All Forum Posts by: Paul N.

Originally posted by "biggerpo":

Any thoughts, folks?

(From the article)
"Owning property as an individual creates unlimited liability."

:wowo:
(While I already knew that, seeing it put so starkly in print really
drives the point home).

Originally posted by "RAMSFO":

I am sort of confused... Is there an answer to my convoluted question? I might've digressed a little bit, but would love to hear the experts' thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Cheers!

Just some thoughts from a fellow newbie: What, exactly, are your goals in
RE investing? IMHO, you need to develop clearly-defined objectives in
order to formulate a strategy to achieve your objectives. It`s kinda like
driving. While a little sightseeing and meandering is ok and can even be beneficial, ultimately, you have to select a destination before you can map
out your route to get there.

I could be completely wrong, of course, but from your post it sounds like
you are unsure of your goals? Sure, we all want to invest in RE, we all
want to make money(somehow), and we all want to build wealth, but those are vaque objectives.

I am still in the "convoluted" stage myself, but between spending time here, researching on the `net, reading, learning, asking questions, observing what others do, seeing what works and what doesn`t, doing
some soul-searching and self-evaluation as to my present circumstances, finances, abilities, knowledge(and acknowledging the lack thereof when warranted, which is often :lol: ), my own personal goals in RE are changing(from just a few months ago), and slowly becoming clearer and more well-defined. What I THOUGHT I was going to do(when I first joined
BP forum) to make money in RE is turning out to be a bigger PITA (for *me*, anyway), then it`s worth. I discovered that, although the strategy was basically sound and works well for many, it was really not a good "fit"
for me, and have since refined my long-term goals and with it, my "roadmap" to get there.

Like you, I`m new to this, like you, I don`t have much money to invest, and(as a result) like you, I`m looking out-of-state, where the price of admission is much lower. I also have a dual-incentive in doing so that coincides very nicely with my own personal plans for myself(relocation and retirement within 10 years). Clarify your goals, decide where you want to be in 5 or 10 years, and your path to achieving that goal will become much clearer 8)

Originally posted by "rjkeefer":

Can anyone tell me what it takes for a bank to consider a modular home as eligible for "stick built" financing.

As my screen-name implies, I`m certainly no expert, but I have been researching this subject myself for the past couple of months. From what I`ve read and learned, MODULARS finance_just_like_stick-builts(as long
as we`re talking about a modular on it`s own land). MOBILES are a bit more tricky to finance - you really need the land on which it is situated for
it to be viewed as "real estate", and it needs to be permanently attached to a foundation, if you want to have a hope of getting anything resembling
conventional financing for it.
Is it a double-wide MOBILE home, or is it a modular? While both could be
called "manufactured housing", lenders don`t view them the same way. Have you tried suggesting to the seller that since the property is hard to finance, (and will thus attract a smaller pool of potential buyers), it might be in the seller`s own best interests to offer owner-financing? :wink:
That being said, with a high enough credit score and down payment, you can get almost ANYTHING financed. You will likely have to pay substantially higher interest rates, you might have to go the "personal loan"-route(either "secured" or "unsecured"), and bite the bullet on the APR, and even the tax-deductability of the interest on the loan(?...not sure), but there are ways to finance damn near anything. How is your relationship with your own bank?

Lastly, the requirements and ease of getting more-or-less conventional
financing also will be determined by your intended use of the property.
If you are buying it as your primary residence and will be living in it, then getting financing will be a lot easier than if you were buying it as an investment property to be rented out.

They should rename them "HUD trailers", give 1 to each family facing foreclosure, nix the mortgage bailout, and kill 2 birds with one stone! :lol:

There were hundreds of these up for auction at ************** a while back. Probably still hundreds available. They were offering big discounts if you bought a lot of 6-20 or so at a clip. Keep in mind, though, that, in addition to the excess formaldehyde problems with some of these trailers, many were also vandalized and had components missing from them.

While I personally think Chavez is a bit of a socialist nutjob, I, at the same time, cannot fault him for opposing meddlesome, often hippocritical and schizophrenic US foreign policy in his own backyard. IMO, the US needs to get out of the World`s Policeman biz, stop trying to tell/force everyone else how to live, and mind it`s own damn biz. This goes for how it interferes with it`s own citizens personal lives as well. I`m a staunch Constitutionalist and Ron Paul supporter.

It`s just a small, buildable lot on the edge of city-limits. No. I got a special warranty deed, and the previous owner bought it from the city`s delinquant tax dept. The property was very inexpensive, I don`t plan on building anything on it, and planned to simply re-sell it for a profit. I would be conveying it via the same way I got it. Yes,
I`m familiar with the rules for selling RE on ebay. As long as I sell only properties that I own, I can do so legally without any RE license. I(and most everyone else on ebay as well) understand that ebay has to take the Official Position that RE auctions on it`s site are non-binding, but those of us who buy and sell on ebay, and take pride in our reputation,
treat RE auctions as binding, and as such, make it clear in their listings.

