All Forum Posts by: Chris Kennedy

@Aly W.  sounds like a steal! Did the the agent also tell you there were multiple offers of the property? Can't believe you didn't put this one under contract already :D

If you have the cash, my suggestion would be to pay off the car loan. Then, instead if making the car payments, pay yourself the same amount into your own savings account and pretty soon you'll be back to having a down payment for an investment property. 

@Jean Bolger is correct - you need some liquid cash for rental property emergencies. Get rid of your bad debt first (car loan), then buy a rental. Better to do it slow and be successful than to rush into it and end up stretched too thin and putting yourself into default if an emergency hits. 

You can always wholesale a house or two to save more cash though or get your RE license and sell a few houses while learning - no risk that way! :D good luck

I read an article in Harvard Business Review a while back that referenced some research that showed that job applicants who jokingly suggested a ridiculously high salary for the position they were applying for actually ended up coming out with better salaries. So the guy/girl who answered the "How much are you looking to earn each year?" question with "oh, 2 million would be okay" actually ended up doing better than the person who gave a serious answer. 

I'm sure the same applies to making the first offer - just make it ridiculous and obviously a joke: "i'll buy it for ten bucks, is that fair? I might be able to do fifteen, but I'll need to ask my wife first"

Same gist as what @Brian P. mentioned above....

Refer it to a realtor - and preferably one experienced in short sales, there's no equity there. 

What is the market value of the property as-is? What about after repairs? And how much cash is needed for repairs? I think these answers will help us help you!

I second @Skyler Smith  - buy with cash then refi as soon as its fixed up and rented. Great strategy! Remember even if you flipped this for $10k quick cash, you're probably going to walk away with only $6-7k after taxes. Much better to hold on to it as a rental. 

Yes, absolutely. The key is that the seller is motivated enough to do this. Just don't make a promise you can't keep - ask them to hold the financing for much longer than you expect to need it. If you think that you can flip the property in 6 months, make sure they are holding the financing for at least a couple of years, just in case something goes wrong. Of course, when you sell the house early and pay them off way before schedule then they'll be  ecstatic. Good luck!

I always charge an application fee. In my opinion, if someone doesn't want to pay $100 for their application then they likely aren't that serious. It costs money to run a tenant screening, so I'm not going to waste my own dollars on someone who isn't serious in the first place. 

@Kimberly H. Don't be shy about letting prospective tenants know how popular your listing has been - you have to instill some sense of urgency into the situation and let them know it may not be available by the end of the day. If people think they have all the time in the world then you're going to have a tough time getting them to sign the paperwork. You do need to use some pressure - most people do not like making decisions, and need help to do so. Just because you convinced them that your place is better than the others on the market doesn't mean they're going to leave one year later. Especially if you provide excellent service as their landlord. 

It also helps to make a note of all the objections prospective applicants give you when they come see the rental (the bathroom is too small, or it's not an easy walk to work etc), then take some time to think of good ways to overcome these objections when the next person brings them up. In general there will be less than 10 objections that come up over and over again - know how to settle these in the prospect's mind and you'll be able to sell them on the rental. Classic sales stuff, but it works :D

Good luck!

Usually on a portfolio loan the bank will have some provision for selling off properties individually. You should be able to get a partial release including a specific pay-off amount required to sell any of the houses individually.

But as @Ned Carey pointed out, the best thing is to look at the original contract - and call the bank to ask them. Hope it works out!

@Levi Bennett  in reality the buyer pays the commission! I don't fancy my chances of being paid a commission if I don't find a buyer for a property :D I know that technically you are correct - the seller pays commission, but it's the buyer who brings the money to closing. 

Plus, there is no rule that states a buyer cannot pay commissions - it's just not conventional in Florida. It happens frequently when I work with an investor client to buy an off-market deal that they pay my commission - it's reflected on their side of the HUD.

Getting back to the case above, sounds like the seller might need to come out of pocket to pay the realtor fees at closing since the buyer is not paying a price high enough for the agent to be paid out of seller proceeds...