All Forum Posts by: April Crossley

@Michael Bryan are you searching for landlords that have filed evictions? this is one of the marketing tactics we use. So I'm going to assume this is what you meant. I don't know if this is much help as I am in PA. But here in PA I google to find out who the local district justice is and then we go to whats called the ujs portal for the PA courts and we can search by local magistrate and pull up a list of evictions.  Again, not sure if this will be the same for FL as every area is different, but maybe it will give you some ideas to google and see what you can come up with :) Great marketing tactic to find buy/hold rentals

@Sandra Bivin in my area when we put out bandit signs that is ALL we get are calls from cash buyers. If you want a short cut to finding your serious cash buyers- go to your local sheriff sale or tax sale or attend some local auctions. Get the business card of everyone that buys. Boom. Buyers list done. THEN.. build it some more at REIA meetings in your area. Maybe ask how many deals they have done in the past to nail down your more serious buyers.

@Mark Benjamin REI meetings in your area (you can find them on meetup.com), Sheriff sale, tax sale and auctions are FULL of cash buyers that are experienced at flipping properties.

OR Lend out the savings as a private lender, pay off the mortgage and buy your own properties with a HELOC. WIn-Win. Make money 2 different ways and get the returns of real estate with both!

I think it all depends on the wholesalers where  you are.  In my area I know of 1 wholesaler that leaves enough fat in the deal that its an actual deal and you could buy, rent, refi out of it.  The rest are kind of a waste of time and 99% of my deals are found by me.  If you can find a good wholesaler it will be worth it-- I find they are a rare species these days.  

I'm not saying West Coast investors are losing money.  Hope that wasn't implied in my answer. I'm saying there are investor everywhere that will buy and not care if a place cash flows or has a negative return. West coast, east coast, doesn't matter.  Just bc one person has certain criteria for a deal doesnt' mean its someone elses. It all comes down to what you are looking for and willing to take- cash flow vs. appreciation vs. wanting a cupcake property that cash flows like a pig and will appreciate (finding deals below market, doing value add, etc.) ... and a whole bunch of other things to consider.  Barrier to entry is definitely a big one I would assume in this area on the west coast for new investors.  I see it alll the time with people from NY flooding our market.  

@Nicholas Lohr let me know what you find out when you meet with your small local community bank :) Curious as to what they will do for ya! 

Expenses: Taxes Insurance Vacancy Maintenance Lawn care/snow removal What utilities the owner pays Property management cost Inspection/license fees Mortgage payment Pest control Trash service Hope that helps :)

If you are new, the easiest thing to do is learn to find deals.. and learn who the serious investors/cash buyers are in your area doing deals. If you can take them a deal they will lead you the rest of the way to getting it done. Flip or rental. Doesn't matter. Cash buyers have cash. And you need to be working with them to either JV or be introduced to their money source after you have proven yourself that you can find good deals :) There are also tons of hard money lenders out there but if you have no cash of your own to start- connecting with cash buyers in your area is your best option

A lot of assumptions made here... I can tell you there are investors that buy properties that do not cash flow and sometimes even negative cash flow. Just bc someone is buying doesn't mean it's a deal. In my area people are paying prices for stuff in our inner city that I would never pay. So I buy 1-2 hours outside of my market now which I never did before. Sometimes these investors are uneducated. Sometimes they just don't care and want their money in real estate for "safe keeping" instead of a bank so they pay ridiculous prices. I can't speak to San Fran as I'm allll the way on the other side of the country. But a "deal" is something different to everyone. In my area agents LOVE people from NY & NJ bc they pay "ridiculously" high prices for things bc to them out market looks cheap and good. To locals- we wouldn't pay near what they are paying and I feel sad for them when they realize the cash flow they are being shown on paper by agents and brokers that don't know squat about investment properties is going to be nothing like it is on real life. Aka: their property won't cash flow worth a damn