All Forum Posts by: Jessica Hood

It is my understanding that hard money loans are high interest rate and typically best for flipping.  Perhaps not the best for land we intend to hold for an unknown period of time before building?  Please correct me if I am wrong.  I have never actually used a hard money lender.

Hello, friends! I haven't been on here for a while.  We sold our last foreclosure flip last year and bought some land to build a new house on.  So I have not had much to report.

We purchased our land via owner financing at a very high interest rate.  We intended to build after selling our last flip, but things changed and we have to wait to build.  So now we are sitting with this land and super high interest.

I have called nearly ALL the local banks and credit unions around us, trying to get a land loan.  We had one lined up, but they just stopped doing their land loans a few months ago.  It would have been a sweet deal too.  Only 10 to 15% down payment and they would let us use the equity in the land for that.  There is another bank called Carolina Farm Credit, but they want 20% down and will NOT let us use the equity, nor the money we already put down through owner financing.  We just don't have that much money because we already put 10% down on the owner financing.

So I am asking for any possible leads for a land loan.  It would be greatly appreciated.  

Here are the details about the land...

11.09 acres in Stokes County, Pinnacle, NC 27043. Zoned residential/agricultural. In an HOA where all lots are 10+ acres. Has electric service. Realtor estimates value to be between $7k and $8k per acre. Loan needed for $59k. We already put down $6,200 to owner financing. Credit and DTI is good.

Thanks for your help!

Thank you!

Thanks, everyone!  This is mainly for my own use right now.  Not something that has to be perfect for a builder or anything.  I will check those out.

I just read on a website that both Ohio and North Carolina are "Cooperative" states.  This is the definition that I found.

"Cooperative State

A Cooperative state allows licensed real estate agents or brokers to physically enter their state to conduct real estate business via property showings, closings, negotiations etc. However, an agent or broker coming into a cooperative state to conduct business must have a co brokerage agreement in place with a licensee of that state. There are 26 cooperative states."

So... If I am a licensed NC Broker and would like to use the Ohio MLS and schedule showings, I would have to have a co brokerage agreement with a broker in Ohio? Am I understanding that correctly?

Can anyone tell me what a co brokerage agreement would entail?  I do have a friend in Ohio who is a broker, so that is a possibility.

Hello! I am looking into getting my RE Broker license in North Carolina, where I currently reside. It is not reciprocal with Ohio, as far as I can see. But I did read that some states allow certain privileges for out of state agents/brokers. Does anyone know, as an NC Broker, would I have any privileges in Ohio? I am an investor and would like to be able to use the Ohio MLS and schedule showings for myself. I would also like to know if I can sell my own properties in Ohio, as an NC Broker.

Lastly, as an NC Broker, if I have to obtain licensing in Ohio to achieve the aforementioned... would I have to be sponsored by an Ohio Broker and have X number of sales under my belt in order to become a Broker myself?  Or can I avoid the whole sponsorship and X sales requirement, since I am already an NC Broker?  I know that if I were an Ohio Broker, trying to become an NC Broker (the reverse), I do not have to take as many courses and I get some credit for being an Ohio Broker.

Looks like the big differences are that NC is a Broker state that does not require sponsorship and does not require X number of sales to become a Broker, while Ohio does.

Any advise or opinions would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Hi!  Have any of you used any 3D or 2D construction/architecture/room planning software that you could recommend?  The kind that comes with a lot of assets and allows you to create imagery of planned renovations or new home construction.  Deck and landscaping options are also desired.  I see a lot of them on the Internet, but am not sure which ones are good.  Preferably not super expensive.

Thanks!!

I would also like to know if anyone has experience making offers to the banks/owners prior to the auction?  Basically, swooping in and scoring a deal while it is scheduled for auction, but before the auction occurs.  Has anyone been successful with this strategy?  Thanks!

I am extremely interested in getting into buying properties at sheriff auctions.  I have been doing a lot of research and am left with some questions.  I would like to hear about other people's experiences as well.

My first hurdle is paying for them.  My cash is limited right now.  I have enough for the deposit/down payment.  So I am trying explore possible financing options.

I have traditional banks ready to lend, if I can get over the difficulties of obtaining an appraisal.  I have heard of people managing to get their appraisals due to a lockbox being left from a previous attempt to sell the home, or due to the property not being secured in the first place.  I have heard of some people gaining entry via "other means".  And some have actually managed to get the current tenant to let the appraiser in.  Have any of you had any luck with this?

The local auction process allows for about 60 days to pay in full, which falls within the bank's closing/payout time frame. 

The other thing I am wondering about is alternative financing.  Some sort of private lender, perhaps?  Are there private lenders out there that understand the difficulties of getting an appraisal, but the advantages of flipping auction properties?  I would like to consider this, but am also paranoid about who I finance with.  Have you had any good experiences with this?

I am in the central Ohio area and would love to hear from other investors who deal with sheriff auctions.

@Russ Draper You simply need to pay with a cashier's check.  I have already talked to two county sheriff offices and both confirmed that it does not matter where it comes from, as long as you get it to them in the required amount of time.  So the important thing is to make sure your lender will pay out in that manner.  Cash would certainly be easier though.  :) 

And yes, it is on an as-is basis.