All Forum Posts by: Rohme Williams

I have read quite a few books in the past 6 months and have been to a few meetups and seminars.  I am curious what everyone else is studying right now?  What is the last investing class, real estate seminar that you signed up for?  

Also, what types of books do you recommend for kids.  I have a 11 year old son and 3 teenage daughters.  I want them to start understanding investing, real estate, and the fundamentals of financing/money. 
Thank you for your time. 

@Will Barnard of Barnard Enterprises Inc. ...I know for a fact you are legit because just this morning I was reading "The Book on Investing in Real Estate with NO (and low) Money Down" by Brandon Turner and noticed your Picture while scrowling down this thread.  I researched you and the other 3 people, plus one couple, who were featured in the book. 

Unfortunately, I too have had this experience with scammers flooding my email with "to good to be true" deals.  I have studied and researched for the past 3 months what to really look for and these are the three things I have learned when vetting a potential "private lender"

1. Never pay UPFRONT money = I asked at least 20 professionals in the RE business this question. The over whelming response was just that. 

2. You should put the private lender on first deed and have them insured (note) so that they are completely safe and can foreclose if you don't fulfill your end of the bargain.   IF a private lender is willing to fork out $500k and doesn't want anything in returen. = SCAM.

3. 5% on a $500k loan without it being a bank is nonsense.  I have learned that in most cases, a private lender will most likely be as low as 6% and usually 10%-14% depending on the deal.  Of course, there are numerous scenarios and negotiation tactics that can alter this. 

This is coming from a newbie (me) who is still looking to get into his first deal.  Not some season professional.  As I start my RE investing journey I understand that there are going to be some pretty unethical people out there.  However, I will definitely do my due dilligence especially since I just started and this is the first tast of what I have received from the RE investing world.  This is a marathon, not a sprint.  I have time and I will make sure that when I do pull the trigger, I will be covered.

Over the past 6 months I have TRIED to buy houses with "no money down". I have made a few offers on houses (SFR) and realized when asked if I have proof of funds, that the dream stopped dead in it's tracks. I have looked into using "private lending" as well and have realized that this could be a costly venture. I do have a VA loan I can utilize, however, being that I already own a primary residence and can't use my VA loan for an investment property that option is off the table for now.

I have come to the conclusion that I have to start somewhere and I am not going to quit trying to invest, I just have to be creative.  So, I am going to start in the WHOLESALE niche of real estate investing and also note investing.  After a few months/years of doing this and saving up my cash reserves, I then can move into what I really want to do and that is MFU of 40+ doors.  

@Shiloh Lundahl thanks for starting this post.  It should be said to more of us "Newbies" what to really do before jumping off the investing ropes and onto the real estate mat.   

@John Slater so if I am dealing with a seller and no agent is involved. No proof of funds is necessary (most likely)  However, if I am going throught the sellers agent and agent of my own, then proof of funds is needed.  I understand.  I appreciate the response.  The more questions I ask, the more knowledge I have learned.  Thank you very much. 

@Eric X. I can completetly understand not wanting to waste the agents time or put out the seller by having it taken off market.  I am wondering why I hear on certain podcasts and webinars how people are able to do it without proof.  Is it because whomever the (potential buyer) is dealing with (seller) may not be as traditional, or sophisticated when it comes to such a transaction.  Interesting to me.  It sounds so easy when you hear it on podcasts and see it on webinars.  Thank you for the valuable response.  I appreciate it very much. 

So, if you find deal and tell your agent that you want to make an offer, when he asks "Do you have proof of funds"? Is it customary to ALWAYS have the funds, or can you hopefully have the offer accepted and then"find" the funding for the property after the offer is accepted? I have heard from multiple webinars, podcasts, and books that people have put a piece of property under contract AND then went out and found the cash/money for the property. Curious!?

@Jeff Cichocki this did seem too good to be true, however, I talked to many people (RE agents, brokers, other Investors) and most of them told me to ride it out until the end to see for myself. Well, I found out that it sure was to good to be true. Thanks for the response. Much appreciated.

@Kenneth Garrett very interesting. Thank you for the valuable information. Much appreciated. It seems there all types of creative ways to "skin a cat" per se.

@Odie Ayaga good to know. Thank you for the response

@Kenneth Garrett That is great information about money being sent to title company. I would prefer that at all times anyway. Thank you very much