All Forum Posts by: Charles Manuel

Hey All, 

So my wife and I are looking to relocate to Florida, and we're hoping to buy a Multi family and house hack our way down here. We're driving out to the New Smyrna Beach area today to take a look around,but we're open to pretty much anywhere in the state. 

Searching MLS there are definitely things in our price range (250k and under) and with the features we like. (3 BR at least for owner unit is really the only criteria as we work from home and have a little girl, and decent school system)

Any tips, pointers, thoughts on buying in the area? We're Yankees so we really don't know the little things to look at like you all would. Really appreciate any help or tips! 

Hey All! 

Long time since I posted. I'm FINALLY meeting with an investor in my area and he's interested in selling a property to me (across the street from my house!!) in an Owner Will Carry contract. 

He's 73. and owns 7 other properties in the area, all of which he's trying to offload. He also runs a property management company. Guy knows his stuff. 

So: what should I come prepared with for this day? I'm thinking market research for the property...proof of income.... not sure. What do you guys think?

Agreed! just wondering if there was a "simple" way to get it cleaned up and still make a deal out of it. My thought at this point is to keep an eye on the address through registry of deeds every few months and wait for the inevitable Tax lein and then buy from the city with clean deed and title. 

Hey all, 

So my wife found this interesting deal on craigslist. The guy just bought this 3 building property hard money($70k) from the bank. 2 of the 10 units are livable (the one big side-by-side duplex in front) and the other 8 units (2 4-plexes in back) are trashed. According to some of my friends in the police force this was the site of a major drug bust about last year. However I've done the math, I know there is an ability to add spot lights to the big common parking area (with garage space for each unit!) and security cameras etc. Essentially we would own half the street, and would have an opportunity to turn this neighborhood around. 

Guy is willing to do OWC at 150k, with 10k down. I'm superfine with that as the ARV is somewhere between 300 and 350, and the bank is OK with paying him off using a construction loan. Sweet! Here's where it gets weird.

My mom is a retired paralegal, and worked exclusively with real estate attorneys for 15 years (sweet deal, hey?) She did a quick title search on the deal and found that the guy who bought it purchased the property under an LLC that is in arrears to the state-- she says that it will be nigh impossible to get clean title to the property in this case, and to even sell it looks like his LLC needs to pay near $10k in back taxes and filing fees--I know they guy doesn't have that money, and I'm not in the mood to pay him that extra dough just to get his books straight.

Second issue--The deed is as old as time--like early 1900s old. And more importantly the original deed only had the one building on it-- the big 2 family. Now there  are the two fourplexes, a large garage, and a huge parking area. Mommy says that encroachments and such will make a bank not want to underwrite a loan as they don't know exactly what they can collateralize. Is this the case?
She said the only way to get a real clean deed that you can loan on would be a survey, and the current owner told me he was quoted $10k for the survey.

I called the guy and told him this and he immediately asked for earnest money..kind of ("Well If you're serious I'll think about getting this stuff cleared up *long pause*) I told him I'm not putting down earnest money unless he gets a clean deed at least.

Any other insight into deals like this? Is it really going to be something along the lines of ponying up another 20-30k in other fees just to get clean deed and title? would love any advice from folks who have had similar dealings. 

Thanks!

Glad I read this. 

My wife and I got on a call in regard to the coaching program a few nights ago and the Program Director gave absolutely no specifics. I told him we were looking for a one on one mentor to help us with some purchases, and give us a better barometer on our investments--is that something the program offers? and he went right back to the original pitch and value prop. 

When the sales guy can't even talk dynamically about the program you know it has problems.

So update: 

I got my wife to listen to my audible copy of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and now she won't stop sending me possible properties to buy. She still gets a little worried from time to time, but then i remind her that we don't have to buy it if it doesn't make sense so us. Thanks for the insight everyone, I used a little bit of everybody's ideas to get her here. I'm hoping to have the two of us run out to an Albany REIA meet (the closest one to us) sometime in the near future so we can start networking in the REI world out here a little more.

Will update as the first deal gets near!

Yeah I do haha! I've used a gent by the name of Jon Lenhoff for anything I've done with real estate. He does an IN DEPTH title search, and knows mass r/e law exceptionally well. Look him up, he's in the book. He might not be taking cases at the moment, but give him a shout.

Hey Jose! congrats on a pending deal. 

I would get a good working rapport with an attorney, even if its not necessary. It might cost you a few hundred more to have the attorney do the legwork on a title search for you, but they catch things that title companies may not. just my .02

Hey all, 

So I've been putting together deals for about...3-4 years now. By Making deals I mean I'll get all the way to the table, and my wife will make me not go through with it because she's afraid. (These aren't crazy deals...usually 30 year fixed on a multi family. The only "crazy deal" I almost did was an Owner will carry over 10 years on a portfolio of 3 multi-family homes that all had HUD rentals in them and cash flowed incredibly well)

I have realized that I need to get some sit down and hash this out style help... I think from a real estate investing consultant. 

SO: I'm near both Boston, Mass AND Albany, NY (essentially right in between the two) so If any of you locals know of someone, or you yourself are a successful real estate investor and could talk to my wife and I together about Real Estate investing I would love to do so. I'd be happy to buy lunch, bird dog for you..let's chat! 

Thanks in advance.

I have been researching real estate investing in my area for the better part of a decade and still haven't pulled the trigger-- mostly because of what you've said: negative nancies!

However, having spoken with many, many real estate investors now: folks with multis, large apartment complexes, and SFRs in my area: I have met exactly zero who regret it. Zero. Some of them have mad bad deals...but they are all very happily financially sound and recommend that others do the same. 

my classic retort for haters is now "oh, sound like you had a bad deal, what happened?" they will either be too embarrassed to reply because they bought a terrible deal, or they wont have one to talk about.