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All Forum Posts by: Bala A.

Bala A. has started 2 posts and replied 118 times.

Post: Out of state investing = paralysis by analysis

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

Not to say that data is bad,

But if anyone read a data point of New York in 1980s - no one would have touched it with a 10 feet pole.

Highest crime and murder capital of the world.

Look at the Prices move from 50K to 1.5 Million in just 20+years.

Statistics cannot predict the Gentrification and what City is about to take off based on past predictions or current readings.

There are variables that cannot be measured.

Post: 3 out of 4 Detroit SFHs Non-Paying

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

Hi Danielle,

The biggest problem is not the tenants. It is the "out of state" property manager.

Tenants will stop paying rents when their issues (however small) are not addressed. 

It is not that they want to, and none of your tenants would like to be evicted either. Trust me.

They are just normal people like you and me and want a pleasant place to stay.

And they wish to pay their rents. But older houses will have an issue every now and then.

And if they not addressed timely or if they are not able to reach the property manager they do what they "can do" ie pull the pin on the rents till they get it resolved.

The difference to success in Detroit property ownership or any other City/State where you are a High Yield Landlord, is that you are not just an Investor, you have to run this as a Business and active management with good decision-making skills.

All the best,

Post: Need a 100% finance hard money lender. Is that realistic?

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

100% Hard Money Lending is highly unrealistic. 

Why don't you Joint venture (JV) with Investors, and discuss your exit criteria (i.e you want 5K per deal), and showcase what you can bring of value to the Investor to the deal?

Post: The most prime real estate is right in between our ears.

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

Yes, people see the Detroit market as either "Half Full" or "Half Empty".

Agree on each one's perspective. And thankfully we live in Democracy!

Dark times are the times of great opportunity, for the people of stealth.

Post: Bank loan on a 75k property or less, is it possible?

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

Hi folks, thanks for all the valuable posts above, but this thread only reports on one side of the equation. Minimum value "per property". When you start the discussions with a lending institution they then have a "minimum Loan value" for e.g. 200K though they will accept 50K and above properties. Some have Qualifications on DSCR and some others on minimum period of holding. Some others on the performance period. So maybe best if lenders can put some if not all of their main underwriting criteria out there it would be most useful for the readers.

Post: Pros and Cons of Investing in Auction Homes

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

You know the Pros of buying Auction properties. Which is Lower end prices. That is great, but just just be wary of a few things, as I have purchased a number of Detroit properties from several auctions (Hubzu, Auction.com, Wayne county, etc etc). Here is a list of things one needs to be careful about purchasing at an Auction:

1) Auction properties are most often Quit Claim Deeds. Not Warranty Deeds. Because the bank which is selling the property does not know of the "Other" liens the mortgager might have taken/incurred. Like a second mortgage or a contractor's Liens etc. You may have to Quite the Title through a court action after purchase.  

2) Beware of the words "Special Warranty Deeds" it is the same as Quit Claim Deed. Just Old wine in a New Bottle. I am seeing this term being used frequently on Auction.com.

3) Auction properties are not subject to inspection or finance clauses. You may have to buy the property unseen (so give yourself enough contingency)

4) Some of the Auction properties come with possession at closing. So you may be involved in evicting your 'tenants'.

5) County Foreclosure (like Wyne county) will have a redemption period. Meaning you pay the price of the house and wait for 6 months before you know whether you have got it or not. The home owner can 'redeem' the property under you. And most often other local wholesalers will cut a deal with the owners and you may just have to move on to the next one.

And there can be more, but these are the main ones...

Post: Looking to develop my US Market engagement

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

Hi Carl Johan,

I work with a lot of International investors who invest in Detroit so have a good idea about what your issue is.

Firstly, you can NOT get a Lend on a property when the appraisal is below 50K. 

Secondly, as a US non resident, lending options come down to Non-Banks only. As you wont have a Social Security number and a Credit score in the US. 

So in such cases, Lending is limited, but is very much Possible, for non-US citizens investing in US property,

The LTV would be 65-70% lend and the Interest rates would start at 6.35%

What is the address of your property, and I can give you a quick desktop assessment, perhaps the value could be over 50K as the Detroit market has risen quite strongly in the last 7-8 quarters, (since 2017)

Post: Good lenders in Detroit?

