All Forum Posts by: Vito A Carlin

Hi @William McSeveney my family and I just moved to Murfreesboro about a week ago from Southern California. I was a RE investor in Cali as well. I also struggled with selling or renting my CA property, right now my area is SoCal is increasing rapidly and rents are between $2,800 - $3,000, however I decided to sell. With CA consumer protection laws in effect if a tenant lost his/her job due to COVID I could potentially hold onto a tenant for months or even a year without paying any rent. To me that was too risky plus the crazy high property taxes and the talk of getting rid of Prop 13 (incremental property tax increases as opposed to prop taxes based on market value of the property) that could double the property tax for California's. The challenge I'm running into is I'm new to the TN market and feel like a total newbie b/c I have to learn a new market all over again and start from scratch. Back home I knew everybody, the good attorneys, CPAs, escrow/title, subcontractors, rehab pricing...and now I have to basically rebuild a 16 year investment team/career from ground zero. It's pretty scary to be honest. I wish I could find an experienced investor in this market to partner with, share the risk, and learn from instead of going at it alone. But for now I'm doing my research and trying my best to ID the players and steer clear of the scammers. Any advice or referrals would be appreciated. 

Great discussion, thank you all for your insight and willingness to share & educate.

Hi Kyle, Any licensed, bonded & insured general contractor can build ADU's. You want one with experience building ground-up stand-alone units and/or experience with major home additions. Also, you need to draft up a drawing of the ADU addition and get City approval, some reputable GC's have the ability to draft this up in-house (some do not). Should run about $500 to $700 for the drawing. In my area (La Habra) the City allows ADU's to be stand alone units separate from the main house, second story additions, first floor additions, or garage conversations. Call your clients City Building Department to understand their requirements so you can communicate this info to your future GC. Hope this helps. Vito

Looking for a qualified GC in Southern California experienced with rehab projects for a flipping investor. Must be licensed, bonded and insured. Thanks BP!

I used to flip houses (back-in-the-day) from 2004 to 2008. I'm getting ready to get back into the investment game and looking for some help getting educated before launch (I know A LOT has changed). I'm interested in investing in pre-foreclosures. 

Can you advise what typical strategies and/or what options are available to an investor when negotiating pre-foreclosure deals with the owner? 

• Areas to be aware of (cautions of)?
• How do you get them to move out? 
• What paperwork should I have a RE attorney draft up for me? 
• Exit strategies? 

I'm in Southern California. I paid for a pre-foreclosure list from ListSource with the following criteria: owner's having 30% to 80% equity, owner-occupied, and loan payments made for at least ten years.

My objective is to really help people out of a bad situation and turn a profit at the same time (win-win).  

Thank you! 

Hey Paul you can probably get more info from the County Recorder's office (not sure if the one in Norwalk services your area). You'll want to know who the owner is and negotiate with them directly and also know how much equity is in the house, is it free-and-clear, or are they upside down b/c of numerous cashout refi's. If the property is in as much distress as you say, it's possible the owner might be having trouble making the payments (assuming there is a loan) they might be facing a preforclosure situation but you won't know until you make contact with the owner. I would recommend sending them a letter directly inquiring about the property and stating your interest (I find direct mail is a less confrontational approach).

I have access to the MLS, I don't mind running a search on the property and giving it to you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

-Vito

Great job Ben! The house looks amazing. Good design and material choices. Hats off to you my friend, keep up the good work and thanks for the dose of motivation. Cheers from LA!