All Forum Posts by: Steve Morris

Forgot after reading the comments.  You would screen the application like any potential tenant.  In OR, you can't use the Sec 8 voucher ONLY to turn them down.

"how to get certified for section 8 housing"

Am confused, I"m a commercial broker in OR and do LIH.

Does the property have a recorded use/income restriction (word of advice try to get a title report before)?

If not, Sec 8 is just the program that funds tenant vouchers.  If you don't have an income-restriction, in Oregon, a Sec 8 voucher is like income and you can't deny them for source of funding.

With Sec 8, the caseworker will need to OK rent paid and voucher amount, but they know they need to be close to market if there are no recorded restrictions.  You get the EFT on the Sec 8 payment on the 1st and then the tenant owes you the co-pay (if any).  Depending on the housing authority, you may get an inspection of the unit before move-in, then usually they'll inspect for cause (i.e. tenant complaint to them).

"I feel intimidated, but I feel this is normal. This is compounded by the fact that I have no experience with a mortgage."

First off, call a COMMERCIAL mortgage broker and ask for half-hour and explain your situation.  He can tell you what you need to do.  Having no mort history is almost as bad as having bad mort history.  You may need to look at co-signers.

You make money off leverage of OPM.

If you want to DM me, I can eMail free PDF of my 80-page book on buying and selling apartments.  It'll help a lot.

"Do people in this forum have experience dealing with a FSBO when the owner is not always available?"

Am a comm RE broker and I'm constantly shocked at what brokers charge and how little they do. I think it'd be worth trying FSBO for a couple of months since you'll prob get your best offer when it's "fresh".

If it doesn't work, take it off the market for a month, then hire someone to re-list it so it'll look relatively "fresh".

However, to get access to the listing services, you may need to go to a place like Redfin (not an good/bad endorsement of them).  Usually, you'll need to be a realtor (TM) to get access.

However, you may need to bump the buyer broker fee since brokers shop stuff based on their potential commission.

I don't think it's Covid since the exodus from SOME big cities has been going on.  Places like NYC, SFO and LAX.  Price is getting too high for people moving in to afford it.  So the majority of transactions are residents trading up.

Larger syndicates are looking at SE (GA, NC and FL) for growth.

Nice, I'm in Portland and have been looking at selling and buying in PHX due to growth and politics.  Wasn't crazy about GIlbert, but you made it work.  Shows Buffett's wisdom:  "You make your money when you buy right."

If it is just keeping water from going into the door, you can also look at a floor drain.  Make sure it is diverted to something away from the house and with proper drainage (like the street or a french drain downhill.)  That still doesn't give you protection on the foundation surrounding the door, but if accessible, you may be able to do a french drain around the perimeter as long as it's not a gusher.

Diverters never work very well, but this would be cheaper than a regrade, I'd think.

In any case, address it now instead of later.   Moisture invasion gets more expensive the longer you wait to remedy it.

ON a short sale, the listing agent is working with the owner who just wants out with min liability.  So don't know what they crossed out, but no way I'd write without inspection on the property.

Your biggest issue after that is with the lender.  Unless the agent knows all the bank contacts (like 0.001% they do), you're going to have a lot of leg work and time.  If it's a local lender, you may get lucky.   If it's a big national lender like Chase or WF or BofA, good luck.  It'll take a while to get the right people to look at your offer and approve it since they'll be in CYA, so it won't be just one officer.

Gary Kahn in Portland works with a lot of apartment owners.

Comm broker in Portland also.  Locally, Yamhill and Linn/Bentor counties are popular.  Lot of my clients like AZ and NM.  For larger deals, SE USA (FL, GA and NC) since they have lower costs and good job growth.