All Forum Posts by: Ted Larson

Welcome, Chris. I know there has been mention of some gatherings in the past, but I don't know if anything ever came of any of them. I would be in for a meet-up any time and I know the Mpls/St Paul group in here is quite active. I'm guessing there would be quite a bit of interest. Let's set something up!

Kind Regards,

Ted

Marc,

You should be able to call the Code Compliance office in the city and they should be able to give you a list of permits applied for and permits granted. It may not uncover absolutely everything. If there is a repair that you can tell has been completed, but there is no permit on record, you will probably have to apply for a retroactive permit - if the inspector notices. Then they'll have to come out and make sure it was done according to code. Most repairs completed without proper permitting were NOT done to code - otherwise they would have pulled permits. It's a risk you run in Time of Sale/Truth in Sale of Housing cities and suburbs. At least this is the experience I've had over the last few years. Anyone else in Minneapolis area have similar experiences?

Cheers to a Healthy, Wealthy, Happy, and Wise 2015!

Ted

Great advice, Dave. My clients and I find the exact same results. Find a lot of properties, make a lot of offers (ideally in cash) with large earnest deposits, no contingencies (we pre-inspect on the properties that are most interesting), then make an offer that makes sense. If you find yourself in multiples (and you probably will), go to the max offer you are able to make while still maintaining the necessary profit margin.

Cheers to a Healthy, Wealthy, Happy, and Wise 2015!

Ted

Welcome, Rob! Glad to see another friendly local face on BP. There is more information on this site than you can shake a stick at. Some local BP'ers are talking about an informal meet-up. I'll keep you posted if you're interested.

Ted

This is a fantastic thread! Thanks to all of you for your input and words of wisdom. I would like to defend a select few in my profession (realtors) and say that there are some of us that can think outside the box. I have a fairly large group of investors to whom I sell. In our market, it is almost impossible to find viable options for fix-and-flip investors on the MLS. I'm putting an advertising campaign together that will allow me to act as a "facilitator" and collect a commission on what basically amounts to a wholesale transaction. I will not be able to mark it up, but everything then flows through my broker, which keeps him happy, and my team leader, so she is happy as well. This pays the bills in the short run. In the long run, I get the listings from my investors, which will enable me to be an active investor. On some of the deals, I will be able to secure owner financing and rent for cash flow. I think this would qualify as thinking outside the box. The nuances of specific wording in contracts and "intentions" and legality are intimidating. Would it be nice to be able to pad those wholesale deals and collect a huge check? Yes. However, if I continue to pass the savings along to my investor clients, they'll continue to buy from me before anyone else. Wouldn't you agree? And this way, I stay in good standing with my firm, my Dept of Commerce, the BBB, the state, etc. Maybe most realtors can't think outside the box, but let's not put them all IN a box. Some of us legitimately want to serve our clients - big and small, and want to grow ethical, honorable, profitable businesses. God Bless, Ted

As an agent who works in an office that represents HUD homes and has submitted many, many HUD bids, I always instruct my clients to bid the highest amount they would be comfortable paying for the property. Bid what you can afford and what you think it's worth. In our market (Mpls/St. Paul area), there is a ton of competition on HUD homes. If you have the extra cash, and this is the home you'd most like to own, go big. It also depends on whether you're treating it as an investment that you'll occupy for a year or treating it as your residence. If it's an investment, analyze the deal, do your due diligence and get the comps. If it's going to be your home, and you'd sincerely regret it if you lost the bid, then bid big. And if you can afford it, leave out the seller concessions. HUD is only concerned with their final net in accepting a bid. For What It's Worth, Ted

As an agent who works in an office that represents HUD homes and has submitted many, many HUD bids, I always instruct my clients to bid the highest amount they would be comfortable paying for the property. Bid what you can afford and what you think it's worth. In our market (Mpls/St. Paul area), there is a ton of competition on HUD homes. If you have the extra cash, and this is the home you'd most like to own, go big. It also depends on whether you're treating it as an investment that you'll occupy for a year or treating it as your residence. If it's an investment, analyze the deal, do your due diligence and get the comps. If it's going to be your home, and you'd sincerely regret it if you lost the bid, then bid big. For What It's Worth, Ted

Hello, All! I am Ted Larson, Realtor and aspiring investor in the greater Mpls Metro. I am excited to be here and am learning at an astounding rate thanks to all of you and your insightful posts. My goals include sorting out the legality and brokerage issues with wholesaling deals that I am unable to purchase myself and beginning to buy and hold single family and small multi-family units in MN. I'd love to connect! It is always advised that one at least attempt to bring something to the table when learning from others. I know the Mpls/St Paul Metro market quite well and am happy to advise and answer questions.