All Forum Posts by: Albert A.

Hey Bruce, I'm a beginner just like you in this space. I have also seen some "services" that sell probate leads, but it's hard to tell where they're pulling them from. I've heard some counties allow you to call in/email to get a list of leads, while others don't allow you to pull lists at all. These services may be reselling these lists and who knows how up to date they are. 

I think the ones that you pull in real-time in person are always going to be more up to date.

Hello,

There's a SFH in California (Central valley) that's listed for around $365k. It was appraised around there as well. It's been listed for 100+ days. The owner is moving out and is currently in escrow to buy another property and says they need about $160k cash as a downpayment. Apparently if they don't sell their current house now, they won't mind falling out of escrow on the new property. The current owners purchased it a few years ago and still have an open mortgage. This is my first potential good deal that I've found and I would love to have it as my first win.

The unique aspect of this property is the converted garage into 2 bedrooms. The home is a 5 bed and 3 bath with that conversion, and close to the main college campus.

They may be open to me assuming the loan, which may be FHA, and then I can pay for the rest in 'cash'. The FHA loan balance is estimated around 160k and was initially 180k. The rate may be at 4.5% (waiting for confirmation on these).

Apparently the owner has to get at least 150-160k in cash to use as a down payment and won't be able to do any seller financing for that large sum..is there any way I can make this deal work with some other strategy? I can't do 150-160k in cash out of my own pocket and they seemed adamant about receiving that much in cash. The most plausible solution I can think of are the following.

Assuming 360k purchase price:

Assume $160k FHA @ 4.5%

Offer $120k as upfront downpayment - I would find a lender or open a loan with a bank. This would unfortunately mean I'd get high interest rates.

Seller finance remaining 80k @ a low interest rate preferably

Have seller cover closing costs.

Alternatively I would increase the cash offer if I'm going to get a loan either way, and then therefore decrease the seller financed portion.

Is there any other strategy I can utilize?

Hello, I thought this may be the best section within the forums to post this.

I'm located in Fresno/Clovis CA and I've been working on getting my first deal - whether it's a rental, fix/flip, wholesale, seller financed, etc. At the same time, I would like to assist a senior family member in getting them a place to stay with a payment no more than $1,000/m. If possible, I'd like to use this opportunity to secure a property/deal that would be a great (or break-even) investment and place for my family member to live in.

I've ran through the potential scenarios and strategies that I know of and can't seem to find something that works out without having to put down a very large down payment OR securing very favorable seller financing terms. 

Options:

1) A mobile home - either a mobile home for <$70k to bring the payments below $1,000/m including the park rent. Seller financing would make this a better deal. Mobile homes just don't appreciate like homes and most parks have very unfavorable rules to prevent rentals. 

2) A regular house - Preferably again through favorable seller financing terms since I can't do a large down through conventional mortgages. FHA is possible but I don't think I can live in the unit right now. With current home prices however, the total monthly property costs would be over $1,000/m, so I would need to either pay the rest out of pocket or Airbnb/rent out other rooms while my family member lives there.

3) An apartment/condo - HOA fees make this difficult just like with mobile homes, but same idea as mobile homes.

4) A nicer property that has a detached unit or extra guest suite built out - Family member would pay their payments for staying in the guest suite, and then the main unit would be used as a Airbnb/etc 100% of the time. This is going to be a $550k+ home from what I've seen, where seller financing terms would help out again. Not very many properties like this available right now.

5) Duplex/Triplex/4-Plex - I'd love to get into this with an FHA loan and I would consider staying in one unit, but prices are high and anything above a duplex doesn't seem to meet the FHA requirements for the rent rule with the current rates. A duplex may work only through good financing terms again so that the payments are low.

6) Renting an apartment - No ownership in this. Sounds like the easiest option.

Have I ran through all the feasible options correctly? Looking to see if there's anything else I can do. Whether I'm able to help my family or not, I am still eager to get my first property. Thank you.