All Forum Posts by: Mark Elliott

hi gabriel. here is a simple solution. is the house vacant? then send a letter to the address you are looking into. if the previous owners filed a change of address with the post office, the letter will get to their address and you will get notified of the change of address. 

hi tyler. BP and RE investing. did you know that babe rutih struck out more times than he hit a home run? someone once asked him  if striking out upset him. he said " no, because it puts me one step closer to the next home run". forget the nay sayers. i started out with $2000 and a dream. i own and  have owned several houses along the way. i have more than $2000 now and still own the first house i bought. you just have to get out there and do it. learn along along the way, do what you can and learn what you don't know. just do it. 

kevin, you are going to get nay sayers in every position out there. what they are telling you is all the reasons they would not get into it. those thoughts are not your thoughts. ignore them, or set them into their place. will you have issues in RE? sure, but would you have issues in any other job? sure. so what is the difference? my dad used to say " the only people who fail are those who do not try". very true statement. i have been doing this for 11 years now. am i rich? no, but that wasn't my goal anyway. freedom and contentment are my goals. you will never get anywhere until you try. just get going. see where it leads and enjoy the ride.

hi angela. thats a tough question. the really is no average amount of bids or time. each deal is different. for instance, my first house, the first bid was accepted. the most recent one, i have been trying to get this place, on and off for 5 years. i haven't bid on it in that 5 years, but i have had trouble getting to the owners. every deal is different and you have to annalyze what you may be doing wrong in each bid, if  it is not accepted. lowball bids often do not wok well, but they can at times. study each bid you make and educate yourself along the way. if you don't get the house the first time, try again. if you never get it, it just means that there is a better deal out there waiting for you

wayne is exactly right. if you do get the high bid and buy it, you then have to get the tenants out of the place. that can be challenging. at that point, you can see what the inside looks like. at this point, if no one gets to see the inside, well, that just means the price you will offer is just that much less. you have to assume, then, that it is a total loss in the inside

they are right, caitlyn. the house would have to be a business asset for you to pay the mortgage out of business expenses. you can use the funds to make the payment, but the payment would then be considered as owners drawing and subject to taxes

hi stephanie. getting cold feet is normal in any adventure. people get cold feet in marriage. life is full of " what if's". but here is one for ya. what if you didn't buy the place and suddenly, for the next guy, everything goes fine? hen you would be kicking yourself in the *** over that. you can't let what if's get to you. what if columbus never set sail? what if elvis never stepped into that recording studio at sun records in memphis tennessee??? nothing ever gets done with what if's. you need to go out an do it. deal with whatever comes along. you will never get anywhere in life until you get going. 

whats holding you back, kasi? the fear of failure? if everyone operated on the fear of failure, nothing would get done. you will definitely fail if you don't try. get out there and make a deal, win or lose, just do it. people learn from their mistakes and if you make one the first time out, then you have learned what not to do the next time

hi chadd.  how did you get the idea that this would be junk? the numbers crunch well. depending on the amenities and how they are hooked up, i. e. electric, plumbing, and such, i would say it is a good deal. if all of those items were hacked in place, you could have issues in the future, but if they were done correctly, then there is no issue. with those kinds of numbers, provided you can keep it at full occupancy, you will recoup any costs you have into the place in a short time. getting a profit in the end when you sell it would be nice, but if you are into it for the cash flow now, then profit at the end is a non issue. you just don't want to lose money if you can help it. i would say go for it. maybe have a home inspector check a few things out first, but if he says it is ok, then go for it. 

basically, steve, it is a matter of what you can live on verses what you are bringing in. in the job world, you are not going to work a minimum wage job and try to live in a mansion. the same goes for the RE world. if you are bringing in the necessary amount of money from your RE investments that it would take for you to live as you do now, then go for it. if not, stay at your day job.