not removed anyone else.  There are five individuals in the group, across a wide variety of careers and interests.  It works for us.  We're all bound by a desire to improve, if only incrementally.  The mutual support helps us all.

...

On another minor point you brought up, it is very, very difficult to find people that want to improve.  I searched for years.  But, they are out there.  You have to keep looking and never stop.  

The best way to find these people is to continuously work on improving yourself.  Host your own networking meetings.  Network online with people that are striving to be (or are already) where you want to be.  You will find who you are looking for.  Everyone else will drop away.  Stop watching TV (seriously).

(This has happened in my life.  After joining my mastermind group, I found myself interacting with these individuals quite often (we also have a FB group).  

I have removed myself from a lot of my other social circles (which otherwise do nothing for the betterment of my life and goals)).

Finding one of these mastermind groups is a worthwhile pursuit.  Dedicate some time each day to do so.  Your future self will thank you.

Keep rockin'.

Commendable, but not clear.

What is your desired outcome?

Let's say it's a million dollar income within twenty years.  Fine and awesome.  Do you want to flip, buy and hold, wholesale, invest in notes, all of them?

Pick a strategy and dedicate yourself to spending at least an hour a day learning it.  

But, you need to be clear.  There are only three simple steps to be successful. 

They are:

1.  Know exactly what you truly want.  Most people never get past this step.

2. Make a detailed plan to get it, step by step.

3.  Take massive action.  Determine by your results whether you are getting closer or further away from what you want.  Change and adapt as needed.

That's IT!  Do that.  

Keep rockin'.

You have no where to go but up.

Besides wanting to be a millionaire, what do you specifically want to do?  Only by being clear can you move toward an objective.  

Following for now.

@Ian Hooper I recommend Doug Pearson from First Savings Bank in Corydon, Indiana.  I'm not certain he does loans in Kentucky, but if he doesn't, he might could recommend you to someone he knows that does.

I've gotten three very small loans from him (that wouldn't be worth the time of most lenders, in my opinion) worth 45K, 27K and 59K, respectively.  These were all since last August.  I find him to be very forthcoming and responsive to all of my questions (and believe me, I'm relatively certain a couple of them have been...amateur). From an investor standpoint, I couldn't ask for a better lender.

For total disclosure, I have good credit, a great income and great employment history. All of these loans have been conventional with 20% down. They've all been for houses on the MLS. Two of the three were foreclosures that were not great properties, but he didn't hesitate.

I was recommended to Doug by a real estate broker here in Indiana who was the managing broker on the purchase of my first flip.  I'm happy to pass the recommendation along.

I don't think I can post contact details, but check this page out:  

http://www.fsbbank.net/first-savings-bank-commercial-lenders/

You've lived in your residence for over a year.

Put a renter in it and go find another owner-occupied house (for yourself) using your VA loan.

@Stephen Lewis, here is the script.  I think I got this from Danny Johnson a while ago.

1. Who am I speaking with?
2. What is the address of the house you want to sell?
3. How many bedrooms, bathrooms does it have?
4. Does it have a garage, basement, or pool?
5. If you were going to list it with a Realtor, what repairs and/or updating would you say would be needed?
6. Why are you selling the house?
7. How much is owed on the house?
8. Is the house behind on payments?
9. Do you have an asking price in mind?
10. What did you base that on?
11. How soon were you wanting to have it sold and closed?
12. If I come out and look at the property and make you a cash offer to buy it ‘As-Is’ and close as soon as you want, what would be the least you would be willing to take?
13. When can I come by to take a look at the house?
14. How did you hear about me?
15. What is the best way to contact you?

Below are the explanations for each question:

Who am I speaking with?

We need to know who we are speaking to. I like to call them by their name throughout the conversation to help build rapport. Usually, I will tell them my name and then ask theirs if they don’t just come out and tell me at the beginning of the conversation.

What is the address of the house you want to sell?

This one is pretty important. It’s hard to analyze a deal when we don’t know the address. On rare occasions sellers will be hesitant and some will refuse to give you the address. I’ve never understood it, but it doesn’t matter because they are obviously not serious enough about selling their house. If I’m at my desk when I get the call, I will start pulling up the information for the property from the county appraisal district’s website (to find yours, just Google ‘[your county or area] appraisal district’. They usually are something like ‘bcad.org’.) This way I can pull up other information that a lot of owners don’t know off the top of their head and you don’t want to waste time asking them. I find the square footage, year built, the lot size, neighborhood, etc.

How many bedrooms, bathrooms does it have?

Should be straight forward. Try to make sure when they tell you 3 bathrooms, that it is not really 2.5 or that a 5th bedroom is not a garage conversion or something.

Does it have a garage, basement, or pool?

Ask about conversions, finished basements (don’t have many of those in south Texas), in-ground or above ground pools (I really dislike investment properties with pools).

If you were going to list it with a Realtor, what repairs and/or updating would you say would be needed?