If you do enough business and are on ebay long enough, you will always
get the occassional deadbeat "winning bidder", legally-binding auction or
not. It happens, it`s annoying, it wastes time and often money, but it`s
part of the cost of doing business in such a venue.

The vast majority of RE transactions go smoothly. The two most important things(IMO) to focus on to prevent problems are:

1)Disclosure - describing the property *accurately*, *fully* and *honestly*, warts and all. Provide plenty of good quality photos, explain what each photo is showing(and from where), and provide as many details
as possible. Don`t guarantee anything you cannot, don`t use terms like
"buildable", when all you have is an expired perc test.

Again, disclosure - make crystal clear up front all the fees the buyer will need to add to the high-bid price, and go the extra mile and explain why
these fees are necessary. If you aren`t inflating them, that shouldn`t be a problem, no? :wink:

State your terms, your accepted payment methods, how much of a deposit you require, and how soon the deposit and balance is expected to be paid. Provide a realistic estimate of the time it will take for the buyer
to recieve their Deed. If you`re conveying by Special Warranty Deed, make that crystal clear in your auction listing.

2)Communication - I`ve been on ebay nearly a decade, and have come to
the conclusion that so many disputes(and bad feedbacks) could`ve been avoided entirely and instead, solved amiably, if only the lines of communication were kept open between the buyer and seller. What would have been minor, routine problems often snowballed into hostile disputes and bad feelings, simply because some sellers are either just too busy, lazy, or inattentive to communications from buyers, especially buyers who have already paid for their items. Follow-through, and post-sales follow-up are even MORE important with RE and other "big-ticket" items.

No, I don`t see any real problems with selling RE on ebay, especially since
I`ll be focusing on inexpensive properties, almost always *vacant* lots and parcels of land. I`ve always seemed to have a natural talent for spotting things that are undervalued, and have, over the past few months,
developed and refined the parameters of a special niche,...an apparently unigue "angle" no one else seems to be using to promote and sell their properties. Let`s just say "I`m a man with a plan" 8)

I just need a little help with the nuts and bolts of doing the paperwork. The selection of undervalued properties and the creative marketing I have in mind to drive sales is almost second-nature to me - for me, that`s the easy part.

Yeah, I agree....although there are at least a couple of ebay sellers who have their buyers do the deed-recording(and I imagine
few buyers would be remiss in getting this done when reminded that legally, they don`t actually own the property until the Deed is recorded.
That, and even the would-be flippers know they can`t legally sell RE not already titled in their own name without a license), but yes, you are right.
I would hate to get a property-tax bill, or worse yet, notice of impending lawsuit from someone who fell and got hurt on the property, due to a buyer not recording the Deed on a property I *thought* I sold 6 months or a year ago :shock: I think recording the Deed for the buyer is the way to go. You`re absolutely right. *Especially* since I`m just an individual,
and not an LLC(although if things work out the way I hope, I`d definately
go that route).

In my case, it would HAVE to be one of the above, as I am going to be buying out-of-state properties and plan on re-selling them I cannot visit
every property I buy, and I certainly do not want to have to physically travel to each County Courthouse to record a Deed everytime I sell a
property, as this would be prohibitively expensive, time-consuming, eat-up
profits and interfere with my day-job.

The only service I found that did all 50 States was udeed.com, run by a law firm out of Nevada.
Prices vary depending on the location of the property, but in the case of
my WV property, they would do deed-preparation, research and record
the Deed for approx $300 + whatever fees and taxes WV and the County
charged. Less in Arkansas, more in NY.

So, roughly $350 for the service for my WV property. Not *terribly* expensive, I suppose, but kinda high to try and pass-off on ebay buyers when most sellers charge an average of $150-200 to do this. There`s gotta be a better way. I`m trying to keep the cost down to $200 or less a pop. A high doc-prep and recording fee is a turn-off to many potential bidders who assume you`re just profiteering by inflating the processing fees, and since I`m dealing with inexpensive properties, it makes up a
higher and much more notable percentage of the total price.

You said deed-recording services are available in most parts of the country - I haven`t had much luck in finding any local services in WV,
probably because I don`t know what the term for such a business is. I`ve tried Title Companies, I`ve searched for "deed-preparation and recording". Am I barking up the wrong tree on Google?

Oh, one last question(if you happen to know the answer?), can a NY lawyer do deed-preparation for a property in another State, or must
an attorney licensed to practice in the State the property is located-in be used?

Yeah,...THAT`S it!! :wink: I`ve just been "test-driving" various communities to see which one I like best :mrgreen:

Originally posted by "biggerpo":

Wow Paul! Sounds like you've been everywhere and then-some on the Island. Why so much moving around?

Other than the first 4 places(growing up and living with my parents as they moved up the economic ladder), the reasons for the rest can be summed up in 3 words: I`m a renter :cry: