All Forum Posts by: Cindy Szponder

@Huiping S.  Congratulations on passing your exam. Although you can run your real estate business in the evening and on weekends, it will just require a little more persistence. I can highly recommend the webinar that @Scott Trench teaches on how real estate professionals can build their business through the wise use of BiggerPockets. Their ideas were fantastic and will take you much farther than the most common recommendations for business building. Finding the right broker for you depends on what your goals are. If you prefer to work with investors, look for a small brokerage that focuses on and has experience with investors--property management companies are also a good fit for that niche. I'm not sure what the license law requires there in FL or whether that is possible there. The fit between the brokerage and you is more important than the split at this point. In my opinion, the first thing to do is to update your profile on here and completely fill it out to give a professional appearance. I'd recommend upgrading to a Pro account right off the bat and then attending the webinar. Good luck with your brokerage search. Sometimes smaller is better!

Not sure if you have something similar to our 1031 exchange program that allows you to take your profit and put it into a new property while avoiding the capital gain tax hit. What is your goal for having this property. Was it an entry-level rental for you and you're ready to move to a multi-family unit, or were you an accidental landlord? 

Does the property cashflow $1300 per month after all expenses or is it rented for $1300? Big difference and would require different analysis. I see you don't have a Pro account, but you should still have limited access to the property analysis software under the Tools tab at the top of the page. Run some scenarios in there. The reports are very detailed and should give you great information for making the best decision.

I agree that you should try a portfolio lender like First Bank or Bank of Colorado. Check with local credit unions as well. My understanding is that you can only get a HELOC on a personal residence. I believe that the HELOCs for rental properties idea got flushed after the 2007-2008 downturn, but it's still worth making a few phones calls to find out. Getting a straight out business loan might be more viable.

@Amaka Nzenaguora I did a quick and dirty report using RPR through my MLS. You can see the report at http://app.getrefm.com/#/share/transaction-runs/57...  

RPR assumes a $34k value and purchase price. Doesn't sound like that is realistic. Perhaps the owner is looking to avoid a foreclosure? Or the property is already set to go to auction and he's trying to get some cash?

Looks like the rent for that area is around $500. A lot depends on the status of the property. Is it livable/rentable. You can ask the owner when was the last time certain items were replaced like roof, water tank, furnace, A/C. Check when was the last time the kitchen and baths were updated. Is there wallpaper. It looks like the taxes on it are under $100 a year. Rentometer didn't find rentals in the immediate neighborhood but within a mile, so the $500 is a rough estimate. 

I know that Kansas City, KS used to be a bit of a rough area but that was years ago. I don't know the current status there. Hope a lot of KC people chime in here.

Unless you have a team on the ground in Kansas City, it would be hard to know exactly what you're buying. What are you planning to do with the property if acquired? Long distance rental, fix and flip, turnkey rental to resell to other investors? You can use Rentometer to find out what the property would rent for. A check on Realtor.com or Zillow.com might help. I also can recommend using Eppraisal.com to get an idea of value. Be sure you check the tax status of the property to make sure it is current. At that price point, I doubt there are HOA issues to be worried about. There may be fines that are due on the property for violations and that should be checked as well. Look forward to hearing more from those in KC.

Depends on your state. In IL, the closing on our personal residence was handled by attorney. Here in CO, closings are normally closed using a title company. Watch for an answer from someone investing in GA.

As long as it's a reputable company, I wouldn't worry about it. They might have someone or a specific company that they prefer to work with and/or trust. If you post the name of the title company here, someone may know of their reputation.

Agree with Candace. Where the property is located would be important information. For example, in Fort Collins, CO, there is an occupancy limit of 3 unrelated persons, and you wouldn't be able to rent a 4-bedroom unit to 4 students. Some landlords do so anyway but risk a hefty fine from the city if the unit is reported. You wouldn't necessarily know that important factoid unless you were from this area. Your prospective area may have a specific restriction that would effect your cashflow analysis. 

Congratulations!

A private investor may or may not evaluate the deal. In our area, one of the bigger hard money lenders will evaluate the deal with the investor to see if it makes sense. A private investor may have more flexibility on terms and time, but the bigger company will have systems in place so things run smoothly. It'll be interesting to see what others think. We've served as private money investors on a few deals and liked knowing the person we were lending the money to. It was also our first introduction into fix and flips with only a passive role--still a learning experience and interesting.