All Forum Posts by: Beverly Fast Sinclair

2 BR1BA close to Butler University!  Needs roof, kitchen, paint (interior and exterior)  and bathroom. This is a diamond in the rough needs approx $20,000 to make it shine!  Full dry basement, good hardwoods plus a 2 car garage, which could be converted to an efficiency.    The same floor plan down the street sold this year for $89,900!  Instant equity awaits!  Call Chuck Gilbert at 727-237-6531.

@Gerald Levin, what you see is often common at tax sales in Marion County. Even the REO's and short sales are commanding high prices. Right now, it is a seller's market. My listings that are in good shape are selling in days. The last two buyers I wrote offers for were both imultiple offer situations.  I've been a Realtor since 1997, and I've never seen a market like this.  I have heard predictions that the market will shift next year, and slowly become a more balanced or buyer friendly market.  It's just not that right now.  If someone is having good luck in the past few months, I'd love to hear what they are doing. 

You really should consider Indianapolis.  You can buy and hold, and get great returns.  It's not uncommon to invest $35,000 in a property needing cosmetic repairs,  fix then rent it for $650 to $700.  Without knowing what your criteria is, I would recommend buying a 3 bedroom/2 bath home with a garage.  There is ALWAYS a rental market for that!  I have pulled my ads for one of my investment properties, and I still get calls daily.  I paid $125K for it a six  years ago, replaced carpet and a dishwasher, and it rents easily for $1500.  It's worth $185,000 now. 

Indianapolis is a very stable housing market , and the prices are still low.   If something in that you'd like to do, I'm happy to help.   Just call or message me.

@robertl a lawson, thans for your comment.  I have always heard what @joshcompton said about no interest, separate account, no "co-mingling".  It's nice to know that might not be the case any more.  

II agree with @ginobarbaro  - what is your exit strategy?  I would treat it very differently if it were a personal home vs. a rental.  As a rental, the pool would be a HUGE red flag.  I wouldn't want the liability.  Maybe you could sell it on a lease/option after you lived there?   Do you see the neighborhood increasing in value, or decreasing?  You want to be in the path of improvement.  I would also get my own Realtor to tell me the value.  Don't trust what the seller says.  NEVER trust Trulia or Zillow!   I have not ever, in one circumstance, found that they were accurate.   The other thing I would recommend is that you have an inspection once you have it under contract (if you decide to buy it).   I would be leary of having the current seller do repairs.  Once its sold, his motivation will go down, and unless you put a time frame on when repairs need to be completed by, it may take him a year or more to get around to fixing a house that is low on his priority list.  You could lose a lot of potential income, and have a lot of capital outlay if you have a mortgage.

You also might consider owner financing.  If you don't have a lot of money, but can identify a house where you are stationed that you can rehab and manage, you can put a renter in there, make a bit on the different between your payment to the seller and the renters payment to you, then re-fi it after a year or so.  With all the changes in mortgages, you need to check to see if that is still possible.  I would talk to your mortgage lender and see what they have to say.  I also wouldn't ask a big national lender (Band of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.)   They don't do anything out of the box.  I would check with a regional bank.  Open an account (savings, checking) and get to know the banker and their mortgage rep, then see what they can do to for you.  Regional banks have more flexibility and can portfolio loans (keep them, not sell them in the secondary market).  When a bank sells the loan, there are very specific requirements all the loans in the package (how they sell in bulk) have to meet.  For example, they might sell $10 million of 30 year FR notes, 4.0%, etc...  That is why you dont want to use a big national bank.  Good luck!  With a little creativity, you can make it work  Also, thank you for your service to our nation!

Equity  Trust in ElyriaOH is one of the ones many investors that i know use.  They will be at next months CIREA meeting.

I have a buyer who is looking to find nicer REO's in the central Indiana area. He would look at luxury and/or multi family. He has cash to buy anything he likes.  If you have a property to sell, please contact me ASAP.  He just told me he will be in town on Sunday and is looking for deals.  317/213-3278.  Thanks!

I know a fabulous agent in New Albany.  His name is Jesse Niehaus, and his cell is 502/558-1579.  The house we were considering got bought before we finished our counter offering, but he went out several times, took pictures, and sent good comps.  He was very responsive, and works with investors.  As an investor/Realtor myself, he is one of the best that I have called .

Thanks Mike D'Amigo for the spreadsheet.   I love looking at numbers, and this is very helpful.  Thanks for sharing!