All Forum Posts by: Zane Cress

I wouldn't pull comps to show the inspector, if you disagree with his number after it comes in then you could send over a comp analysis for your area and argue that it should be higher based on price per sqft and amenities your home has that others do not. 

I would say make the place as clean and tidy as possible just so it looks like you take good care of your space and the inspector feels comfortable. Other than that maybe you can slip them a $100 and get few thousand extra on the back end. But if bribery isn't your thing it doesn't hurt to have some fresh cookies hanging out.

Get rid of that car loan or refinance that with a local bank and try to get a better rate. That 7.5% is killer. If you sold the car and got rid of that payment, plus paid down those student loans, then you start making $1700/month instead of losing it. You could potentially be debt free later this year if you use your friends vehicle or pay cash for a cheap, older vehicle and focus on paying down that student loan with this 30k sum you will get. 

I'm a Robert Kiyosaki guy so I think 401ks are kind of useless, I would pull back on that unless your company is offering a good match. If they match 5% of salary then you should only put 5% in. Your money is more beneficial in your hands right now, paying off these debts and going into your savings for a home purchase.

If you get out of those two big debts and keep more money for yourself instead of into the 401k you could pay a company to help you rebuild credit and then go find a du-tri-quadplex to buy as your primary residence and start house hacking. Once that is going well for a year or two then find your single family house to buy.

Just did this in GA 3 months ago. I created my LLC 4 years ago, I moved all of my rental property into that LLC last year. I created a living trust for all my personal and business assets recently. The lawyer handled the movement of my properties and LLC into the living trust.

In your case I think it would be overkill. The trust is already protecting your home, I suppose you could move your property into an LLC that resides within the trust, but it doesn't seem necessary. Just call a few law offices in your area that specialize in wills and living trusts. They should be able to guide you in the right direction.

Depending on what you have to put in the LLC it may not be worth the time and money right now. I had this conversation with a local attorney last year who was doing the same thing for RE investors because of the benefits in WY. But if there wasn't 500k or more worth of assets then it didn't really make sense, especially for the money they wanted to charge. If you only have 1 or 2 properties then you don't need this right now. You can set up a LLC online yourself with a little Google help and less than a day. In the future you can move everything to Wyoming if it makes more sense.

They want a signed offer contract before they show the property, doesn't mean you are locked in to buy it. If you really want it then make your offer, and make sure you have your diligence set to your comfort level. Walk the property immediately and then go back and negotiate the price if things are not what they seem. Most likely they have some crappy renters and don't want to deal with them until someone is serious about purchasing the place. 

HELOC is your best bet in this situation, especially if the interest is that low. Just make sure you have your contractor and budget on a tight leash because it could spiral out of control if one of those variables isn't managed properly, and rates will be higher 6 months from now. Time is your enemy here.

You can also get Lowe's and Home Depot credit cards with a 6 month no interest payment option that can help with material purchases and appliances if you need them. 

My local bank is still quoting me 20% down as of last week. My national lending agent is quoting me 25% down. For a rental property you might have better luck with a DSCR loan right now, but still probably 20% down there, you could get lucky with 15% down if the deal is really good.

If you're on BP then you should be reaching out to the David Greene team for Cali property, especially looking for a house hacking/multi family purchase. 

But if you wanted to move markets then your money would go a lot further in sunny Florida, and since it gained several hundred thousand people over the last few years you can count on population increase and continued rent growth in the coming years. 

You can audiobook for free on Youtube "The Real Estate Rehab Investing Bible". It's a 10 hour listen but it will explain how to work with contractors and might help you finish out this situation on a brighter note. 

Also, if you can, it would work in your favor to access some business credit cards or lines of credit. If you haven't yet then start a LLC and open a business account, preferably Bank of America or Chase, they offer the best cards and terms. You can get decently high credit card limits with 12 months 0% interest that could help finish this work or start future work. Also if you spend X amount of $$ in the first 3 months you usually get some sort of cash back bonus or statement deal. Just do not let that balance float past the introductory period.

If you are still in your DD period then you can leave the contract, the floors alone could be the reason. You can ask for a price reduction and if they say no then you're probably done and should move on to the next deal.