All Forum Posts by: Christopher Bowen

Hi BP,

Where are investors in Washington State getting their probate lists? The courthouse? Are there local services that provide for a fee? Any recommendations would be helpful.

Thanks,

Chris

I'm assuming Robert Eckley?

@Brian Gibbons Thanks. Is he focused on other avenues of RE investing as well? Lease contracts, wholesaling contracts?

Also, what is his name?

@Brian Gibbons Thanks Brian! Do you have any experience working with this firm? Or know of others who have? Your timing is great because finding a great attorney is next on my list.

@Bill Jones Thanks for insights, Bill. I will reach out directly with more questions as they come up. In fact, although I am on the lookout for sub2 deals to purchase, I am actually in a place with my personal residence where I could make some money selling owner-financed because I have such a low interest rate on my loan. I might be able to make some nice interest on the monthly payments and sell the house a bit over FMV without having to pay RE agents. Any advice on this end?

@Grant Kemp Appreciate your input as well. I really enjoyed your podcast. I have listened to it 3 times now. I am one of those question guys you touched on in the podcast. I find it's better to ask then make the mistake and learn the hard way. If you have any advice about the scenario of owner-financing my personal residents, I am all ears. If you don't mind I might shoot you some additional questions when they come up?

Best,

Chris

@Jean Bolger My thought exactly! Thanks for the input :)

Hey @Roger Vi

I am up in the Lake Stevens area and our stories are very similar. I purchased a home in 2011 that we are converting to a rental right now and will soon buy a duplex and move in to one side, rent out the other. The goal is to buy as many owner-financed duplexes/tris/quads over the next 5-7 years to essentially pay very little for our own living expenses, all the while collecting cash flow and having others pay down the properties. You're right that finding anything on the MLS is close to impossible, so I am also looking to supplement my buy-hold strategy with wholesaling and sub2 so I have more leads and a way to leave my job and start a business that will fund future buy-hold deals. Ultimately it's out of my pocket mortgage payments that are going to keep me in corporate America. The writing on wall is to not only passively invest via buy-hold, but to get out there and start a business that will keep food on the table each day. Plus, I think there's potential in wholesaling because a lot don't do it well and I can capitalize on their mistakes by doing the job correctly. This will take some time, but I am ready to jump in and work my butt off!

If you want to chat over the phone to learn more about one another shoot me a PM.

Best!

Chris

@Matt Devincenzo Thanks Matt, I will see what I can find.

@Mike M. The main reason why we are looking to move and buy an OO duplex is to save money on the down payment and monthly living expenses. My home now, in the price range it would rent for, is going to target a higher income renter so my hope is that they will take care of the property better than a lower income renter would. Now that's no guarantee we are banking on, but with a strong screening process we might be able to find great tenant(s). That may be the risk we have to take to keep the home. The goal in 5-7 years would be to rehab the place and move back to start our family once we have had all that time to save money and buy cash flowing properties with as little down as possible. As for staying and boarding horses to make some money... we thought about that but it looks like the going rate for boarding horses in my area ($150 p/m) isn't going to be enough for us to stay.

@Eric Robertson Doing a quick search on craigslist it appears $150 p/m is the rate here as well. Our plan would be to rent the house and pasture to one tenant that wants to live in the house and pasture their animal(s). Doing so we avoid some of the issues you mentioned. What I am hoping is the ability to pasture will attract tenants with that special need who are willing to pay a few hundred bucks more for the privilege.

Hi BP,

The home I live in has pasture rights and I want to move out of it, buy a owner-occupied duplex, and turn both properties into rentals (I like the home I am in now and want the option to move back in the next 5-7 years after I buy a number of owner-occupied multi-family homes). I bought this place before real estate investing entered my life and I want to do everything I can to keep it, as it's exactly where I want to start a family with my soon to be wife.

