All Forum Posts by: Amanda G.

Hi, Are you local? Who is doing your property management? The previous owners should have shared the tenants contact info at closing, if not before. I would call and introduce myself as the new property manager. Let the renter with the lease know that your company is going to honor it (you legally have to, but lots of people don't know that). Tell the others that you want to get them set up with a lease (if that is true- are they tenants you want to keep?). Set up a time to do an inspection and let them show you the annoying things they have been meaning to tell the previous owner. And if you haven't read Mike Butler's book on landlording, that might be worth doing (I have no financial relationship with the man, just like his book). Hope that helps!

Yes, I like cozy.co.

Thanks @Luis Cortazar and @Todd Rasmussen, this one is an REO. I'll do the title search, anyway.

the 6 (or 12) month refi period is decided by the bank/credit union that issues the loan. Your next bit of homework is to research lenders, find out their requirements, rates and fees and pick one to work with.

It's going to be tricky to find books. Pre forclosure means that the owner is going through the foreclosure process with their lender, they may manage to pull it out, the lender is required to publicize that it is happening. Foreclosed properties have different laws depending on the state. If you can, find the local auction in your area and go hang out (don't bid, don't bring money so you won't be tempted). Listen and learn. Your local real estate investment group is another great source to learn about buying distressed properties.

Hey Jerome, 

I hear there is a thriving real estate investment local community in Atlanta. Find their meetings, and you will find at least 3 of your 5 people. Good luck!

I'm very tempted by a bank owned property being sold through auction.com. What risks am I taking on the title issue buying this way? Would you pay for a title search? Why or why not?

@Misty Evans, since you travel a lot, run your numbers including someone else property managing. Something will always break at the worst possible time. :)

And no one has mentioned notes. Notes can be nice, not usually as large a possible up side as owning property, but generally easier.

Completely ignorant on sound reduction on LVP, my area is all one story houses on slab. However, what are your options for insulating the ceiling? If you've got airspace between rafters a little physics says that's going to act like a drum. Good luck!

You are asking for opinions, so take this for what it is worth. I wouldn't start with a flip. Unless you have previous experience and contractors who already love you things are going to take more time and money than you predict. Even with experience they usually do. You can easily end up going into the red, and that's not something you want to do on your first taste of real estate.

My first rental deal was a typical 25% down conventional bank loan. Yes, it tied up cash that I could now use more effectively. However, it got me in the game with a straightforward purchase that (sometimes not ideal) already had tenants in place. The tenants are good ones- keep the place well, pay on time, and mostly let me know if something breaks in a timely manner. I looked for months before I found this deal, so I recognized it was a good fit for me and was able to jump on it.

More than anything, I would recommend finding your local real estate investment group and talking to the people there. Find out what's going on in your market, that should help determine what strategies are going to work well for you when you start.