All Forum Posts by: Blair Poelman

the specifics of your deal will determine if hard money is a viable option.  It can be a great option, or it could be a terrible option - running your numbers as Michele mentions above will help you choose the right path.

Many of us have worked with HML's, and as selfish as it is - I don't give out my best guys because they are relatively small and they might not have enough in their coffers for my next deal if they get too busy with other investors.

Also many lenders work only with specific types of deals in specific geographic regions.  I can recommend my guys all day long, but if your deal is in an area where they don't or won't service, there's no reason to make the recommendation.  You will have to go find the lenders that works in your area, and from there find the ones that will do your deal.

Do your homework on this one.  If there is a case worker, there is legal support behind them.  Best not to kick a sleeping dog and take your lawyer's advice.

Also keep in mind that many states require a landlord to provide a tenant with a statement justifying any expenses that were withheld - so considering you're dealing with somebody that probably has a very much victim mentality, I'd tread pretty lightly.

@Ken Nyczaj  Well done.  Good move on the island and the shower set up.  

Also good choice on the deck.  Many folks don't realize how inexpensive a nice basic little deck can be.  If at all possible I always try to incorporate some type of outdoor living feature in every deal.

A $3500 deck might only get me an extra 5k in value or price, but that one concept has very often made my deals stand out and sell dramatically quicker than the market average.  Nice work, dude.

@Michael Stanley Nino  Investing from a distance is not terribly complicated, however it does require some travel and some hands-on activity.  

It's completely feasible to achieve enormous levels of success investing out of state - but keep in mind that when you get involved in a deal that is not local you're losing some control, and your visibility & oversight of the deal is dramatically diminished.

Unless you're buying a turn key or getting into a PPM or some other commercial investment vehicle with a group that is managed and regulated, you may want to consider keeping it local until you've gained the experience and knowledge, and developed the out of state relationships necessary to be successful from a distance. 

@Tim Hocker Keep in mind that your HELOC may very well be an interest-only loan - so make sure your monthly payment is covering the actual debt and not just an interest payment. Also, a home equity line of credit is a different product than a home equity loan.

@Bill Nolan I have dozens of clients who have used ETC. Many are satisfied because Equity is the only custodian they have ever used to buy & hold RE with their IRA's, so they don't know any better or worse. On the transaction side, they used to be extra tough to deal with - paper work a mess, office suites full of disorganized boxes, etc...

I haven't done anything with them in a couple years so I don't know if they've got their logistics figured out now, or if it's still a goat rodeo.    

I have personally used a handful of custodians over the years - including ETC.  Having experience on all sides (investor / buyer / seller / broker), I would not recommend a friend use them as a custodian.

It's 10k - and if a 360k deal can't take a 10k hit then maybe your numbers are too tight on this one.  

On a side note just to add some perspective - there's a decent chance you're going to run into 10k in unexpected costs within the first couple years of ownership, and that's part of the business. 

There are ways to be involved in a deal without bringing money - but any way you cut it up you have to pay if you want to play, with either time & work, or with money.

There are private money and hard money lenders that will partner with investors.  They all work a little bit different, but in general, the "money guy" will fund and own the deal and covers expenses, the other guy brings the deal and does all the work - then there's a split upon sale.  

@Preston Seo  typically your tenants are going to move out at the end of the month.  It can be tough to find a place to move into in the middle of the month - but if your lease doesn't specify a time during the month, you could have them move out in the middle of the month.  

@Preston Seo  When you buy a property with a tenant you have to honor any existing leases - so do whatever the lease says you will do.