I initiated this post with pasture rights... I brought this to attention because the home I live in now wouldn't cash flow very well unless I could receive a bit more rental income, potentially through utilizing the pasture rights. I live in a popular horse/goat/cow area that's very convenient to freeways and cities so the property does have something to offer (and the house is nice too, built in the 90s). One large animal or a few small animals would have about 1/4 - 2/3 of an acre. I have a large shed that could be used for shelter as well.

Does anyone have experience renting a home with pasture? Any insight would be appreciated. I am not set on this approach by any means, but looking at any way to turn my place into a moneymaker without having to sell the property. Plus the house is in a lake community that's growing rapidly.

Thanks,

Chris

Hi BP!

After listening to podcast 70 and learning about "subject to" strategies I was provoked to hop on the forums to see if anyone on BP is doing this in WA state? I am interested in this strategy and have been reading everything I can find on the site, but still have questions:

1. Are WA state investors doing subject to deals getting DOS clauses called by the lenders? Do you see this increasing as interest rates rise? Is your experience similar to @Grant Kemp where only a very small fraction of the DOS clauses are being called? I know it's always a risk, just curious what is going on locally, presently.

2. For the investors that are doing this, are any of you doing wrap mortgages like Mr. Grant, thus making you the middle-man, or are you primarily fix/flipping, renting or wholesaling? If you are wrapping, at that point, being the middle-man, if the lender issues a DOS, are you responsible for the payment or is it still with the original seller who is still carrying the original mortgage?

3. After I complete a subject to with a seller, do you recommend doing a owner-finance with a QUALIFIED buyer or sticking to fix/flip, rental or wholesale?

4. Do you recommend taking over the deed as soon as you can (once you find a owner-occupied buyer, or renters if using the property for buy-hold)? Or do you wait for awhile? And once I find a buyer (if I decide to go this route) do I then sign the deed to them and I am just the creditor from then on out?

5. Let's say I find a distressed seller who owes 100k on a home worth 100k, but he would rather do a subject to deal so he can get out fast and avoid selling costs. I come in and do the subject to deal where I would take the deed under a 60 day option that would allow me to find a buyer looking for owner financing (if I can't find an exit I walk away). Because the buyer cannot qualify for traditional financing and needs to go the owner finance route, I decide that I am going to sell the house to them for 110k and add 2% interest on top of the monthly payment (I have read a lot about how sales prices can be higher for owner-finance deals, but have also read the contrary). I will also ask for let's say 10k in down payment so they buyer stays put. Now this is where things get confusing for me. Do I count the 10k down payment toward the extra 10k I am selling the property for and after that they just pay off the original loan plus my added 2% in interest? Or do I just extend the loan longer than what is actually due to the original lender and once they complete the original loan the payments to me are 100% in my pocket until the extra 10k is paid down? Mr. Kemp very briefly mentioned this scenario on the padcast and I wish he would have had more time to elaborate. In this same scenario, let's say there's 20 years left on the loan. Do I have to wait the entire 20 years plus however long it takes after that to make the extra 10k on the property? Or do I just create a deal from the beginning that would account for the higher sales price and I am slowly paid the extra 10k over time?

6. Taking the above scenario again, do I keep the deed in my name until my buyer pays off the loan? I assume no because we will close on the deal, but if so, how do taxes come into play? Does the "one" making the payments get the interest write-off come April? How about expenses (repairs, maintenance, cap-ex, ect.)... who pays those? I assume the buyer would pay those, but if they default and the house is still in my name or I take it back via foreclosure, I would be stuck with everything to pay for.

7. Can someone walk me through the process once I have found a buyer to wrap the mortgage with? It seems like all the forums don't get this far or only briefly touch on it.

8. Can anyone recommend an attorney in WA state who specializes in this type of creative financing?

9. Best books or detailed article/videos to learn about this (preferably after Dodd Frank was put into practice)?

Apologies for the long post. Just want to get this strait. I am sure I am a ways off here on many accounts.

Thanks so much!

Chris