All Forum Posts by: Barbara Chan

Kristina and Peter, thank you both for your responses. We are looking to create win-win-win situations for folks in the under $100k price band who can not ordinarily get financing to buy their homes. We want to put deserving, well vetted families together with investors who would like to purchase mortgage secured first position notes. If you are interested, we would like to talk to you more about creating a system by which we could create a flow of deals.

Hi Benjamin,

All negotiation is give and take. First find out what she needs from the deal, then structure your offer so that she gets what she needs and you get what you need. Might be helpful to take time to educate her on seller financing if she doesn't know much about it. There are investors that would buy her note if it is written properly. She should expect a discount in return for quick cash. If you or the seller would like more information on selling the note after selling the property, please reach out. Good luck!

We are looking for safe, secure neighborhoods where working class families rent, but would like to own if they could get the financing. Being close to diverse employment opportunities is important as well. Trulia shows Northwood as an area that might fit the billl. Does anyone have an opinion on Northwood or suggestions for other areas to consider? As some of the properties might require rehab prior to selling, does anyone have referrals for good, honest contractors? We are interested in interviewing real estate agents who have experience in distressed properties and would be willing to put a little extra effort to ensure these new home owners are educated in home ownership and set up for success. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Thank you for your advice. I will speak to an attorney. Think I need to establish with one anyway.

I've been talking to a company that says you can set up your LLC as an actively managing real estate investment business getting its own financing, building it's own credit history, having the tax deductions of a home business while holding buy and hold rentals. They even help you get 0% interest for the first 12-18 months funding to start building credit history in the LLC. Has anyone had experience with this?

Cash Flow in paradise? Yeh bra, mahalo!

We are considering it! What areas do you recommend? Thanks

Thank you for your advice, Greg.

Thank you everyone for your responses. They will help us as we decide whether or not to pursue this property.

I am considering this property for these reasons:

1. It is highly competitive in California and decent properties in good areas are going for prices that don't cash flow. If overpaying, there is the risk that the market is near peaking and the financials on the property will tank in the next few years. Sometimes taking a distressed property and fixing the problems is the only way in.

2. Some section 8 people are good, but circumstances mean they cannot support themselves entirely. Because my daughter has Down Syndrome (the third person in our picture), some of her adult friends live in Section 8 housing. They are dependable tenants and sweet people, so being section 8 alone is not enough to say no to a property or tenant. I would want to ensure the building is secure and safe enough for such tenants (still trying to find that out) Being destructive or dangerous is another story. That kind of section 8 person I would want to avoid. 

California is very tenant friendly, so kicking someone out is not easy or cheap. The owner is preparing disclosures, so I will keep you posted when I learn more.

3. The area is growing and the property is only a few blocks from downtown with restaurants and amenities. Downtown and shopping areas tend to have higher crime statistics because of things like shop lifting. Downtown SF has very high per capital crime rates because of the high transient population (visitors) vs the actual residents included in the per capita statistics, so I feel perfectly safe walking through there. I am trying to find out if that is the case here vs being the area that attracts drugs, vandals, and the like. Also I am trying to find out if the area is improving or worsening. Does anyone have ideas on how to find such things out?

I would appreciate knowing if someone had a similarly destructive tenant and how they were able to handle it in case we do move forward and have to deal with the tenant. Hopefully the coming disclosure will better illuminate the story of this tenant.

Has anyone used security cameras on their MFR? We are thinking of buying a MFR in a relatively higher crime area of a decent city (safety rating of mid 20s on neighborhoodscout.com) We are considering placing security cameras on the exterior as a crime deterrent. There are several broken windows, we have not yet learned the cause.

As we respect the privacy of tenants, we would only review footage if there were a crime. Are there services that handle such things? Has anyone had experience with it?