All Forum Posts by: Kase Knochenhauer

@Will Sol - easy!

Write your offer contingent on the early fulfillment of your bond. Ask your agent to include this in your offer (likely under "other provisions" or "financing").

When you do this you won't have to cash out until you have completed your home inspection and could do it just before closing (depending on how long it takes to clear funds).

@Josh Eccher - go work for another flipper! Demonstrate your contracting, project management, or sales knowledge and you'll get a job right away.

@Jonathan Farber - morning!

For project based VA work (short term) - I wouldn't recommend giving your permanent credit card. If it would simplify your job, then create a sub-user for your business credit card and give them that cc number. That way, if you need to cancel you can & you can set spending restrictions on it if you choose.

For long-term VA service - I give my cc info to them all day long. They run my entire business, but I've also worked with them for years and would trust them with my children. 

@Jacob Phillips - I try to keep three months of expenses for ALL my expenses (business, all rentals, personal, etc) but aim transition to 6-months emergency fund over the next year (we just had a second baby).

Given you have only one rental, I would be much more comfortable with 6 months expenses and at least 3 months personal expenses. Any vacancy you won't be an issue then. 

Sounds like the arrangement you are discussing is called "Subject To" where you can quit claim the property to the new owner but leave the mortgage in the sellers name. Depending on your area this can be semi-common or totally unknown.

I recommend spending some time researching Subject To conditions inside Bigger Pockets (I think there's an entire podcast about it) to better understand how it works in comparison to a land contract. Here's my quick and dirty explanation though:

Land Contract or Seller Financing: The seller acts as the bank and holds a note on the property (Memorandum of Land Contract) which the buyer pays back over time.

Subject To or "Subject to the existing mortgage" : Now the seller relinquishes the property to the buyer (using a Quitclaim rather than traditional title closing) while leaving the mortgage in their name. The buyer would pay the mortgage to the lender directly (typically without the lender knowing that the ownership of the property has changed.)

*You can BRRRR the property in either case by performing a refinance after the repairs are made.

@Ahmed Saad - this is AWESOME!

Hiring an assistant has the best move I've ever made. I now have 2 local assistants in West Michigan and 2 VA overseas in the Philippines. They run 90% of my investment business and do it better than I ever could have.

Here are some tips I have in no particular order:

1. Don't hire the first person you run into (your friend's friend is probably not the right person)
2. Pay them as much as you can afford (not as little as you can)
3. If you are daring, perform a group interview. You'll see how the interact with each other and will quickly identify those that are aggressive and won't be good for you team.
4. Hire someone that's the opposite of you - not someone that's just like you.
5. Hire someone you like - the best assistants will know everything about you
7. When you interview have them perform a task based interview (sales people should call, admin should create order, etc)
8. Create daily systems with your assistant so they will run automatically over time
9. Post your local hires on Indeed.com
10. Post your VA hires on onlinejobs.ph
11. Meet with your team every day for at least a few minutes(in person or virtual)

Good luck with your hire! Your first 30 days will take tons of time but will pay you back in huge ways over time.

@Alison Lee - that's tough to answer without knowing the area and demographic you are renting to. 

We have a 1/1 duplex and I love mine. Who cares about mine though!?

In your situation: if the numbers work and the rent supports the purchase price, then go for it. I'm not worried if it's 1 bedroom as long as you account for correct vacancy parameters for your area. (It could be higher or lower than 2 depending on your rental demographics).

@Nat C. - unless there's an amazing amount of equity in the deal, your made of money, and have tons of time; I would forget it.

While I'm sure someone's had success with a specific performance lawsuit, as an investor, you're going to got LOTS of bad media and attention chasing them.

I'd keep my name out of the mud and move on.

@Davidson Francois - I LOVE bad home inspections! That means that the seller has to start disclosing any newly found issues to their next buyer.

Take your time to negotiate the deal and see if you can come up with a acceptable price for both parties.

As @Frank Procopio mentioned, unseen/hidden inspection issues (Septic, Well, structural, plumbing, etc) will offer you the greatest chance to negotiate. Problems that were clearly known won't give you any leverage with the seller.

@Leo Ferreras - I wouldn't worry about it for your real estate business.

Focus on growth and spend your valuable time on your highest dollar producing activities.