All Forum Posts by: Alfonso Inclan

This is a great question, and the answer will depend in the financial experience and abilities of the borrower.

I asked a similar question to my mentor in 2005. 

"I have this cash right now. Can I buy a car in cash or invest in real estate?" 

He told me: "finance the car and buy real estate".

Back in those days, I didn't have enough experience in Real Estate, so, I lost all my rentals in the crash of 2008... and lost my car as well.

Robert Kiyosaki would say the same: "buy real estate".

Dave Ramsey would say "don't carry a loan in your car".

In my experience, the right answer for your question is: "DEPENDS".

*If you have experience in Real Estate (you know what you are doing), solid income for the last 3 years and great reserves, then you can buy another property.

*If you are new in the game, your income has been unstable in the last 2 years and don't have good reserves, payoff the car.

=>AN ADDITIONAL STRATEGY is about THE CREDIT: 

Having an installment loan in your credit (besides of your mortgage) benefits your FICO score. 

If you payoff your car loan your FICO score may drop by 60 to 100 points!

But paying off MOST of the debt and continuing with a little balance for the rest of the life of the loan (like paying only $20 dollars a month), will not affect your DTI and will benefit your FICO score a lot.

De nada. :)

In my case, working with DJ Thielen and Fortune Foreclosures, LLC has been a real pain.

Even though I raised $13M for him from my private investors, he couldn't close anything in 5 months.

That was our deal: I had the cash buyers, and he had the properties... it was supposed to be a good deal.

When he saw my interest in help him to close deals, he proposed me to become his acquisition manager in July 2020, but since the first day in his system, I noticed that he didn't have any properties for sale, nor any marketing in place and no sales.

I proposed to start a marketing campaign, which he had to pay (of course), but he got offended. 

He wanted to ask his academy members to provide the properties (for free)... but no one was doing anything at all.

Then, finally I was to close a deal with him with one of my buyers, when he told me he doesn't want to pay my split fee that we already agreed!

He wanted to keep all the profits for himself. And that it was not optional. What a guy!

When I told him that I was filing some complaints, he offered $1,250 upfront, then $2,500... when my split fee was $7,500.

Now he wants to sue me because I said I would disclose this situation online if he didn't pay me.

Even though he appears to be a very nice and friendly guy, I have found that he is taking advantage of so many people.

As his acquisition manager I contacted several past "academy" members that they were feeling so screwed by DJ Thielen.

Along with these ex-members we are looking to start a Class Action with other ex-members of his "academy" and clients that they feel were also economically or emotionally affected by the unfair and abusive activities of Duane Joseph Thielen, aka DJ Thielen.

Please go to www.DJThielenReviews.com and contact us if you want to join this group.

I've been with most of the real estate mentors in the USA, but in my experience, DJ Thielen is the worst and the most expensive.

Consumer beware.

@Thai Foo (ABOUT LEASE OPTIONS)

One question is what are good strategies to find these potential tenants? Would Craigslist work? 

YES! LIKE CRAZY...

List the home on the rental MLS with a realtor?

IT'S ANOTHER OPTION. BUT I DON'T DO IT PERSONALLY. IN MY EXPERIENCE, MOST REALTORS DON'T LIKE RTOs...

OTHER OPTION THAT IS WORKING VERY GOOD IS BANDIT SIGNS AROUND THE PROPERTY. ABOUT 20 SIGNS STRATEGICALLY POSITIONED.

-Alfonso

Hi Brock, every investor has a different way to invest.

What it seems a very good investing strategy for some, it can be the worst deal for others...

I have known investors that if things have changed, and a property is not giving them at least $200 a month, they will sell immediately (or they will not buy if purchasing).

Most savvy investors i know they would not wait for the market to rise rents or market appreciation. They are making money when they buy.

Also, there are other type of investors doing Lease Options or Rent to Own. In this case, they would ask your tenant to deposit $3 to 5k down and rise their rent/mortgage to $1,100. No credit required. You will be amazed how many tenants agree to stay in their houses in these terms.

Remember, the Real Estate Business is to MAKE MONEY.

With Gratitude,

Alfonso Inclan