All Forum Posts by: Russ Draper

My opinion:

Deciding to pay off student debt depends on the rate of the loan.  Your debt/income ratio could be improved by paying it off first, but if its a low-interest student loan it might be easier to not pay it off.

1) Do you have experience with anything like storage units before?  Typically RE is easiest for new investors.

2) Yes a partner can make it easier, or harder if you choose a bad one!

3) No opinion

4) Real estate is usually least-effort, followed by laundromats and car washes.

Likely the disclosures (that nobody cares about).  They legally have to read it out loud, basically saying as-is and such.  Important to know if there are any liens or anything, usually they are cleared before auctions.  Ask the auctioneer, it is different for each property!

Your strategy for using the money is one of the reasons for investing in RE, I still don't see why you need to have the LLC be the lender instead of just the owner for the property.

The bank is going to ask for the records of the LLC, and see that it is just owned by you. Since the LLC has no history, they will want the loan in your name. You'll still pay taxes the same, as a pass-through entity (I believe).

I think you are going to have to get the loans in your name, then you will have to quitclaim the properties into the LLC's after purchase like everyone else does. You can still have up to 4 mortgages in your name before worrying about the LLC having to get mortgages.

Well Super Awesome, LLC has no history, I am unsure if the bank would give a loan to it. Or are you saying give a loan to yourself? They might treat it as another sale. I think the hassle of "taking from one pocket and putting in the other" wouldn't be worth it.

I don't see why you even would need to do this, why can't you buy properties wholesale without?

Looking to sell my 4plex in Huntington BEFORE 12/31. My loss is your gain, I don't have time to finish cosmetic rehab. Calculating 25% down @ 4% with 1mo vacancy is an astounding 97% ROI! Separate utilities, approx $5k in rehab currently underway.

Old PM put crap tenants in, I evicted them all and am rehabbing, could get up to $600/mo if you spend a little more on rehab.  Currently vacant, old leases varied from $433/mo to $600/mo depending on unit, all 4 are identical though.

Cash offers strongly preferred for obvious reasons.

Um, I would think they only have to pay the amount owed... Why would you pay $20k for a $1k lien?

I thought it was more like:

$20k taxes owed, you bid $5k, they owe you $20k in taxes...

As a fellow investor, I don't invest in rentals in MA because it is hard to meet the 1% rule and the tenant rights laws are too much in favor of tenants (taking 6+ months to evict non-paying tenants).

It doesn't appear to meet the 1% rule, so for me I would pass.  I'm a more conservative investor though.

My opinion: Always pull permits at the start!

However, there is a legal liability if YOU pull them versus the contractor.  If you screw up the permit, its your fault and you are liable (and how could you even know what to put on it, you aren't a pro).  If they do it then its their fault and their insurance should cover it.  I'd have the GC pull all the permits from the get-go.

FYI - in MA, there is a difference between a general contractor and a handyman, the handyman license typically can't pull contracts for investors, only owner-occupied houses.

Just so we are clear, are you saying the bank that holds the mortgage on this property is allowing you to assume the loan (typically a clause saying you cannot do that)?  Or are you saying the seller will let you own it via a note and they keep paying the mortgage?