I’m about to be homeless. I Don’t know what to do.

[Robert D Wade III]

Hello, I hate posting this here but I am out of options. And I know in real estate that’s never fully true. I discovered BP in the process of doing research for my RE license course and I have got to say the community here is incredible. I’ve honestly become addicted to the point that the BP podcast has almost replaced my smoking habit I’m on ep.237 at the moment in a little over a month and It’s opened my eyes to another world that I am excited to explore. The reason I am posting here is because I am dealing with the landlords from hell. I hate to talk ill of them but at the same time I am sitting in a house with no heat in northern Wisconsin as well as them come if and going as they pleased. When I confronted them about these issues I wouldn’t let it go and I was told to be out on the 20th and the doors would be locked when I got home from work. And I know that it’s not legal but I also don’t have a lease with them it was a dumb move but I hadn’t discovered BP yet and took them at their word that the issues would be fixed by the time it got cold. In my area all the places I know are rented. I’ve been able to negotiate a price on a mobile home that’s not ideal but there is potential for improvements and a flip but I am to young to get a loan and I just moved to the area so my employment history is short. I’ve called every person in my life that I could think of to co-sign but most of them are running from one creditor or another. Typically I wouldn’t care I lived in my car for the first 7 months of the year and I don’t have a problem doing it again until an apartment came along. Unfortunately little sister is a minor and lives with me she also has no were to go. Our dad lives in a home with no heat/electricity and I just want to be done with this kind of life and pull my self out of the squalor that our parents taught us. Please if you’ve made it this far, what am I missing I know through creativity anything can be possible but right now I don’t know what to do to make it happen. I have everything I need for a loan I have a $2000 deposit on an $8500 purchase price. I bring in a decent income for the area time is just not on my side I’m afraid. Thank you odds are no one is reading this but at least got a chance to vent and get it all laid out in writing.

[Scott Mac]

Originally posted by @Robert D Wade III:

Hello, I hate posting this here but I am out of options. And I know in real estate that’s never fully true. I discovered BP in the process of doing research for my RE license course and I have got to say the community here is incredible. I’ve honestly become addicted to the point that the BP podcast has almost replaced my smoking habit I’m on ep.237 at the moment in a little over a month and It’s opened my eyes to another world that I am excited to explore. The reason I am posting here is because I am dealing with the landlords from hell. I hate to talk ill of them but at the same time I am sitting in a house with no heat in northern Wisconsin as well as them come if and going as they pleased. When I confronted them about these issues I wouldn’t let it go and I was told to be out on the 20th and the doors would be locked when I got home from work. And I know that it’s not legal but I also don’t have a lease with them it was a dumb move but I hadn’t discovered BP yet and took them at their word that the issues would be fixed by the time it got cold. In my area all the places I know are rented. I’ve been able to negotiate a price on a mobile home that’s not ideal but there is potential for improvements and a flip but I am to young to get a loan and I just moved to the area so my employment history is short. I’ve called every person in my life that I could think of to co-sign but most of them are running from one creditor or another. Typically I wouldn’t care I lived in my car for the first 7 months of the year and I don’t have a problem doing it again until an apartment came along. Unfortunately little sister is a minor and lives with me she also has no were to go. Our dad lives in a home with no heat/electricity and I just want to be done with this kind of life and pull my self out of the squalor that our parents taught us. Please if you’ve made it this far, what am I missing I know through creativity anything can be possible but right now I don’t know what to do to make it happen. I have everything I need for a loan I have a $2000 deposit on an $8500 purchase price. I bring in a decent income for the area time is just not on my side I’m afraid. Thank you odds are no one is reading this but at least got a chance to vent and get it all laid out in writing.

 Hi Robert,

[1] Try calling legal aid in the morning and schedule an appointment with them to review the situation.

https://www.google.com/search?q=minniapolis+legal+aid&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS751US751&oq=minniapolis+legal+aid

[2] Call every relative and friend you have and look for a couch to sleep on (it's better than freezing to death in Minnesota in the winter).

Good Luck!

