All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Cabral

I'm curious about your 100% LTV HELOC...was that recently? I'd be really interested in finding one in CT. How did you find your lender? Thanks!

Hi all! I read a comment that included an interesting strategy on another post that said the user got a HELOC that was 100% LTV and I was wondering if that's something that still exists. Does anyone know of a lender that would offer such a high LTV line in Connecticut? Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom!

Before I even knew about investing, I house hacked in a duplex. I bought where property values are high but the house was in such rough shape I got it for a steal. I used a 203k loan for owner occupants and the construction forced appreciation so now I have about $50k in equity and my tenants cover my mortgage. 

@Kris Lippi - Trinity just bought a building downtown too. University of Hartford is also looking around for about 9000sf of office but I don't know where they'll end up. It may be closer to campus.

So if you purchase with cash, even from a retirement vehicle, you avoid the seasoning requirement and can refi right away?

Hi Ravi - while it'd be helpful to know more, like the others have said, I can tell you a bit about the downtown housing market and if you're looking for something in the greater Hartford, you'll have to give us more detail :) The downtown residential market is at 98% occupied and there's a lot of activity which suggests positive growth and more bodies on the street between the new public transportation system, two university moves into the central business district, the development of Downtown North with the new baseball team...the Yard Goats...please don't hold that against us, and a lot more residential units coming online in the next year - which is actually a positive for those people considering investing in residential because in urban environments like Hartford, residential markets follow an odd trend where the greater the supply of housing, the more greater the demand. So, the downtown Hartford is a desirable investment opportunity however the inventory is limited and taxes are quite high. 

I'll have to look at this meetup group - I was hoping there'd be something like that.

Stephanie

 Yes, an executor is one type of a fiduciary. Good luck! I'm happy to offer feedback on any letters you're going to send to probate attorneys if it'd help.

 Hi Ken, yes you could definitely search the notice to creditors and those are published very early on in the probate process. Most often within 30 days of death but always immediately upon the Court appointing an executor. I guess this way is less cumbersome than going to the courts but you'll have to comb through a lot of newspapers. 

A point worth noting - the notice to creditors gives you contact info for the attorneys that represent the estate, rather than the executor. I've received a lot of unsolicited mail for investors trying to notify the executor (via me) that they would purchase the homes. I've found that at that point, the contact has to be incredibly credible so maybe some marketing materials with stats on how you've helped other estates, ie cash purchase in x number of days, avoid using an agent so the estate nets a higher profit. I do not suggest a  hand note written on a napkin...which I've gotten :). From a credibility standpoint, I believe you'd be better making contact and developing a relationship with an attorney before the estates are relevant so it doesn't seem too much like an ambulance chaser.

Hope that helps!

I'm a probate attorney (in Connecticut) by trade and out here, all probate documents are public. Unfortunately, the information isn't online. You can go to to the probate courts directly and ask for files - you'll find the names and addresses of the Executors in there. It'd make more sense for you to send anything to an executor or administrator than directly to the decedent's house.

You could perhaps instead target probate attorneys and let them know you buy real estate from estates and explain how you can help them. That may be more effective than targeting the probate estates that are currently active, since the estates are constantly changing so you'd have to continue your marketing efforts aggressively. Instead, target the people handling the estates. That way, you pay attention to one professional who has the opportunity of giving you repeat leads.

One thing I do when doing probate campaigns is identify the towns that have an assessor's database that allows you to lookup addresses by names and search for "est" or whatever the abbreviation would be out there for estate owned properties. You may get some results that aren't a match, like anything owned by an Ernest would show up, but at least this is a good point of departure to help you narrow down your search a bit.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Stephanie