All Forum Posts by: Calvin Lipscomb

@Calvin Lipscomb I agree. I plan to keep that as a priority, and because my background is social work I would never be able to take advantage. I believe there is a way to make profit while also helping the seller, and am willing to accept whatever concessions that means on my part. 

@Jim K. Haha, yep. Exactly. Thank for the action items, I will really dig in and see what I come up with. I've spoken to a few property managers to focus on certain zip codes, but that's it. That is excellent advice to get referrals from tradesmen. You are also 100% correct about buying real estate at low cost almost always means dealing in human misery - this is something I'm struggling with (cut me some slack, former social worker here!) and I keep trying to find a niche that might be more comfortable for me in that regard. When you are talking about flips working hand in hand, are you talking more or less about BRRRR?

@Will G. - I factored my CapEx at 10% based on a 5%-12% scale, knowing this particular property is older and will likely need some big ticket items. Yes, I could probably manage it myself and if we can stay local that would cut our cost significantly - but as we own more it will become an issue I think. But in order to get our foot in the door so to speak, it might be a necessary cost to eliminate. If I reduce capex and self manage it likely would be closer to $150-200/ mo return, but many say that's not enough either :/

@Andrew Johnson So any suggestions on re-vamping my strategy? I assume of I want cash flow I need to look off market for now and consider foreclosures, etc?

I am having problems with a past bankruptcy, what are some of the ways that you have repaired your financial record post-bankruptcy?

Income and expense research is your homework. Don't trust what they give you.

You can even ask to see Schedule E, not that they will comply. 

Hello, I'm looking for some advice on my situation as a 28 year old. My real estate goal is to buy enough cash flowing rental properties to retire early and I should need about 10-12 to reach this goal. My short term goal is to save up $100k to have some capital to work with and piece of mind. I currently have 2 SFRs. 

I'm a W2 employee that makes good money. I take the full 6% company match on my 401k but nothing more. I have employee stock program that I contribute 4% to that lets me purchase stock twice a year at a 15% discount of the lowest stock price in the previous 6 months. 

As I am working towards my saving goal, should I also be maxing out a Roth IRA or SDIRA? Or should I just keep that money in a savings account to purchase my next properties? Any advice would be appreciated.

@Bradford G. - Before you go and spend $15,000 on anything. Why don't you take a few months and attend a few of the BiggerPockets webinars hosted by Brandon, listen to some of the podcasts, and read a few of the recommended books. I bet you'll learn just as much (if not more) for about 1% of the cost. 

There are hundreds of thousands of people in this BiggerPockets community who are very successful at real estate investing and are willing to provide you with the same information as these guys, but for free. 

@Khloe Renee Williams Yes you can but it is not recommended.  

In my area, Baltimore City, the courts are constantly kicking out cases that have some technical error. Often the courts are making errors themselves. My attorney has to send them documentation and court case precedents and quote unrelated areas of law to show them how they are in error. 

Another important issue is you will never get title insurance if you do the work yourself. This means you will not be able to sell the property nor will you be able to refinance the property, at least not for many years. If you foreclose on a property and want to keep it as a rental then that is OK but just be aware of the limitations. 

Lastly in some areas, Maryland for example, if a property owner redeems, they must reimburse your legal fees. So you are saving nothing by doing it yourself. (If you are not an attorney you cannot collect attorney fees even though you did the work.)

I have been doing tax sale for 14 years and know tax sale law better than 99% of all attorneys in MD.  Yet I wouldn't do it myself and would only trust it to an attorney that specializes in that area of the law.

Hey I could be wrong, Calvin, I am here learning just like everybody else, but that is just my very limited experience.  They work for commission and so it is easy to understand that is where their sense of urgency will be -- getting their deals done.  

A few people have asked me to share her (the realtors) contacts, by message, and so I have.