All Forum Posts by: Brian Padgett

Doesn't combining funds in a single checking account from multiple properties expose all of those funds in that account if you were to be sued by a tenant of one of the properties? I've always kept separate checking accounts for each property for this reason but I have to say, there are some intriguing ideas here. If I could manage all of my Series LLC properties under one checking account and the few I have in my personal name under their own checking account, without putting the combined funds at risk, then this seems like a no brainer to me. What am I missing here?

Hi Travis White, I live in San Diego as well. Welcome to BP! I would encourage you to get involved in some of the REI meetings in SD. There are several good ones. The FIBI is really good and they have some brief educational sessions before every meeting. You can find more info at http://www.meetup.com/FIBI-San-Diego-Investment-Club/. If you're interested in other meetings, email me and I'll be glad to send you the information. Happy Investing!

Most of us are using social media, in some form or another, to promote our real estate investing activities. Maybe you have a blog, a website, a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Most of the blogs I see are dedicated to educating others, sharing ideas and networking with like minded individuals. And there are a lot of great ones out there by-the-way! We also see a lot of traditional websites designed at capturing buyer & seller leads. I'd like to hear other ways people are using social media to grow their businesses. For example, how are you incorporating Google, Facebook, YouTube, Virtual Assistants to drive automation, landing pages, etc? Is anyone doing any creative marketing using social media targeted at distressed property owners or potential short sale opportunities (this is a big one!)? What cutting edge approach are you using to build a more powerful network of agents & other lead generating resources?

I look forward to hearing some real "out of the box" approaches to using social media to grow your REI business.

Thanks!

Brian

Welcome to Bigger Pockets Richard! This is a great place to learn & you won't find a more knowledgable group of people in one place.

I'm looking for distressed properties in Gilbert, Tempe & Chandler. My email is listed below. Hit me up and I'll give you my specifics.

Good luck!!

Brian

Great question Brandon! I made the mistake last year of renting one of my houses to a couple of guys in their early 20's. I thought by having one of their mom's sign on the lease as a responsible party that it would deter them from causing any major damage. Since I'm contributing to this great read, you can probably guess that I was wrong...and I was. While they were responsible enough to pay the rent on time & give a 30-day notice of their intent to vacate at the end of their lease, they also left me with close to $6000 in damages. When all was said & done, we had to replace all of the carpet, a refrigerator, microwave, patched several holes in the walls, hauled a garage full of trash away, had to pressure wash the stench out of the garage & repainted 70% of the interior. These guys were only there for 1 year. Fortunately, the mom was extremely apologetic & agree to pay for the damages, however, it took her 6 months to do so as she was not wealthy by any means. I'm also pretty sure it was the last time she'll ever sign a lease for her son...lol!!! Good times!

Makes perfect sense Brandon. Thanks again!!!

I want to make sure I understand this Brandon Turner & Tim Delp...you have the partner take out a conventional loan AND pay the down payment but put both of you on the Title? What would be the advantage of that over going in on the loan together as co-borrowers & both on the title?

Hi Tim,
Thanks for helping! You are correct...I meant 75-80% of current market value. You've described my concern with asking anyone to come in as a 2nd position lien holder. Even with the purchase price at 75-80% market value, it's still a risk. I would welcome bringing them on board as a co-borrower on the loan & a 50/50 split of CF & after sale net profits. I haven't been successful finding someone interested in this, however, I was limiting my search to people with $50K - $60K in cash. I'm now putting a proposal together to reach out to those with HELOCs & home equity as Brandon suggested. This opens up a much larger audience.

Again, I appreciate your input!!

Brian

I love the idea of tapping into someone's home equity. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that before. My focus has been on those who have sufficient cash in the bank to fund a deal like this. I really limited my myself approaching it that way.

This is why I came to Bigger Pockets today. The resources & education available on this site are priceless! And whoever came up with the idea to bring Brandon Turner on board, you greatly enhanced what was already a great investor forum. Thanks!

Brian

Hi Brandon,
Thanks for the quick response. I addressed this idea with a couple of friends. I even suggested we co-borrow using conventional financing so they are listed on the loan docs and have equal rights to the property if something happened. I haven't been successful to date.

The other issue I'm having is I plan to hold this property for a few years. In order to get their $ back out of the property I would have to refinance. There is a 6-month waiting period to refi & it seems people are worried about where things might be headed with the economy. I think this is a sign that I need to continue expanding my network :) lol!!

By the way, this move was my first step out of SFR into multi-family as learned in your 7-years to 7-figures plan ;)

Thanks again!

Brian