All Forum Posts by: Sam Harper

@Michael Lee thanks for the reply, that's kind of what I figured.  I can't find much info on them and a phone call went unanswered.  I guess I'll just keep an eye on it.

I've had my eye on a vacant property for some time and it recently went to auction and sold. I made a couple phone calls and learned how much it sold for and who bought it. It was sold to "ABC REO"(not real name). I can't find much info on the purchasing entity other than it's a publicly traded corporation conducting business in real estate investment. Am I S.O.L or is this par for the course for foreclosures sold at auction. I'm assuming this buyer is just going mark the price up and sell it "as is" for a quick profit.

A house in my neighborhood just came on the market and the listed square footage is almost 600sqft more than it was when the house was listed and sold just 7 months ago.  I know that finished basement space isn't supposed to be included when listing the square footage but is it technically illegal?  

@Bill Neves Thanks for the reply.  It's easy to see how people in my position can get intimidated and never follow through.  There is a mountain of information out there and opinions on just about everything can vary widely.  I've found that when I get to a point in research on one aspect where the info starts piling up, I just move on to the next item on my list. Currently I'm trying to wrap my head around the financing of deals.  Thanks again for your input!

@Walter Key  Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely look into that.  

@Graham Parham Thanks for the wealth of info. Acquiring financing is obviously important and the idea that an LLC may diminish my chances/options is one to think about. Thanks again!

@Joe Splitrock Slight sarcasm?  I picked up on it.  Being new to the BP community, I'm still finding my way around the site and hadn't thought to do a search on here.  My google searches and other readings hadn't turned up the info I was looking for.  I did find some good articles on here and listened to the recent podcast with a real estate minded CPA.  It sounds like the answer is unique to each persons situation.  While I'll be flipping houses, I'm also working on getting a home inspector certification(in Missouri a license isn't required), so I think I'd like to find a real estate CPA and/or attorney to decide what type of, if any, legal entity would be best suited for me.  

Thanks for the replies.  To clarify, I'm obviously just starting out and attempting to educate myself to form a plan and figure out what that plan should be.  I want to flip single family houses and see where it takes me.  I'm not opposed to smaller multi-family units nor am I opposed to becoming a landlord but not immediately.  It sounds like I might want to find a real estate attorney to talk to to find out what my best options are.

Having some trouble finding a lot of quality info on the business side of getting started. Do most of you have an LLC or something similar to conduct the business? Is that the right move? Tips and advice on what questions to ask and who to talk to is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks @Maggie L.!  The financing is definitely the elephant in the room at the moment but I'm developing some plans for that.  My intentions are to stay gainfully employed and get into real estate investment part time(knowing it will require most of what will be left of my free time).  Too many financial obligations to consider otherwise.