All Forum Posts by: Alan C.

Yes, at 16 you cannot legally sign a contract. But as Alicia H. suggested, you can birddog or partner with other investors to start making money and learning. The first step is to join local real estate groups where you can get education and meet other investors who will work with you. Be aware that wholesaling is NOT passive income unless you start a wholesaling business where you are the owner and have others do all the day-to-day work of finding, negotiating and assigning your deals. Otherwise, take your wholesaling profits and put them to work by owning income-producing properties and real estate-related businesses like self storage, residential assisted living, apartment complexes, etc. You're off to a good start with knowing that you need the education. Good luck

I'm wondering how the 2nd house got built in the first place. It seems to me that there would have been permits needed and the zoning issue would have come up at that time. I'd investigate that angle first.

If permits were issued, then it seems to me that the county gave the OK and maybe there was a variance granted.

You can do some investigation on your own, but you'll probably need to get a savvy real estate lawyer involved at some point.

Yes, the are many events for real estate investors. Have you heard about MAREIA (Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Investors Association)? They meet in Owings Mills, MD and have lots of meetings where investors can network and get education. They're having a a meeting tomorrow (May 9, 2019) and it's a version of Shark Tank for real estate.

I'm going and hope to see you there.

I would agree with Russell. Without knowing the exact address or even the street and block, it's almost impossible to give you any advice. 

Just went through this with a Maryland property.

We tried creating a new LLC with the same name, but the attorney said that wouldn't work.

So you have to reinstate paying all fees, etc. or, depending on attorney, show single-member ownership.

Sorry Charlie, but wholesaling is not illegal in most states.

I'm not a lawyer, but wholesaling as I understand and practice it, means putting a property under contract as a principal in the deal and then selling/assigning the contract to another party who will then fulfill the contract by purchasing the property.

This is done every day on Wall Street with options and futures contracts. Many people sign contracts to buy oil, corn, gold and other items with no intention of actually taking delivery of those items. They're only in it to make a profit when the price of the item moves up and the can sell their contract for a profit.

There is no law against this and it is again my understanding that all contracts are assignable unless there is language in the contract which forbids assignment. I do know that the Maryland Realtor contract does have such a clause in it and that's why I don't use it. Another reason is that I'm not a licensed agent and by law, I can't use it. As an aside, there are legal ways to assign "non-assignable" contracts, but that's a different discussion.

Just be clear in dealing with potential contract assigns that you are not selling  a property, but you are looking for a fee for assigning/selling the contract.

Hope this helps clear things up.

You should be thankful that the seller is not able to contact you

If this is in an area where shells are going for $1,000, then your $3,000 offer is too high and you won't be able to wholesale this property. MAO doesn't matter if the market is against you.

You said that other properties are active at $5,000, but the only true number is the SOLD price. Anyone can offer to sell a property at any price, but it's only what people are willing to pay that can tell you the true value of a property.

Stay away from Baltimore City if you don't know that prices change drastically from one block to another. You will lose your shirt as many other out-of-towners have.

I get calls weekly from people in New York who couldn't believe or resist buying properties for $5,000 to $10,000 or even $40,000. They found out there was a reason the price was so low and they are stuck with houses that they can't rent or sell. And this just adds to the vacant property problem in the city.

Sometimes the best deals are the ones that you don't do.