All Forum Posts by: Scott Schultz

NEVER buy cash flow neutral or negative, thats a great way to go broke! tere are deals, you just are not looking in the right places. I have been a Broker since 2006, and I buy about 5 deals a year, I havent purchased a MLS listed property in over 3 years now, way too much competition for those pushing prices really high. Much depends how you will fund your deal, if you need to get a loan to buy you will have a hard time, as condition is a factor in financing. If you want a deal, you need to find value add, as well as cash flow to be successful. I focus on what most others are afraid of, so if you see a way to acquire properties but is seems risky to you, learn about it, and do what is needed to mitigate the risk, I bet the buyer pool is shallower. BUT have your money in order and be able to pull the trigger, I generally buy with cash (line of credit) ready to close fast, if its a regular deal, I put up a crazy big ernest amount in the offer, and fast close, like a week. I also buy at Sheriff sales and online auctions, they are not for the faint of heart, but if you understand them risk is mitigated. good luck!

I havent done direct mail in years, but back in my listing pre foreclosure homes I did as an agent. often later when I would get the listing from the banks (after sheriff sale) I would find my letters and 10-30 others in the homes. Right now pre foreclosure, no mortgage/high equity, and probates are getting bombarded with letters and cards, I get letters every few weeks for either my personal home or one of my rentals I have free and clear.  I have had no problem with deal flow, I tend to buy 5-6/year and pas on mediocre deals,  none of them have been direct mail or wholesalers.  Some people are having great response, but even when I was mailing the response rate was around 2%.  the tip i can give is be diligent and consistent, learn to use CCAP and mail weekly or even a few times per week, to your farming area. good luck!   

Hey Jesse, Most of my portfolio is in Oneida, Langlade and Lincoln Counties, I lived in Rhinelander for several years and have done a bunch of flips there, I have plenty to share if you are interested. Including my Banker. send me a PM if you want to discuss further.   I have a great Contractor, and PM as well.

you only need to take title in you name if you are using conventional secondary market financing. you can and the bankers prefer you take possession in your entity if using commercial financing.  with regards to Property managers, will you be investing in Rib Lake? the PM I use out of Wausau  may service your area, they do as far as Woodruff for me, they also have lots of units on Merrill, Rib Lake is not that far out I use ABCRPM, also I think there is a broker that does PM out of Medford.  Good Luck to you. 

Congrats, If you ever have questions about small town investing, my entire portfolio is in small and tiny towns, I have 1 in a 50K town but thats the largest by far. I prefer SFR, but its all the same in my book, numbers work or thy dont. Glad to hear you are being careful with debt position, I personally think the GURUs are wrong, High Debt is a recipe for disaster down the road.

Are you foreclosing or are you planning to buy as a 3rd party?   If you are foreclosing you must discuss this with your foreclosure Attorney.

If you are the buyer, Generally 10% is due in the form of Cash, Cashiers Check, or Certified Funds at the time of Sale (cant run to the bank after the sale and get the money, its gota be on your person) the balance is generally due within 10 days of the confirmation of sale hearing, at which time the clerk of courts will also need a check for the transfer fee and the recording fee to record the deed at the Register of Deeds Office.   

@Jake S. Caeli Ridge told me they cant lend in WI anymore, at lease as of last year. 

@Brian Deery Most small local banks can do Loans and LOC's like you are looking for on the commercial side, talk to the commercial lender at your local banks.

@Damon James Doing BPO's  Broker Price Opinions for lenders, insurance companies, and other purposes. 

Its never a "Bad" time to get in, right now its just tougher to find deals. Real Estate is Cool again, like in the early to mid 2000's so everyone is trying to "get in" and everyone with no money is trying to wholesale, when they should get Licensed and sell houses, instead of trying to scam people out of their equity (Im talking about many, not all wholesalers) 

If you get licensed and do the marketing a wholesaler does, you can still flip the contract, or if the numbers dont work you can list the home and still get a commission, and along the way you will learn valuation, repair costs and watch deals through other investors (definitely work with investors) on their dime, see what they do right, and wrong along the way, build banking, title company, and other industry relationships. Register to do BPO's they dont pay much, but they get you to parts of town you may not otherwise go, and teach you your market values, and when the market tanks again you may be positioned to get REO Listings. Call it part of your education, and you can earn some money along the way.

in all reality, in WI if the buyer and seller are not licensed you can literally write out a contract on a bar napkin, not saying you would have protection if a dispute came up. that being said, if the 2 parties agree put it on paper, I recommend a meeting at the title company you will be using, they can help you with forms and some guidance on how to complete them, they usually dont charge a fee as they will collect a fee for title insurance, closing fees, ect.  its not rocket science, its not this big involved legal monstrosity. Consider this, I buy houses at the court house all the time, there is no contract, literally verbal, and a register reciept for payment.  The transfer of real estate is simple, the paperwork just clarifies who, what, when, and where, and what happens if someone  doesnt do what they said they would. If both parties agree and are willing none of it is a problem. (FYI I am a Broker so I have to use State approved forms by Law)