All Forum Posts by: Russ Draper

Do you mean Florida or Russia?  I did some research about investing in St Petersburg Russia but the numbers and risky landscape made me pass.  Couldn't get any kind of good return, and properties aren't secured very well legally.

Florida on the other hand is much better :)

Wouldn't they have to secure the line of credit against something?  I wouldn't think that a bank/lender would give you 5x your cash without securing it somehow, especially if you have no history.

I'm hearing some red flags here.  Do you have the money for foundation repair?  We just did a minor foundation repair and it was I think $17k.  Not having a price sounds like they want top dollar for it, whereas you want less of course since you are taking risk.  You might not need 20% down, did you talk to a lender yet?  Honestly if it were me I would pass and find a better primary residence.

I would run the plumbing to that strange back corner and try to get the toilet/bathroom in there, bringing the bathroom over to the back post.  Then just get the kitchen in the other nook as best you can.  I think you're going to just have an awkward layout and it will be a studio.  Do you have to make a 2nd exit for this?

I think the agent might ignore your offer, that has been my experience!  They won't even pass it along to the seller.

1) If you haven't spoken with their agent yet or another agent, I would just look them up and contact them directly. This might be against MLS rules but if you never agreed to them by using an agent then it could be fine.

2) They wouldn't believe you, no way to prove to them that I can think of unless you just hand them cash at the start.

3) Depends on what seller wants, without speaking to seller first I wouldn't know what to offer them.  Sometimes they want no money down but higher sales price, sometimes they want to cash out and don't want to seller finance at all.

4) I wouldn't let the seller stay, they become a tenant and likely a bad one since they used to own and would likely be problematic later.

Why do you think the seller would take a seller-financing deal?

I don't think you have to wait if you purchased with cash, you should be able to refi out of it right away I would think.

I would quitclaim into your name so you can get the mortgage, and show your tax returns.  Oh wait, you don't even have a year of income on this property yet.  I've heard of Loftium, some sort of lender with airbnb but unsure if they are worth it.

You could always lie and say you live there, but I wouldn't lie to a bank!

Why do you want to refi already?  Seems like the rates shouldn't have changed that much yet...

I'd work on the purchase price a bit, that figure seems sort of arbitrary.  Find out what they paid and what other similar units sell for.

As far as the numbers, I personally would aim for 2% so this deal is 1.6%.  Can rents be raised or are they already at market?  Also try to get a better mortgage rate if you can, 15yr rates are better ($1036 for 15yr @ 3% - savings of $100k over loan).

There is *always* going to be a better deal. Don't beat yourself up over something you can't change. I'm amazed you got essentially a no-money-down deal in 2017! I would live there more than a year before renting, you can always sell it if you don't think its going to be cashflowing later, but will you get that sweet VA deal again (I presume not)?

What's that rule from the Rich Dad series?  Don't invest with family/friends...  I personally would pass just on that and no other reason.  I've heard people pay back friends slower than any other method so you're lease likely to get your money back.

Why are they looking for a new home?  That might play into it.  Definitely pull credit on them.  If you really want to lend to them, make sure it is worth it.  They are going to you because they can't use a bank, so the rate should be much higher than a bank.  This will also entice them to refinance out as soon as they can later.  I think hard money is around 9% now.