Buying first land contract through Paperstac

[Adam Walter]

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the process of buying my first Land Contract through Paperstac and had a few questions.  The property is in Ohio, and I have a house a block away and drove by the property yesterday.  Everything looks good with the collateral and the process is easy so far.  We are at the point where Paperstac is asking me to wire funds and the seller to provide file information.  Is it normal to wire funds before reviewing the file?  

Another question is that I can not find the land contract recorded at the county website.  How concerned should I be if the land contract is not recorded?  Is there anything else I should look for or do?  Should I get a title search?  Thanks!!   

[Adam Walter]

Originally posted by @Chris Seveney:

@Adam Walter

This may sound harsh but Please get an education before buying notes and land contracts. Ordering a title report is the equivalent of using toilet paper after going #2. Even a 2 year old knows this.

Or you can Go ahead and wire the funds and buy the property without a title report. Then when you find out it was sold at tax sale, has an irs lien or incurable title guess what - your up a creek.

Chris,  Thanks for your response.  I am a more advanced investor than my initial post indicated. I was in a hurry to get to my son's Volleyball tournament and wanted to get the post in before the weekend to hopefully get some feedback (which I did!)  To your point about education, I have done the following in the note/land contract space:

• I have taken Donna Bauer's Note course.
• I have taken Scott Carson's Note course (before the controversy!)
• I follow this forum
• I have created 15-20 Notes and Land contracts over the past 3-4 years.

I have purchased a non performing land contract through a wholesaler. It was actually one of Scott Carson's (small world, the wholesaler said he was a jerk to him).

I have been a full time investor for the past 15 years.  

• I have purchased over 100 properties through foreclosures sales and know the foreclosure process in southwest Ohio pretty well. 

This purchase will represent less than 2% of my overall portfolio and I only invest in 4 counties in Southwest Ohio, close to where I live.  I own a similar property less than a block away and know the area well.  I feel pretty qualified to purchase the land contract.  

This is the first time I have purchased a property through Paperstac or any 3rd party online marketplace.  As part of my due diligence, I wrote the post.  I had some questions/concerns about the process and the land contract not being recorded.  I quickly included the "should I get title insurance" at the end to hopefully elicit a response like, Yes you should, Paperstac can do that for you, or this company does them quick and cheap, or 100% of the time you should (I was already at 95%), etc.  This was the only questions/concerns that you addressed.  

At first, I wasn't going to reply, but it is my understanding that this forum is not only for advanced investors, but all investors who may be interested in note investing.  You are one of the senior contributors in this space and I felt you might appreciate the feedback.  My question might seem stupid to you and other experienced note investors, but there might be a newer investor who appreciated the question and discussion.  Toilet paper is a no brainer for you and me, but keep in mind 70-75% of the worlds populations doesn't use toilet paper, so it might not necessarily be a no brainer for others.