All Forum Posts by: Aroldo Villarreal

@Account Closed We are actually and honestly looking for a home to buy that needs repairs, we can have equity built in, and at a great price. We don't want to buy one off MLS here in San Antonio. If we find one that fits our needs for us to move in to as a personal residence, we will buy it. I'm not using it as bait, but honestly looking for homes. Does that change anything? Thanks for your input!

Oh, I forgot, should I put my logo and website on there? I'm assuming it would detract from the "Getting Married" sincerity part of. Thoughts?

I'm about to start my first direct mail campaign using 3.5"x5" postcards. I'm also getting married in June 20th of this year. I am looking to buy houses to wholesale or fix and sell, BUT at the same time, a personal residence for us at a great discounted price where we would still have equity. Do you think it would be a bad idea to write something along these lines on the postcard:

We are getting married in June 20, 2015 and are looking for our first home to live in. We will buy As-Is and can close quickly. Please call me if you would like to sell us your house!

Then, if the house is not something we are interested in as a personal residence (after they call us of course), then pitch them that I also am a RE investor and buy and sell houses. I'm not lying to them about my marriage. At least I'm getting something good out of getting married (haha jk!). What do you think? Also, are 3.5" x 5" good size and good response cards? 

Thank you for your help!

No, I haven't done Redfin comps mainly because of what you stated. There's so many different people saying you should do it (if that's the only way) and some people totally against it (claiming it may be way off). I see that you had a deal in which the HML was $15k off of your estimated ARV. How close were you to the final ARV? Also, did you do it on Redfin?

I started a year ago and bought three rental homes and did my first wholesale in January. Since I am relatively new and still have a long way to go in learning, I want to get better at determining ARV. On my first wholesale, I was $3k above what the HML analyzed, and $3k below the actual appraisal. Not too bad, and that boosted my confidence.

So, I get several emails a week from local wholesalers and hard money lenders with deals, which I open up and avoid looking at their ARV. I then get all the necessary info and pull my own comps off the MLS (finally got access without a license!). I try to determine my own ARV, then finally go back and look at what they have done. I'm taking their numbers, especially the HML's, almost as gospel since they are the ones who lend money and better get their numbers correct. With that said, I have been pretty off since I started doing this exercise. I have been off from $5k to $20k in comparison to their ARV.

My question is, am I wasting my time testing my skills against these guys who are pros? Has anyone else done this with a benefit? I'm going to continue doing it until I get within a 5% spread from them, but I hope I'm not wasting my time. 

@Lisa Moon & @Bill Gulley Thank you for the info! I can breathe a sigh of relief. 

@Brian Gibbons Thanks for the info!

@Guy Gimenez I would rather spend the money getting it right than try to save some pennies and it blowing up in my face. I just thought it was something that was done directly between the seller and the buyer without any other people being involved. I'm going to look for local and legal help. Thank you!

@Clifford Lopez Thank you for the information! Have you found any good deals up in Live Oak/Selma area? My brother in law is looking to buy a personal residence. 

@Brian Gibbons She owns the home, but is not her primary residence. She was renting it out and they destroyed it badly. She fixed it up and now wants to sell and not rent. Would that exemption still apply?

Hello BP,

I am looking at buying a home that is free and clear and the seller is willing to do owner (or seller) financing. I've come up with a couple of solutions for her, but what I'm worried is the following:

- Are there any closing costs besides the down payment?

- Do I have to take this deal to title to transfer it to my name? What kind of paperwork is supposed to be taking place?

My main concern is the paperwork and making sure that I'm doing everything the way I'm supposed to. I'm planning to move in a tenant in there ASAP. Let me know what other info you need from me! Thank you!

@Jerry Padilla Yes, this would be my first FHA loan. Also, this is my first year doing my taxes as an investor, so I'm learning as much as I can from my accountant. Any ideas on how I would go about finding investor-friendly lenders? I live in San Antonio, TX. Haha, I've been close to getting my head chewed off when I almost lost my part of the wedding $ on a deal. I spent lots of sleepless nights and would just tell her, "I can't sleep because I'm excited about my business." Hahah, never again.

@Bill Gulley Hmm..For some reason I was under the impression that an FHA loan was only for First-time Home buyers. As far as our finances go, we are in good shape. Both of us have credit in the 700's or above, never have had a late or missed payment, and have steady income since we are both teachers. I'm hoping that kinda helps us out. Thank you for the info!

P.S. - Is there a website like biggerpockets but more geared to marriage? Something maybe called "smallerpockets" or "emptypockets", hahaha, jk!