All Forum Posts by: Derek W.

Welcome. There are lots of members from your area to connect with.

Bakersfield California is less than 2 hour drive from LA and has properties that match what you described.

Auction.com (formerly REDC) has teaser opening bids for their properties. They sell both REO properties and foreclosure auction properties. (trustee sales in California) Often I will see a published opening bid of $30,0000, for example, on a property I have valued at ARV $100,000 which would make it a great deal. However, there is a hidden minimum reserve that needs to be met. So the real opening bid might really be $60,000 on that same house, not $30,000. Depending on the condition of the house, it may still be worth it. I've been buying from REDC and auction.com since 2008 and have never got a property for the published opening bid. But, though it feels mainly like a waste of time, I have still bought plenty of houses from them, mostly as trustee sale auctions more than REO, however.

Oh, that's the least of my lame mistakes. I just recently went to check on my rehabs and saw new appliances in the boxes from a recent delivery. The problem was, the appliances were already installed! During Thanksgiving time I ordered six houses of appliances during a huge Black Friday sale. It turns out, I couldn't remember if I actually ordered them, or just meant to. So I sent a worker to go check. She misunderstood and ordered the appliances...again. So I got six stoves, six dishwasher, and six over the range microwaves EXTRA! Where am I going to store all of those until I need them? Looks like the wife and I will be parking outside for a while!

Brandon, it's a very honest mistake. One time I was filling a swimming pool on a flip. I left to go check other projects and forgot to come back to shut off water. It ran for 3 days! $1,600 water bill! OUCH! Apparently none of the neighbors thought much about constant water running down the gutter for two days straight.

An agent is NOT required. There is no paper work to submit your bid. You register online and bid. Only after you win the bid do you have paper work, which they will send to you. Not sure what the agent is trying pull, other than protecting an offer he's got in, or trying to get commission from working with you as an agent.

I've dealt with this numerous times over the years. If the tenant is really a good tenant, keeps the house in good shape, and pays rent on time I've had them buy renters insurance that specifically covers their dog and name me as additional insured.

All things associated with Ocwen/Altisource/Go Homing/Hubzu are out sourced to India. My suggestion if you are the winning bidder is to elect the option of choosing your own escrow. Yes, you have to pay more in escrow fees, but dealing with their outsourced escrow/closing in India is a nightmare. Well worth paying the additional fees to use your own local escrow/closing.

I'm probably the only idiot landlord that starts out with tenants without dogs, and forces a dog on them! I foster dogs for the local animal shelter and am always looking for a good home and good match with a human. Like @Joseph C said I'm very aware of the breed. I have a list of disallowed breeds I include as an addendum to my rental contract. I make it really clear that if one of those breeds shows up, everyone leaves. People love their animals. It's hard to have a strict no pet policy.

I don't think you should have to rely on an agent's cma to know if it's a deal or not. If you don't already know the comps better than the agent, maybe you're not ready to make offers yet. It might be a great eye opening experience of what the next step really is for you?