This is a great way to find out what the house needs in the way of repairs, but also what it needs to make it desirable. Many times if you just ask the seller what repairs it needs, they will just think of things that are broken or some way damaged. They tend to not think about the fact that the house is terribly outdated. You want them to realize that the house may be in good shape, but may require a lot of updating and polishing.

Why are you selling the house?

Here’s a big one. This one requires some time and a great deal of open-ended questions and keeping your mouth shut so that they can talk. This is where the motivation usually becomes apparent. Sometimes the seller will be hesitant and only tell you they are moving. Don’t leave it at that. Ask them why they are moving?

How much is owed on the house?

Some people are afraid to ask this question for fear the seller will not appreciate it. In their mind, it is like asking what hand they are holding at the poker table. That’s not it at all really. I just want to know if they owe too much for me to be able to buy the house. I don’t want to waste my time going to meet with them if there is no way I would be able to buy the house for what I would need to buy it for. The way to approach this question, is to just ask it like you did the question about how many bedrooms the house has. Don’t make a big deal out of it and they won’t. It’s rare that someone doesn’t tell me how much is owed. If they don’t, they are not likely motivated enough anyway.

Is the house behind on payments?

Notice the wording of this one. We’re not asking, “Are you behind on the payments?” That would be sort of like rubbing their faces in it. This approach is a lot easier for people to be comfortable with telling you. Of course, it also goes along the same lines as asking how much is owed and should be treated the same way.

Do you have an asking price in mind?

Is their asking price in line with where you likely need to buy it? The vast majority of the time it will NOT be. So don’t worry about it. The asking price is just the price they are hoping to get for it. Most of the houses we buy, the seller asked a much higher price but knew they would never get it. I look at what is owed more than what they are asking. Now, if they spend an hour telling you about how nice the place is and that it is the biggest, nicest house in the neighborhood and are selling it because they want to buy a bigger, nicer house, you probably don’t want to waste much time with them.

What did you base that on?

How did they come up with that price? Did a Realtor pull comps for them? Did they see a house down the street for sale at that price? Is it because they are hoping to have X dollars to do Y? This can help determine more of their motivation for selling.

How soon were you wanting to have it sold and closed?

Another motivation building question. If they want to be done with it yesterday they will think about that while answering this question and will let you know that really just want it off their hands. When people tell me they just want to be done with the f&^#&* thing, I head over to see it as soon as possible.

If I come out and look at the property and make you a cash offer to buy it ‘As-Is’ and close as soon as you want, what would be the least you would be willing to take?

Here’s Ron LeGrand’s ultimate question. This is a must ask question. It never ceases to amaze me how many people quickly and drastically reduce their asking price with this simple question. Here again you want to play the quiet game while they are thinking about it. You don’t want to feel uncomfortable about the silence and make a comment to allow them to avoid answering it. This one is too important as it does the negotiating for you.

When can I come by to take a look at the house?

If they are somewhat motivated and/or at least have enough equity to be able to the sell you the house for what you need to buy at, schedule an appointment with them. Sometimes I get lazy and tell them that I will research it and call them back to set up an appointment. That’s ridiculous and I know it. When I do that, sellers probably don’t feel like waiting around for me and continue calling other investors. Not a good thing. Make sure you schedule an appointment to see the house. In my opinion, most sellers will only talk with 1-3 house buyers when calling investors to buy their house. You need to be the one or one of the three.

How did you hear about me?

We’ve got to know what marketing is working so that you can focus on the marketing that is pulling better. Keep track of this.

What is the best way to contact you?

I hope you don’t forget this one. You really need to know how to contact the seller again. I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten off the phone and forgotten to write down the number they called from (or they call from a friends phone) and not been able to get a hold of them again.

Following this one.

On the judgment recovery,  you don't automatically get a check.  You have to pursue.  Google "how to recover a judgment" if you don't know how.  Much of the process is state-specific.  Even more specific on the county level (sometimes).

Cool thing is, you can attach ALL his assets immediately upon winning.  Have the sherriff seize his vehicles.  Garnish his wages.  File on his house.  He won't be able to do anything until he takes care of it.  Don't do it piecemeal.   Rain hell fire down on him all at once.  I HATE bullies.  When they get a taste of their own medicine, they start to understand.

Make certain you do interrogatories during the case.  You want to know everything about this d****e-wad in order to pursue.

1) I can tell you that you don't have to get a mortgage lender to get a "good feel" about you in order for them to make the decision about whether or not to work with you.  If you have the deal and have the down payment, more often than not, they will work with you.  They're in the business to lend money.  You are doing each other a mutual favor, believe it or not.

2) This depends on what type of relationship you want to have.  Me, I have a relationship with my lender, but I don't really need one.  If I could make it all happen through email and docu-sign, I would.  I ask him questions all the time (and feel like a complete newbie doing it, but I don't care.  I asked him an emailed question today regarding escrow).  But, for what it's worth, is the lender giving you a good rate for the investment and your personal financial situation?  Because, in all honesty, after closing and you set up your recurring payments to pay the note every month, you may never interact with that individual again.  I would ask what the fees will be (origination fee, all of them).