All Forum Posts by: Amaf J.

Evening everyone,

I was doing some research and it seems like short-sales might be a good avenue to pursue in order to get homes at a discounted rate. I did have some questions though about the process and post-purchase. I'm mainly looking to focus on purchasing, light rehab if needed and renting to tenants. 

1) Do most short sales require any form of rehab work?

2) Typically, how much cheaper are they compared to houses on the MLS?

3) What percentage do you typically offer on asking price?

4) Are these good purchases for buy and hold?

5) How do you guys typically pull comps on houses in the area?

6) Are there certain things that stand out for you to automatically dismiss as potential purchase?

7) Do you only use HomePath or other sites too?

8) Is the analysis on the property done the same way as other properties?

Thank you all!

Afternoon everyone,

Was wondering if anyone was or knew any investors or investor-friendly agents in the Lehigh Valley area? It seems like an interesting place to invest and it's only an hour from my home. Demographics looks good and houses are relatively inexpensive. 

Thanks!

@Mark Nolan, thanks for that list of companies but which one would you recommend? I looked at their reviews and a lot of people are complaining about poor customer service and the lack of ability to move funds to other companies in the future.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko, sounds good. Now I can only roll over a 401k from a previous employer, right? I was hoping to roll over the funds with my current employer. Also, all the money I contribute to my 401k now is funded and matched after-tax.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko@Mark Nolan Do you guys have any suggestions on where I can find these self-directed IRAs? Also, any funds transferred to the self-directed IRA can be used to purchase real estate but I'm only taxed on the capital gains when cashed out? What happens with the cash flow from rentals? Also, can I roll over my employers 401k to a self-directed IRA?

@Steve Vaughan, well said, I'll look into that and see if I qualify for a penalty-free withdrawal. I also plan on selling once the market climbs back up to where I was seeing my gains from last month. I don't plan on killing the entire Roth idea but I'm thinking it's a better option to acquire more property than it is to have this money slowly compound over 30 years.

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to ask a question about using the funds from my Roth IRA towards the purchase of property. I've done some calculations and realized that my Roth IRA is yielding some horrible rates of return. Due to the recent dip in the market, I lost all of the gains since this time last year. I understand the market will climb back up but it's way too violate to depend on a good rate of return. Also, if I withdrawal my funds, I will incur a 10% penalty fee for taking it out too early. Even though I would incur that penalty, based on what I've calculated, I would still be able to cover that loss with at least a few months of cash flow from a rental.

What do you guys think? 

@Ben Leybovich, you would only recommend potential out-of-state investors to only purchase multi-family properties? Do you have a set criteria of CF needed on an annual basis? 

@Bram Spiero, what are you thinking overall about the deal? Needs a lower purchase price? Only good if I manage the property myself?

@Derek Woods, the current gross is $49,380 for all four (4) units. If I occupy one of the units for the first year, the gross will be $37,980 for three (3) units. 

If the analysis is based on the three (3) units, the gross including vacancy will be $35,701. If I factor in the expenses and debt service, the net will be -$2,294. I'll pay out of pocket for the first year of living in it. What I'm thinking of possible doing is splitting the apartment with a roommate and charging them $500 a month for rent. If that's the scenario it should come out to a CFBT at $3,706.

Any feedback?

@Derek Woods, I applied a 6% vacancy rate for the year. And I did not know that about the taxes, I definitely have to look into that.

@Hersh M., I figures were provided in the financials but I did increase most of the expenses to be safe. I'm confident just to use them as a criteria check but I'll do my due diligence before agreeing to anything.

@Adam Spencer, I'd love for everything to even out but all of pricing here is expensive. Got to do some digging to make that happen. How did your deal work out?