All Forum Posts by: Brandon McLean

I have a friend who is very desperate to learn about a particular piece of property in eastern NC. It's abandoned but has a first mortgage on it owned by Ditech. Does anybody know if Ditech is selling off their NPL's, or who or how to contact someone who can make a decision. 

He's actually been in contact with the owner, who is (a few months ago, maybe "was") ready to cooperate and sell it or sign it over.  I guess they've called every number Ditech and Green Tree ever had but he's hitting nothing but brick walls. 

What should I tell him to do? Get it under contract with the owner and then try to close with an attorney or something? 

Maybe they would take an attorney calling for a pay off more seriously? Quit Claim? 

I told him it's probably dead in the water for a while, but he is basically begging me for any help I can offer. He's helped me on a lot of big things in my life, so throwing this out to this group is the least I can do. Forgive me if you think this a dumb question, feel free to scold. DM = decision maker.

thanks,

Brandon

Michael Karl i would love to know what dumpster company you're using if you think that 25x30' of concrete will vacate the property for only $250-300 bucks! As far as the grass vs concrete goes: I'd say you could probably get a concrete contractor to handle the whole thing for you. If you were near me, you'd be looking at about $2000 for the new concrete and $1000-2000 for the demo and hauling of the old stuff. No idea what northern prices would be for that. Busting up concrete is no fun. Zero fun. The absence of enjoyment. If you attempt it yourself with an electric jack hammer and sledgehammers you're looking at about 3 full days of work with you and 2 helpers. A concrete contractor or guy with a mini excavator or bobcat or something would be less than a day, and much more enjoyable to watch. You could go back with gravel to stay a little cheaper. Ask the inspector?

Sounds like you have tenant problems AND property problems. Fix up your property to the point of "idiot-proof" or over-durable. Get those pipes checked out. And get that tenant out of there ASAP.

The FHA, to date, includes seven protected classes: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status. This last term refers to the presence of at least one child under 18 years old, and also protects prospects and tenants who are pregnant or in the process of adopting a child. You can market to whatever occupation you like as long as you do not mention or make decisions based on the 7 protected classes.

I think it's a great idea, however you do it.

I think Henderson has tons of potential. I've met with many landlords who have been enjoying big fat cash flows for 20+ years from that town. If you're investing for cash flow, the numbers make sense. The property prices are very low, but the rental rates are still pretty strong. I wouldn't try to fix and flip anything in that town though. If you're not scared of low-income and Section 8 vouchers, which I'm not, then Henderson (and the thousands of towns in America like it) has literally a cornucopia of opportunity. I met with one guy who has 16 units there, SFRs and duplexes, and in 19 years of land lording he's never had more than "a week or two" of vacancy on any one unit. Look, people are either in favor of low income and section 8 or they are not. Personally, since most of my mentors are big fans of it, I am big fan as well. It is true that your properties will experience a little more wear and tear, but for the prices you can buy them, and the "guaranteed" rent checks from the government, I think it's all worth it. Another thing to point out about section 8, is that once a tenant loses their status with the government is extremely difficult to get it back, so any tenant who has had the section 8 voucher for a while knows how to treat properties and landlords so that they keep it. But this is not a forum about the pros and cons of low income housing, BP probably has tons of articles about that already. I actually just picked up a 9000 square-foot building there that will be converted into 10 apartments over the next several months. I'll keep you posted about how it is going with the renovation and the rental phase if you want. Feel free to reach out to me about that or the sellers that you have looking to sell there too. My partners and I may be interested. I am an NC licensed broker too, so if you want me to use my RealtorPowers and help you research any of those or other properties, reach out to me anytime. Brandon AT associated housing dot com.

REALTOR*

Perhaps you could approach any realtors you know to be their unlicensed assistant for a few hours per week in exchange for the MLS dues.

You can go to your local REIA and find an agent who can set you up with alerts for what you're looking for. Getting a license and becoming a Realtor is not a bad idea if you seek constant MLS knowledge. It will be hard, however, to keep an agent around very long without compensating them. Whether that means letting them be your agent in the deal, or even just paying them for their time. A lot of investment – minded realtors know how to deal with investors, and might even have a payment structure already set up for you to have access to them and their information. A big mistake a lot of investors make is that they constantly badger realtors for questions and information, but then never want to hire them as an agent. A lot of experienced investors have a go to agent who can help them when they need it. Perhaps it is time to find your own go to agent, or just go get your license. One more option, I'm not sure if it is available where you live, but here in NC we agents can hire an unlicensed assistant. They get their own MLS login, we just have to pay the MLS dues and their access is limited compared to a full licensee. Hope this helps, good luck.

Does the contractor flip and sell homes? Does he own rental property? I tend to look to other local experienced investors, agents, and landlords when these kind of questions arise. I have noticed that most contractors, general handymen and guys like that, are pretty good at fixing and repairing things but not very good at making decisions about layouts.