All Forum Posts by: Barima Opong-Owusu

Welcome to BP from a fellow Michigan Alum. Good luck with your rehab.

Does anyone have any experience determining raw land values. I'm looking to wholesale a 2 acre lot in Farmington, Michigan and I don't know how to determine if it is a good deal or not.

It used to have an old house on it but that was torn down to build new construction Any ideas or suggestions?

I don't currently do buy and hold investments, but I think it would come down to the numbers. Each property is unique and if the rent you can get exceeds your expenses including the taxes, you wouldn't need to stay away because it would be cash flow positive.

On the other side of that you could be in a low tax state and the numbers may not work in your favor because of rents being low and negative cash-flow.

So I would say it depends and each situation is individual but if the area has low taxes and high rents that could be a good target area to start with.

@Mark Yuschak

@Zach Shepard

@K. Marie Poe

Thanks for all of the advice and tips

K. Marie,

You make a good point. It may may be faster to market to all rather than sifting through whatever lists I may get.

@Zach Shepard

I'd love to eliminate the searching part, but I have yet to find one with the option for probates with or without real estate. I'm just worried about buying a list that might not actually contain any real property. I'd love to have that option of Yes or NO to be sure. What service do you use?

@Rick H. ,

I've actually gone down to the courthouse a few times to wade through all those files and information. I didn't find it to be a very effective use of time. It takes so much time to blindly find a few cases in my county that may have property associated.

I think a combination of using the public notice to narrow down my list by cases with an executor, then going to the courthouse with specific targets could be beneficial. This way at least I have an idea of what I'm looking for before I get there and can optimize my time. I also didn't always see it clearly stated that REAL real estate was involved. I just went under the assumption that if they lived at a home address(not an apt/condo) and the executor is a relative at another address that the property could be up for sale. Would this be a safe assumption?

I've been able to locate the public notices online in Michigan regarding probates. I would like some help on how to determine if real probate is included. The extent of the information is :

The Settlor, [NameA] lived at 13201 Chesapeake Circle, Commerce Township, Michigan 48390, died July 22, 2013. There is no personal representative of the Settlor's estate to whom Letters of Administration have been issued. Creditors of the decedent are notified that all claims against the Trust Agreement of [NameA] March 6, 2006, as amended, (the "Trust") will be forever barred unless presented to [NameB], Successor Trustee, within foour (4) months after the date of publication. Notice is further given that the Trust will thereafter be assigned and distributed to the persons entitled to it. Date: October 31, 2013 [NameC](P51243) Thav Gross PC 30150 Telegraph Rd., Ste. 444 Bingham Farms, MI 48025 (248) 645-1700 [NameB], Successor Trustee Trust Agreement of [NameB] 3610 Vineyard Spring Ct. Rochester, MI 48306 (248) 303-4486 (11-1).

I've included the information from an older posting without the names for clarification. Knowing this information how do I determine if real real estate is involved and actually included in the probate?

@Sharon Vornholt since you are on of the experts in this area I was hoping you could help clarify. Is this similar to how its posted in other states?

I'm actually local and was viewing a rental property in Inkster earlier today. As with any city there are good and bad areas. You have to know which areas people are willing to live in and willing to pay good rent to get there.

When I get calls from motivated sellers in cities I'm not very familiar with I like to drive around the neighboring streets a few miles each direction to get a better sense of the area. Of course you need to do your research also.

To anyone that is a member of any of the Landlord associations, would that be a good place to network as a wholesaler? I would assume that there is a lot about how to screen for tenants and run your business more efficiently. For me, I would like to network there and pitch some of the rental properties with tenants that I have from time to time. Does anyone think it would be worth it??