All Forum Posts by: Allen Fletcher

@Charles Dykstra

The type of financing available for land depends on the infrastructure present. If the land is completely raw you will struggle to find financing outside of hard money. If there is infrastructure (i.e. water, sewer, electric, gas, roads, etc.) you can look into construction loans with a bank. One thing that I have seen is people use hard money to build infrastructure into a property and then refinance into a construction loan once the land qualifies.

First and foremost go and talk to banks, private lenders, etc. Information is power and it is often free if you are willing to spend time gathering it.

Good Luck,

Allen Fletcher

@David Bellmont

Make sure that you get everything in writing and that all parties understand the terms way ahead of time. I work a lot with family and have found that taking the extra time to make sure that the more important family relations are protected is well worth the effort. Once you have a written agreement and everyone is happy with the terms close the deal as a land contract at a title agency just like you would for a seller financed deal outside of the family.

Just remember that your family relations are more important than money, if it looks like someone will be angry if you make the deal pull out. There are always other deals, but you only get one family.

Allen Fletcher

@Russell Brazil

Thank you, I will make sure to watch for that.

Allen Fletcher

@Aaron Smith

Using a 1031 exchange means that you are not counting the gains from an investment as income at the time you make the sale. You will not be taxed for the 1031 as long as you obey all the rules which include:

Purchasing a similar asset

Making the purchase within a mandated time frame

Put 100% of the proceeds into your next purchase (anything kept will be taxed as income)

I suggest talking to an accountant, tax lawyer, or other tax professional to get the details.

I hope this helps,

Allen Fletcher

P.S. I am not a tax professional, but have looked into 1031s a bit so please make sure to do a little research and verify what I have said, better safe than sorry.

@Russell Brazil

I work with copyrighted and proprietary information as a regular part of my 9 to 5, but it is always marked so you know that it is proprietary. How can I tell if the template contains proprietary information?

Allen Fletcher

@Alex Katos

First thing, do not leave your job till you get rolling on your real estate business.

Second, spend some time reading up on the different ways that you can work in real estate (I would start with the Ultimate Beginners Guide here on BP). Look at what is available in your area, what sells, what rents, etc. Doing all of this should help you answer your own question.

Third, set a goal and go get your hands dirty (while still working). Working your job will give you stability as you make mistakes and give you stability until you figure things out.

Good Luck,

Allen Fletcher

@Alan Brown

First thing you should do is go down to the office that handles accounts for the utility companies and talk to the people there. When you show up professionally dressed and with a good demeanor it will make it much harder for them not to want to work with you. Ask lots of questions and find out if they have other apartment buildings then ask how they deal with those. Once you have that information you can try to work out an agreement with them. You may have to negotiate with someone much higher up the chain than the front desk.

Hope this helps,

Allen Fletcher

@Dave Brooks

FHA and VA loans require the home to be move-in ready upon purchase. Conventional loans usually do not require that a home be habitable, but it really depends on what your lender says. The appraiser will just note the things that are missing and adjust the price accordingly.

Regards,

Allen Fletcher

@Joe Mclain

Is the area experiencing a lot of new home construction? Can you get the property at a deep discount? Does the property have infrastructure access (i.e. water, gas, sewer, roads, etc.)? The BP Podcast show 39 talks a little about how to be profitable buying and selling raw land

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/10/10/land-flipping-seth-williams/

I would also look into the history of the property; why has it not been developed? What are the costs to develop the land? How much can you sell the property for once it is developed?

I hope this helps,

Allen Fletcher

@Dave Brooks

First, an appraiser is just going to walk the property and the house and then give an estimate on the fair market value of the home. If you want someone to get in the attic, get into the crawlspace, etc. that will have to be an inspector. Home inspectors are the people that tell you what is wrong with a property and what you will have to fix to get back to code.

What the lender will require really is based on (1) what type of loan you are using (2) the lender's policies (3) how much you are putting down. Once you look these up you will know 100% all the steps required for you to get the property financed.

Hope this helps,

Allen Fletcher