[JD Martin]

Originally posted by @Robert D Wade III:

Hello, I hate posting this here but I am out of options. And I know in real estate that’s never fully true. I discovered BP in the process of doing research for my RE license course and I have got to say the community here is incredible. I’ve honestly become addicted to the point that the BP podcast has almost replaced my smoking habit I’m on ep.237 at the moment in a little over a month and It’s opened my eyes to another world that I am excited to explore. The reason I am posting here is because I am dealing with the landlords from hell. I hate to talk ill of them but at the same time I am sitting in a house with no heat in northern Wisconsin as well as them come if and going as they pleased. When I confronted them about these issues I wouldn’t let it go and I was told to be out on the 20th and the doors would be locked when I got home from work. And I know that it’s not legal but I also don’t have a lease with them it was a dumb move but I hadn’t discovered BP yet and took them at their word that the issues would be fixed by the time it got cold. In my area all the places I know are rented. I’ve been able to negotiate a price on a mobile home that’s not ideal but there is potential for improvements and a flip but I am to young to get a loan and I just moved to the area so my employment history is short. I’ve called every person in my life that I could think of to co-sign but most of them are running from one creditor or another. Typically I wouldn’t care I lived in my car for the first 7 months of the year and I don’t have a problem doing it again until an apartment came along. Unfortunately little sister is a minor and lives with me she also has no were to go. Our dad lives in a home with no heat/electricity and I just want to be done with this kind of life and pull my self out of the squalor that our parents taught us. Please if you’ve made it this far, what am I missing I know through creativity anything can be possible but right now I don’t know what to do to make it happen. I have everything I need for a loan I have a $2000 deposit on an $8500 purchase price. I bring in a decent income for the area time is just not on my side I’m afraid. Thank you odds are no one is reading this but at least got a chance to vent and get it all laid out in writing.

 Odds are a lot of people are reading this/about to read it. Thoughts in no particular order:

1. Quit smoking. Not only will you be saving your own life, you'll be adding a lot of money to your RE purchasing portfolio. 

2. If you are on Episode 237 you will soon be at my episode (I think I'm 243). So you'll hear some of this stuff there.

3. Considering you have a minor to look after, your #1 goal right now has to be to not be on the streets in the winter in Wisconsin. That might mean moving to one of those weekly motel type places. If you can afford rent you can probably afford one of those. You can cook on a hot plate or in a microwave. Not ideal but you can make this work.

4. I grew up just like you're describing. First 10 years I grew up in an apartment in a ghetto. Next 5 years in the middle of nowhere with no telephone, long stretches of no electricity, no hot water. Lived in a house one time with so many leaks in the roof all the furniture was pushed against one wall and the bottom of my bed stayed wet. From there was homeless for 4 months in a tent, which was an improvement over the colander-roof house. My SS statement goes back to when I was 12. I went from there to where I am now. It took a while and it was a hard road, but it looked something like this:

Work+graduate HS>military service>work+go to college>get better jobs>save money>buy real estate>about to retire early. Obviously with some detours in there. 

5. What do you do in Northern Wisconsin that couldn't be done somewhere else? I've been to that area and there's nothing there. It's pretty to look at it but it wouldn't be called an economic powerhouse. 

[Theresa Harris]

Talk to some people who have AirBNBs if they are NOT in demand and ask about a monthly rate.

[Marcus Auerbach]

@Robert D Wade III - I glad you are here and you wrote this post. Taking stock of your current situation is such a huge first step. If you want to go from A to B, you first need to know where A is on the map. And I think it's huge that you are taking action.

Agree with Theresa, try airbnb as a short term solution.

You could go the mobile home route, but there are better options.

You will most certainly be able to qualify for a WHEDA loan.

Also, HRI-WI.ORG has first time home buyer grants for down payments.

Next option I am pretty sure you can get a USDA loan with zero down.

If it all possible buy a dupex and rent out the other half. Or a bigger single family and ren t out some rooms. (after all you are on BP here). When you buy make sure you have economic opportunity around you, you want a decent size city with at least 25,000 people. 

PS: and yes, quit smoking. It's expensive, unhealthy and simply not cool.

[Corey Hawkinson]

@Robert D Wade III This will sound like generic advice, but just keep moving forward. If you make decent income I’m sure there is at least 1 place that would rent to you. Try every source. Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, post in local Facebook groups. Sounds like you have a ton going on right now. Put a list together and accomplish things 1 by 1.

