Can you answer this question?!

Can you answer this question?!

Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
First post here! Been a Pro Member for some time, but time to ask some ?'s  So, after much research on the marketing sides of things, I decided to pull the trigger on Investor Carrot. Love the site, set up was easy and was in full on training mode this week. I look forward to working the SEO and PPC to generate leads.  As I emailed another local investor he noticed my email signature now reflected my new website and that we buy houses cash and fast. He immediately emailed back and said you need to take that down or the State of Ohio will fine you thousands of dollars. Now, I am not an agent and I am newer to investing over the last year.   I guess the issue is that I must be able to PROVE that I can purchase the houses or it's frowned upon or even illegal in Ohio. I understand there is concern for hacks tying up the property and trying to wholesale tons of deals this way and that is by no means my intention. BUT, if I don't have a bank account showing I have the full funds to cover the costs of buying house (I use a hard money lender on most of my deals) I can get into trouble.  Anyone have any insight? I hate to have to cancel already and I was really pumped to start the hard work of getting the site ranked high in SEO. This is by no means my only way to generate leads, but one I was/am excited about.  My wife was a realtor back in 2001 but let it fall apart once we got married. We looked into a renewal but it's been too long. She's willing to get her license again...Would that be advantageous to us in this matter at all?  Appreciate any advice!  -Mark 
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Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y

@Mark Laudato, if your records prove that you DO pay Sellers "fast cash" (per site promise) every time you sign a contract with them, (BEFORE you sell those properties or market them to anyone else), then I reckon you're good to go.

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  • Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    @Mark Laudato, if your records prove that you DO pay Sellers "fast cash" (per site promise) every time you sign a contract with them, (BEFORE you sell those properties or market them to anyone else), then I reckon you're good to go.

  • Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    Thanks Brent. Yea, the only problem is I am a newer investor and have only secured one contract (which was fast and cash but bank owned). I am thinking that when I generate leads from SEO and PPC that I am not going to make offers right away, as I will do my due diligence first and get a confirmation from my lenders (they give it to me within a few hours usually if the deal fits their criteria). This would alleviate "tying up" the property for a length of time. Obviously over time and more deals I will build up a solid record of paying fast for the deals.

  • Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    @Mark Laudato, congrats on the first deal under your belt. I haven't seen your site, but from these posts, it seems to me that you're not quite set up to REALLY promise motivated Sellers that you can pay 'em fast, and often.

    So far, I haven't seen evidence that "you need to take that down or the State of Ohio will fine you thousands of dollars". I laid out the criteria in my earlier post. If you CAN'T pay the Seller YOURSELF (not a different end-Buyer) according to the Seller's requested time scale, you'll be ok so long as you just tell 'em: "sorry, that's too soon for me", or, "sorry, I can only offer THIS much". [If you've come this far, you should know the drill].

    As you most likely know by now, the reason someone suggested you take down the site is because they BELIEVE that you won't be able to resist advertising homes for sale - BEFORE paying for them!

    But, being unlicensed and in Ohio, you're NOT going to be doing that, right? Cheers...

  • Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    Thanks again Brent. The site is sellfastakron.com if you want to take a look to see if I am over promising or doing something wrong. Again,  my intent would be generating leads and deal flow over time. It's the same idea as direct mail to me just a different avenue. Maybe I will adjust some of the wording/timing on the website itself to lower liability as well. 

  • Co-Owner · New Berlin, WI · Member since 2017 · 224 posts · 71 votes
    9y

    @Mark Laudato Welcome Mark. Best of luck to you. Are you paying cash for all of your investment properties?

  • Investor / Lender · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 730 votes
    9y

    Are you planning on assigning these contracts or doing a double-close?  I would think that it'd be legal if you did a double-close since you would actually be buying the property.

    I mentioned to you before that you can do this by having a hard money lender do transactional funding.  To me, hard money offers are as good as cash if you've already been approved.  See that discussion on  this other BP thread .

  • Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    @Ham Merritt For now yes. We use a HML. I am interested in starting to hold more though so I will be looking for loans too.

  • Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    @Nghi Le If I were to end up passing one on I would probably go double close. Yes I will be using the HML and agree they are as good as cash. I would be presenting my HML the deal IF the #'s on my end and he approves if he likes.

  • Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    I don't see how this would be any different than doing a dmc and sending letters/postcards with the same offers. I understand it could be a problem if I were making offers and holding up the process often if I couldn't actually get HML loans, but my intentions are to only make offers I know I can back up.

  • Lender · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2009 · 348 posts · 164 votes
    8y

    I would recommend you watch this video posted on the Ohio Department of Commerce: http://www.com.ohio.gov/real/. 

    In it, respected attorney Jeff Watson, of the National Real Estate Investors Association, discusses the rules regarding wholesaling in the state of Ohio with the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing.

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