All Forum Posts by: Will Barnard

New club which starts June 11 in Anaheim for anyone interested. I know the owner and will be a regular speaker at her club. She just held an all day conference in Anaheim which I attended as well. It was lots of fun.

Contact me if any of you locals to that area are interested in joining.

Originally posted by "rkrieg":

How have you guys come across good preconstruction deals and what have you done with them (ie moved in, sold the contract, rented it out, etc.)???

Any good preconstruction deals out there?

There are good deals available in pre-construction. In the market today, you must buy to hold and sell down the road when the market is on an upswing.

I deal directly with builders and arrange for them to build the units in areas that make sense. I am particularly in favor of multifamily (duplex, 4-plex). All of which are for tenants to move in and pay rent.

That's a great point Jon. With all traditional SDI administrators, there is a waiting period between the time the request for funds is made, until the time the funds arrive. Unless you are making cash offer deals and close in 3 days, or are investing in very time sensitive investments such as tax lein certificates, etc., it usually is not a problem.

There is always the option of the check book access through Guidant Financial Services where they set up an LLC for your SDI, but the costs for set up are much higher (in the range of $2500).

How are you finding LLC's usless as a stand-alone entity for holding RE?
You can get a loan with an LLC, of course, you need to personally guarantee the loan, unless your entity has built a credit history/worthiness. Quitclaiming the property over to your entity in which you own does not trigger or violate the due on sales clause. Where are you getting your information from? I have personally quitclaimed and have personal knowledge of over 25 other RE investors who do this each and every year. As long as the lender sees that the entity is owned by you, it is not considered transfer of ownership. And finally, liablity protection starts with insurance, continues with you running a responsible business (do not act negligent), and the LLC is another layer of added protection. There is no question to that.

Jon, my last statement was in regards to "due diligence". I do agree that your own feet to pavement is an excellent way to get a "feel" for an area. I also recommend the same when investing in any area, when possible/practical. Sometimes it is not and therefore, you must rely on your team members. Regardless of the location, I still think that investigating the due diligence is the same for any location.

That is stated by the gurus as well. Where are you getting your information?

The same guru nonsense is passed on about Nevada LLC's stating that you have tax savings and other benefits from placing property in other states into a Nevada LLC. That is simply not true!

Valid points on the last two posts. I agree. 90 miles or 900 miles, all the same. Either way, you need a team of pros to complete and operate the investment. Building these teams from scratch can be a difficult indeavor. Once I have identified an area I want to invest in, I start the process of building a team, then purchase the properties.

It is not easy, but it is not rocket science either. YOu need to know what to look for, what to ask for, and how to negotiate. Aside from that, having experience putting these teams together is always a plus.

I have to disagree with the buy local only posters. Although Mike runs a great landlord business for himself, he is full-time and happens to live in an area where it is possible to purchase cash flowing properties. That does not hold true for everyone.

Typerider Wrote:

I here this statement all the time, and it is incomplete. Just because you have a PM manage your properties, does not mean you are out of the management loop. You still must manage your PM. This can and is done by phone fax, email, etc.

The key is to hire the right PM as someone else stated. Having an experienced, recommended, and local PM who knows the area and the business is crutial. It remains the investor's responsibility to "supervise" the PM.

Again I disagree. With the technology age, doing your due diligence is the same in your backyard as it is out of state. It is no more difficult.
Another incorrect statement. Not everyone lives in an area where this statement will work. Just as neenjafus asks, how can you buy in so cal and cash flow a property. It is not easily done, particularly for a newbie investor.

Great article. Thanks for the info.
Aside from the info in the article, one other large factor for the increase is the weaker US Dollar. Our dollar has less buying power and thus the price on many goods we import are higher.
When the dollar does improve, I think the burst of the oil bubble will be fast and swift.

Valid points James. I too agree with Mike. With that kind of capital, starting a RE investing business is the easy part. Learning to run a business properly and profitably is the challenge. Learn from others, read books and the web.
Certainly much cheaper than the "how to secrets of foreclosure" sold by the gurus!