All Forum Posts by: Ali Samana

Hi Bienes,

I have read for every ounce of gold available, there are 50 ounces paper traded for it. Which means, 49 out of 50 investors would not be able to get their gold if they wanted.

As for buying in bullion, many people don't know about that at all.

I am not much into precious metals, just my two cents.

I know this law is not suppose to take affect until July, however, in Texas I have my realtor telling me that we can't do seller financing already. Is that true or is she mistaken?

Also, are there any workarounds? I am fairly new, so I am still trying to understand.

Thanks for all the help.

Rich, it must be nice to have that problem :lol:

For me, it would depend on how much cash I was talking about. My dad is big on cash, but he also trades gold, so he will frequently have posession of gold instead of cash. I would diversify the cash available including other currency (Euro might be a decent bet). I would also buy more real estate (financed for leverage). And the last thing that I would do is to make sure that I have no personal debts (personal mortgage, car loans etc)

That is just me though.

I have a seller right now who wants to sell his house for 30k. This price works for me, because I could probably put in 15k in the house and sell it for mid 80s. He also agreed to 15k down and the other 15k in 6mos, no interest. When I called my realtor to draft up the paperwork, she told me that owner financing is no longer available unless if the seller lived there, and I remembered reading about that here.

So, could I not re-structure this deal and 'buy' this house for 15k, and then have the seller put a lien on the house once I have the title for the other 15k?

I am fairly new, so I am not sure if what I said is even possible or a good idea. Any workarounds to this law? I thought about L/O as another alternative, but I wouldn't have the deed in my name.

Cliff,

I have heard this before. Though I am not sure if you are talking about the internet as a whole, or just the MLS. 2 our of 5 of my deals were found on the internet, though none on MLS. On one of them, I talked the seller down another 45k before we did anything else and she was motivated enough to do so. The other 3 were a realtor calling me and telling me that the deal was available and not yet on the MLS. That might prove your theory :)

I understand the advantages of owning properties free and clear. However, I have a question.

If we are expecting an inflation, wouldn't make sense to have a mortgage though? The reason I ask is because if you have a house that you invested 20k cash in (80k) mortgage and it is making you 3000/year (15%). That would be a good investment. IF however, when inflation hits and the rents rise, the same property could rent for a couple of hundered a month more, thus increasing your cash flow and possibly doubling your cash on cash return. If you have a fixed low interest rate, and inflation hits, wouldn't you be in better position to capitalize?

Just asking so I learn more.

If I may throw in my .02 Jonathan, I would suggest confidence being the key. Especially if you are dealing with distressed sellers.

Confidence should come from the fact that you already have some cash buyers who are looking to invest. So, if the deal is right, you will be able to help the seller get out of the house.

I vote yes. The tax credit had artifically kept the prices up and now that the credit is expired I believe the prices will fall.

In Corpus Christi, we were overwhelmed with inventory, but the prices were high (even though we had high days on the market). Now that there are going to be less buyers, the sellers will have to be more realistic.

Hi Doug,

When I was researching marketing I learned to keep "off-line" marketing off-line and on-line marketing online.

Meaning, in a newspaper, I would not advertise a website. People that are reading a newspaper are generally more comfortable picking up a phone and calling. People try to make a note (either mental or physical) for websites that they might want to visit when they have a chance. But they will pick up the phone and call right away.

Conversely, if you are advertising online (google adwords etc) I would promote my website. Because it is far easier to click than to pick up the phone at the time.

Just my .02

A question, Corpus Christi is predominantly a low income city. Average household income is 44k (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Christi,_Texas). An average home is 144k. The 2% rule only works in the not so good areas in town. Would you compromise on the 2% rule for location? Many of the renters that I am looking at have been renting the same place for years so vacancies are fairly low.