All Forum Posts by: Thomas Williamson

@Dawn Brenengen Hi Dawn, believe it or not it was done with my cell phone.  Samsung Galaxy 3.  YouTube did all the work of stabilizing the video for me.  I know I could do a much better job with the videos, but it's just something to get the info out there.  YouTube is awesome for real estate investors.  Good luck!

@Aaron Wyssmann I keep thinking about what your doing with the lock box, and wanted to throw a couple of things out there.  Not only am I a real estate investor, but I'm also a police officer and have been for over 20 years.  I know you may feel okay after speaking with the people after they view your home, but I can tell you from experience that you haven't met the right criminal yet.  

Are you going to the home immediately after someone views it to make sure the key has been returned?  The reason I'm asking this is what if that person runs down to a local hardware store or Wal-Mart and has a duplicate  made.

Then God forbid someone moves into the home later as a tenant, then the criminal comes back and robs them either while there home, or while the tenant is at work.  Allowing that type of access to your properties just seems like it setting you up for a huge lawsuit later.  

Even if the home is broken into because the tenant left the door unlocked, it would be very difficult for you to convince a judge or jury that the bad guys didn't get in using a key they made from your lock box.  My advice is don't be so trusting, it's sad but very true.  I tell you this out of great concern for you and don't want to see you get in serious trouble that could ruin your business your life or any other investors business or life.  Good luck.

I do something very similar to what @Nadia Lewis does.  When I first started out, I too became very frustrated by the amount of no shows, even when I called an hour before and confirmed with the prospective tenant that they were coming.  I changed tactics a few years ago, and it's worked great for me since them.  

When one of my properties is up for rent, I make a very detailed video of the inside and outside of the property.  I even go so far as to give measurements of the bedrooms in the videos.  I also post tons of pics of everything.  I give the perspective tenant everything they need to know in the video, and tell them that I have a two part application process. 

The first phase cost them nothing.  I simply e-mail them a form that I created myself that let's me pre-screen them.  It has things like name / d.o.b. / current address / current employer and employers phone number / previous address / current landlords contact number / etc.  If they are really interested in the property, then they'll go through the steps to fill this out and get it back to me quickly since it cost them nothing.

I also tell everyone in my videos to go look at the property (I leave all the blinds up and the video is great if it's a two story they can still see what it looks like) and look at the neighborhood to make sure it's somewhere they really want to live.  I tell everyone in the video that I do not conduct showings until the first phase of the application process has been started.  This will eliminate 99% of the tire kickers, and most of all it will free up your valuable time.

I've done everything from multiple appointments on one day to holding open houses all weekend.  A detailed video on YouTube is fantastic because it answer's all the questions for the perspective tenant once, and you don't have to keep repeating the same answers over and over.  I have an apartment for rent at the moment, and have a video posted on my website that explains this process.  You can check it out under available properties at www.acminvestmentsgeorgia.com  Good luck.

If you're going to the courthouse in Monroe, there's usually a lot of competition.  Specifically from Arnold Properties in Monroe.  There are other real estate offices in Walton County that are actively buying at the courthouse as well.  It's been a few years since I've been, but there's no set time for anything.  The reps from attorneys offices show up, and start start reading.  Sometimes you have to ask them which firm they're representing.  Also, if you find a property you want to bid on, make sure you know which firm will be handling the foreclosure / auction.  That will save you some time when they start the bidding.  It is interesting to watch, but you can waste a whole day easily waiting on the representatives to show up and begin doing their thing.  

Wow, finally someone from my county!  I live in Walton County (Loganville).  I'll PM you and see if we can connect sometime.  Welcome to BP!

@Jeff Wallace 

Hi Jeff,

I guess the first thing I would ask would be the amount that you have in the 401K (I mean think about it to yourself)  and figure out if it's worth it over the long run (many year's to come) to pay the taxes and penalties for early withdraw now, or pay the maintenance fee for the life of the company.  We had 70,000 plus in my wife's 401K when we worked with Guidant to create a new company.  

I can say without hesitation that Guidant is a great company.  They really delivered on everything the said they would.  The attorney they provided us in Atlanta was outstanding. He knew this subject backwards and forward.  We paid around 5,000 to set up the new company (Guidant did everything, all the filings with the state etc.) and we pay them 119.00 per month to continue to be the custodian of the account.  We of course have to provide them with documentation from time to time to make sure we stay in compliance with the IRS.  That tells me that Guidant is really on the ball, and they are concerned with making sure we're doing what we're supposed to.  That's something else you need to consider, is remember the funds from the real estate (rents) must be paid to you in the form of a check (as in that's your salary).  You can't simply take the proceeds and deposit them into your checking account and spend as you wish, as we do with our other properties that are not purchased with the 401K funds.  Oh, also you have to maintain a separate checking account for the ROBS funds and rents received, and the rents that come in have to go into that same account.  There can be no co-mingling of funds from other properties, or personal money.

It is somewhat labor intensive in the beginning to set all of this up, but in my opinion it was well worth it.  After the rollover was complete, we took the funds and paid all cash for a 4 BR 2 BA home in metro Atlanta in March of 2013.  Not long after closing, we were able to put a mortgage on the property and get most of that money back and moved on to the next project.  We still own that property and make a very nice profit on it.

Again, I think it will come down to how much money you have in the 401K (if it's smaller than say 50,000 then it may be better to just pay the taxes and penalties) but that's something you'll have to decide. I can also tell you that when I speak to lenders about our companies (we had an LLC before the ROBS rollover) the bankers are extremely impressed with our strategy of the ROBS rollover to purchase real estate. Because many lenders have no idea (as most people outside of this space) that you can do that.

There's a little hesitation when we tell bankers that my wife doesn't work, then we explain our strategy and what we did with that 401k, then they're on board again.  We continue to strive and move forward, and the ROBS was a great strategy that helped us to keep moving forward.  Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions about it.  

I've found in Georgia it depends on the utility provider. I've owned homes where GA Power was the provider, and yes I had to pay those fees as well. Working with EMC's in other counties, I've not had to pay any fees, as long as you have good credit. What GA Power does as well as most EMC's is provide a landlord agreement with you if you're planning on keeping the home as a rental. Once you sign up for these programs, then you don't get charged new connection fees every time you have to transfer power back into your name when a tenant moves out. A small hassle, but well worth it when you have to have a utility put back in your name. I've found a few county water utilities that will offer the same type of agreements.

Wow!  Sorry to hear that.  Good luck, I hope it works out, I've had to bite the bullet on a few as well, I know how you feel.

@Jason C. 

In Georgia when I receive judgments (I generally will only pursue if I know where the person is employed) I will garnish their wages.  Sadly I've had to do this on several occasions, but I did end up collecting.  I'm assuming that is an option in Texas if you can find out where the person is working. 

Good luck

@Account Closed 

I flew out there and spent a week in April looking for buy and holds.  I was all over the city from Round Rock, to Kyle, and Budha, and all other directions.  The closest I came to making an offer was a small 3/2 that was 12 years old in Pflugerville.  I've only paid 30,000 in Atlanta for houses nicer than the Pflugerville house, and that thing went quick at 140,000 (the Pflugerville house).  Tons of competition in Austin and San Antonio right now that seems to really be driving up prices to the point where the numbers just won't work.  I did find one little subdivision in East Austin building new homes at reasonable prices.  Small 3/2's around 130's to 140's.  But the school district and area there weren't the best.  Also, stay away from that large real estate guru group out there, you probably know who that is ;) Good luck.