[Spence Kal]

@Robert D Wade III

Sorry to hear about your situation, but that’s awesome you’re on your way out of it! I’ve never been in that position so I have no idea what you’re going through but stay strong and never give up, and you’ll be out of it before you know it. You might want to check facebooks for any local groups in your town and post about rentals there. I constantly see things in “such and such” community group for rent. The best way to get into real estate as others have said is a house hack, buy a duplex and live in one side while renting the other, just be careful who you rent to, when you get to that point. A solid job with W2 income will get you there faster. It takes most people 6 months as an agent to build momentum so don’t jump into that full time without another job. Low income housing like section 8 might be an option in your area but it takes time to get a voucher and there are usually lines of people waiting. Remember you are the 5 people you surround yourself with, so choose your friends wisely because they can ruin your life or make it great. I’ve seen good hardworking people waste 5-10 years of their life making bad decisions all because of one persons influence. Just because it sucks now doesn’t mean your life won’t be better than you ever expected 2 years from now, just keep going and stick with it

[Theresa Harris]

You can also look for someone who you know and trust, to see if they want to find a place with you.  You can then afford a bigger place-eg 1 bedroom for $1K vs 2 bedroom for $1.2K.

[Tarik Turner]

Trim the fat. Sell whatever possessions you own, that you don't need to ensure you have enough for the down payment on your next place and use this situation as a new launching point for whats to come. 

[Raven Walker]

@Robert D Wade III

I hope I’m able to write this correctly but here’s what I would do.

I’ve been wholesaling for about 4 years now. The way you describe the house, it clearly needs some improvements. Set a new tone with your landlord. Instead of asking him to repair the house. See if he is willing to sell it to you.

Put it under contract for x amount of dollars depending on your market and sell it to another investor in your area that is willing to let you “watch over” and live in the property. Of course you still want to offer some form of rent to him. Add value to the new investor. With covid and everything your current landlord probably doesn’t have the money to fix the house honestly. Have you asked him why the repairs haven’t been made? When dealing with sellers, asking why in maybe 3 different ways always got me to the root of why they’re selling.

But my theory in this situation is you would be relieving your current landlord from repairs, and the moral obligation of knowing he has to do the repairs. And you will be adding value to the new investor by providing immediate cash flow by paying rent and I’m sure you know the property inside out so you can tell him everything that’s wrong with it and include “but the things that need to be repaired immediately are xyz”. In my mind, everyone wins in this scenario.

You get to stay in your place, it’s cold right now but space heaters and opening the oven for heat works. Lol I grew up poor, opening the oven is the best heat I’ve ever felt, don’t forget to crack a window to allow ventilation.

You get to make a little bit of cash off the wholesale deal as well. Don’t go for the gusto but run your numbers or write another post on here for wholesalers in your area, I’m sure there’s one that will help.

Best of luck to you. If you need contracts after asking your current landlord to sell let me know. I’ll be happy to send mine over

[Robert D Wade III]

@Raven Walker Thank you I hadn’t thought of that! But it’s a house on the owners farm making it a bit of a hard sell in my town of 3k.

[Robert D Wade III]

@Tarik Turner Thank you! That’s actually what I ended up doing. It didn’t get me much but enough for a down payment for a loan to buy a mobile home.

[Robert D Wade III]

@JD Martin Thank you! I loved your podcast! Losing 100k+ and bouncing back was inspiring. Tho I hope to avoid that in my future. It served as a lesson I don’t have to learn for myself. I ended up making it to ep.259 and was reminded that that banks are all different. I found a bank that would use the mobile home as collateral and was approved for a loan that closes Tuesday. It’s not ideal but my sister and I will have a roof. I also can sympathize with your story. I at 19 having been on my own since I was 17 am about to be living in one of the nicest homes I’ve ever lived in.

[Robert D Wade III]

@Marcus Auerbach Thank you! My area is Brandon Turner small unfortunately. I ended up calling all the banks in my area and found one that would use the mobile home as collateral and approved me for a loan. The plan is to rent the spare room to my sister and save up money for a down payment on a 3-4 unit in Minneapolis Minnesota about 2 hours away and house hack in a bigger market.

[Marcus Auerbach]

Originally posted by @Robert D Wade III:

@Marcus Auerbach Thank you! My area is Brandon Turner small unfortunately. I ended up calling all the banks in my area and found one that would use the mobile home as collateral and approved me for a loan. The plan is to rent the spare room to my sister and save up money for a down payment on a 3-4 unit in Minneapolis Minnesota about 2 hours away and house hack in a bigger market.

Great! Happy to hear it! That's real progress! Just keep putting one foot in front of the other!