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

Traditional banks (like Huntington, Chemical bank, Wells fargo, Chase etc) and many smaller Credit Unions are also quite competitive.

That is if you have a good credit score and have a SSN (as a US citizen/resident).

For international investors who invest in Detroit there are a few options available.

Property value should be a minimum 50K (appraised).

If within 6 months of Purchase, then Purchase price will be the appraised value.

Minimum Loan amount 200K (can be negotiated if it is within 15-20% variance max)

Loan to Value ratio at 65 - 70%

Interest Rates from 6.35% (higher the LTV higher the rate)

Terms - 30 year (5 year amortisation)

Required DSCR - 1.10 - 1.20

I have been able to secure this lending for our Int'l Investors.

---

Post: What demographic is buying and moving to Detroit?

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97

A lot young folks are moving in from the outer suburbs (where once their grandparents/parents lived) and buying houses to renovate and live in Detroit.

https://www.michigandaily.com/section/news/detroit-housing-market-sees-growth-attracts-young-people-city

https://www.citylab.com/design/2018/04/can-detroits-suburbs-survive-a-downtown-revival/558764/

Post: Moving to Detroit to invest in real state

Bala A.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Memphis
  • Posts 128
  • Votes 97
Originally posted by @Maria Luna:

Hello dear investors...

After living in WA state for over 20 years, I decided that I want to relocate and move to a state where real state is more affordable. So, I’ve decided to look into the possibility of moving to Detroit by summer of next year. My two kids are adults now and living their own life.

The plan goes as follow:

Sell my main residence which should give me about $50k that I can invest, and I have about 90k in savings. Total of $140k to take with me to Detroit. I cash flow $1100 after expenses and after putting 10% aside for repairs per month on my other two rentals. I also have equity of 200k I can pull out of one of my properties if I need to.

I would sell all my furniture and get rid of everything before moving, I plan on just packing my personal stuffs and driving my car over there. I plan on getting an RBNB and pay for two months ahead before leaving. After that I’ll either keep paying and stay in the RBNB longer, or I’ll rent a small apartment. I would look for a job once I get there. I’m a license cosmetologist, so I can work at any hair salons. Also, by the time I leave I’ll be done with college, and I’ll have a degree in Business Administration and Accounting. I’m getting my real state license the soonest I’m done with college. ( No student loan debt) I feel like it wouldn’t be to hard to get a job, I’m willing to do whatever type of job to get me started and have a little extra money coming in every month.

I want to get familiar with the area, drive around, see the neighborhoods, talk to the locals, go to real state meetings, build a team, find a reputable contractor, look at many properties, and if after I do all of that I feel like I can move forward with my plan, then I’ll buy a cheap reasonable property that needs work and I’ll get it fix up so I can live in it. I’ll be paying cash for it, eliminating the biggest expense which is rent. I have no personal bills or debt other than my mortgages on my properties. I plan on house hacking my first property to get extra cash.

After that, I’ll repeat the same process, buy a property, fix it up, and put a tenant in there. I plan on managing the properties my self just like I do here in Washington. Hoping to find properties I can get about $500-800 in rent after fixing them. Long term goal, to have at least 10 doors that can cash flow $500-800 per month. I wouldn’t want to live in Detroit for the rest of my life, maybe five years, just enough time to adquiere properties and find a reputable management company I can trust to handle my properties. No little kids, no extra debt, so worse case scenario my plan doesn’t work, I’ll just bring my butt back to Washington.

Please tell me if I’m crazy for thinking that this could work!! I’m willing to take risk and just wanna see where this goes. I don’t know anybody in Detroit and don’t have an area pick out yet. I done tons of research about the real state market, jobs, and cost of living. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Appreciate your gutsy decision. 

Yes Detroit offers a lot for the savvy property Investor. 

Be cautious of the Locations you are buying, and also buy only on Warranty deeds.

And the Detroit market is ripe for good Flips. 

As it is attracting a lot of Flippers in Detroit at the moment.

Areas between 7 and 8 Mile in the NW are just accelerating and the Banks have started to Lend in Detroit.

Which is Great news.

So house prices are moving steadily up, Flips are in the 70s and 80s price ranges, ARV of 120-130 after 10-15K work.

And seems like you are ready to swing - so good luck.