All Forum Posts by: Cary Donham

Thanks Harrison... I look forward to it!

How are you structuring the deal..... are you doing a contract for deed or are you buying it out right with a note and deed or trust?

This matters for example of you have the possibility to sell early before the 15 years are up. If the deed is in fact transferred to you then you own the property but have him hold a mortgage on it. Now assuming you sell the property in the 5th year with this scenario where you are holding title and not the owner, then you pay less for the property on the 30K with 7.5 than you do with the 50K at no interest.

It's in the best interest of the owner to structure it with no interest at 50K so if you pay off early he still gets the remaining balance of the 50K. It's a better deal for you if you structure it at 30K with 7.5% if you sell early. All of this is a moot point if you hold the property for the full 15 years.

Let your conscience guide you for what you think is a win win situation for all involved based on your exit strategy too not just the buy strategy.

All of the above mentioned techniques have worked and still work for me. No need to elborate as our peers here have said it all.

I will say one thing about fliers..... I had them put on the doors of houses in the desired areas and I received calls months later because some will hang on to the flier until they are ready or their circumstances warrant the use of it.

I guess I ened up elaborating after all but just don't give up on any marketing at first especially putting out signs or mailings of any kind. It can take a while for you to start reaping the benefits of the fruits of your labor.

I would hit the probate and sometimes you will see properties in an estate on the tax records. If they are online you should be able to download all residential records in a .csv or Microsoft Access format. Then sort it how you like based on what you want to go after.

I can't answer all of your question but hit the probates for sure.

I will tell you my funny story about the Tylenol marketing trick. I sent my letters out with a small package of tylenol in them saying let us get rid of your headache for you. It's a great marketing idea when you are not in the middle of a national anthrax crisis.

The owner was located in Boston but the property was here in TX. Due to the way I sent the mailer along with the machines the envelope runs through in the post office, the pills ground to a white powder.

So I get a call from the Boston Police detective assigned to the case. He tells me the man met him at the door with the clothes he was wearing at the time of opening the letter placed in a plastic bag. The detective said it was a clever marketing piece however it was bad timing. He apologized but it was his duty to at least follow up with us.

This is exactly what I do.... have a good hard money guy or 2 or 3 ready to give you the cash to buy if you are at 70% ltv or below of ARV. If you get enough experience behind you then you can solicit and find your own private funds from Doctors, Lawyers and high profile people who want a higher payout on their money than having it in CDs or savings.

Having private money is the way to go.... you can close as soon as you have a clear title commitment.

The last time I checked the imputed rate was 5% from the IRS. This also works in your favor when you get a car financed at zero percent you can still write off the imputed interest rate.

As always check with a CPA though I will tell you some don't know about this.

I just wanted to say HI.... I just googled real estate investing forums and found you guys. I have been investing in real estate since 2002. I have bought, sold and wholesaled lots of properties in this time frame. I even built 4 new houses too.

I got started by visiting forums just like this one. I'm glad I found this site so I guess it's time to give back some now and who knows.... I may eve learn new stuff at the same time.

Thanks
Cary D

Matthew stole my thunder...... 5 ON A GOOD DAY would take the information and run with it. Out of that 5 maybe only one would do this full time. There is plenty of business out there for us all.

He really hit the nail on the head..... for me I like to do both. There are some properties I pick up that I just don't want to pass up on so I will rehab them myself. I have been in sales for more than a decade now so meeting and greeting people along with relationship building is right up my alley.

I do have to say that hiring a sales person is on my list of things to do. It's a long list....