All Forum Posts by: Steve Babiak

I ask for the "real estate department" when inquiring about REO, since the operator answering phones understands those words more clearly than the acronym.

But without a doubt, James knows his stuff.

James,

For a newer investor, you have certainly developed an understanding of these items. And if the OP - Jimmy Doss - could answer your questions, the site's members could definitely offer some real input. Congrats, you got my vote.

Jimmy Doss,

I think that your possible (mis)reading of Nick's response that I quote below, is due to the reply from Nick not being clear enough.

You see, Nick offers to mentor people, and as such he would be happy to take your money in exchange for the mentoring; but he has concerns stemming from lots of training that you mention that has not yet led you to results. Where Nick's post was unclear is that he did not explicitly mention what he would be willing to do when he said he would take your money; and I think that you read that as if he was looking to take advantage of you. Hopefully, this post will help to clarify matters.

My suggestion to you is to read the questions that other posts here have presented to you, and post back here with your best answer to them. Good Luck.

James,

Just a thought for you to consider.

You might want to check into having your employer acquiring that NPN for this rooming house. It would have to come at a discount of course. And then you can mitigate away once your employer is the servicer. You'd be able to plug in all the numbers and see if the loan mod makes more for your employer than the foreclosure.

In my area - S.E. part of PA - REOs aren't typically winterized if they are acquired and listed between mid-April to Early September. If they sit on the market past September, then winterizing will take place.

I went through one this summer where the central air conditioning was running - and that house had the temp set low, so it was cold. I'm sure that ran up the utility bills there.

So I've learned that you have to expect almost anything with an REO, and set your offers accordingly.

Remember that Wachovia is now a part of Wells Fargo ...

Install a range hood, but not with built-in microwave. Jon is right about this one. Imagine the things a tenant will put into there - aluminum foil - and imagine the fireworks that will happen in that oven. They'll peek through the door and think they're watching the July 4th display on TV!

The cost to repair one of these built-in microwaves is huge; almost becomes cheaper to install a new one.

The only exception to the above is if ALL of the for-rent competition has these built-in microwave range hoods; very unlikely unless it is higher end housing. And if it is higher end housing, the rents will be higher, and you won't feel as much pain having to fix the darn things.

You might want to check out these threads:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/99/topics/28211-qualifiying-your-buyer-on-a-flip-project-may-get-harder

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/24285-successful-flippers-your-input-here-

Uwe,

Since you did not limit your timeframe on that offer, it is really up to you.

Some thoughts to consider:

Is the seller shopping around for a better offer, leveraging the fact that he has your offer on the table?

Is this holding you up from placing offers elsewhere?

Is this property in declining condition, so that it may deteriorate while waiting?

Is there some funding that you have worked into this, that might have a deadline for commitment?

I'm glad that it helped. As you could tell from the mix of the threads that I gathered (I didn't slant them either way), I agree with your statement that each person decides this for themselves; there is no right or wrong.

Rarely does an intro post gather so many replies as yours has already, so you can see that this topic of getting licensed can be a hot topic.

Don't forget to vote for those posts that you have found of great value!

Here's the link to that roofer's web page on the liquid coating stuff:
http://www.gambleroofingservices.com/new_liquid_roof_membrane_systems