All Forum Posts by: Alex K.

The pink fiberglass stuff does not itch! I was skeptical but the guy at Home Depot rubbed it all over his arm to convince me. I blew it into the attic myself and never had the slightest itch.

For comparison dust-wise, I was up the attic of a 4-plex shifting the old cellulose around to try to get even coverage. I could hardly see with my headlamp there was so much dust. I was filthy, and my dust mask had an 1/8" thick layer on it. When I blew the fiberglass pink stuff up there my dust mask was clean and I could easily see across the house.

From my limited experience the banks won't loan on a house that needs a bunch of rehab unless you put a big deposit into escrow to cover the rehab first. Then it becomes kind of a risk to fix up a house that isn't yours yet.

I found a great deal on a 4-plex that the bank would not lend on, so I went in with a friend and we used our savings to buy and rehab. Now it's rented for 19% return after expenses.

So my point is you can get great deals if you have the cash because most people don't, and banks have lots of restrictions on which properties you can buy. If it's a property banks don't like, your competition pool just got real small.

When I said "based on the math" I meant that you should have a maximum price you are willing to pay for the house based upon the investment return. Different investors use different metrics for evaluating a deal such as cash on cash rate of return, monthly cash flow, internal rate of return, etc.

Be very weary of these auction companies. They are scum bags. Their goal is to get the bidding above the reserve price by any means necessary. They use hype and high pressure, shill bidders, lies about buyers not coming through, etc. And to top it off, even if you "win", the seller can still reject your offer but you are bound by it if they accept.

Here's how it works: REDC drums up offers and they have a reserve price in mind. If an offer is above that, they submit it to Fannie Mae (usually the seller). If it's below that it is rejected by the auction company. So your pre-bidding offer was too low, and you won't get it for that price during bidding.

I have bought two properties from auctions, one of them REDC and the other Hudson and Marshall. I knew they were rigged but I managed to get pretty good deals anyway. Have a max number in mind going in based on the math. Don't let the emotion of the moment swing your max number higher during the bidding.

To answer your question about what happens if it doesn't sell: I think it goes back on the MLS or to another auction company. The house I bought from REDC was previously auctioned at Williams and Williams and the sign was still on the property.

I used the pink fiberglass stuff a few months ago and I agree, it's wonderful. No dust and it fluffs up so nicely. It looks like a fresh snowfall. It was actually fun to blow that stuff up in the hot attic it was so easy. I will never use anything else.

I protect my vacant properties with fake cameras and no trespassing signs. Some of the more experienced guys here use cellular alarm systems. I pay $10 each for fake cameras and make sure they are very visible, and they have blinking lights on them. I had one place getting the doors kicked in but after I put up the fake cameras no more problems. Consider using your credit card and any means necessary to fix up the house ASAP because every month it sits is $600 you lose.

I live very cheaply Rich. I bought my house for $47k cash that I saved. With taxes, ins, utilities I pay about $400/mo to live there. My girlfriend lives with me and she pays me $300/mo rent. So my monthly expenses are very low and I save 80% of my income to buy properties, which will support both me and my girlfriend in the future.

It can be done, but it all starts with the discipline to save and not spend your money on useless crap.

I doubt you will find someone willing to accept those terms. You need to change your pitch to something like: "your returns will be X% on your investment, secured by x% of the property, which appraised for $x. I am bringing $X of my own into the deal".

When you say you will be bringing no money into the deal and will receive one of the units for free, you are really just taking away from the deal, not adding anything. This is assuming you don't have access to a screaming deal that nobody else knows about.

Does the basis of the new property become equal to the basis of the property which was sold (in this case zero)?

Or is the basis of the new property equal to the new property purchase price?

I used google, it's the first one. Of course the IRS would not let us get away that easy.

Envirotabs works! Actually because of Envirotabs, Slick 50, fuel line magnet, tornado, hydrogen generator, and other products I've bought, my fuel tank actually fills as I drive. I have to pull over at a gas station every 400 miles or so to unload gas.