All Forum Posts by: Shawn M.

@Rob Condy I have a couple of thoughts for you. In terms of the long distance investment do you plan on having a property manager to take care of the property? if so and the numbers still work out I would pay the extra 6k and go for it. After all the monthly payment on the 6K shouldn't change the cash flow all that much.

When I am evaluating a rental property the biggest thing for me is cash flow. Period. cash on cash return is a good guide but that can be misleading because you can put less down to buy the property and get a better cash on cash return but your cash flow will plummet. At the end of the day it's the cash flow that you want in your pocket every month. (I hope) because that is what will get you out of the rat race.

As a resource to see other investment properties in the atlanta area check out the Jason Hartman website. He has some properties listed there that you could use as rental comps.

Good Luck

This site does it for free. It took a few tries to get it looking good but it is better than the stock fonts out there.

http://www.myscriptfont.com/

Use a PO Box, so if you move in the future you do not have to change your address on every bill, lease & insurance document you have.

Also, I never tell my tenants where I live, I'll just say next town over, or something vague like that. Even though they could find your address online, there is some doubt that it may really be your current address and makes it less likely they will show up at your door when their toilet isn't working.

How do potential buyers rate a house near a cemetery? This house I am looking at backs-up on a small cemetary. Otherwise the neighborhood is great and the house is close to shopping.

Has anyone tried to sell a house near a cemetery? and how did it go?

Any realtors/appraisers out there that can give me some help on how you rate/value this type of property.

This link shows the house and the cemetery.
http://binged.it/TV6iwt

21 Chidsey Ave, East Haven, CT 06512

I know that they are local to my area in New Haven, CT. I have not used them directly but a few members of my REIA have used them. From what I know they are very expensive lenders and unless you are doing volume with them you will be able to find cheeper money elsewhere.

Around me Hard money costs 12% and 1-3pts. There is no application fee or prepayment penalties.

I would check with your local REIA to see who are the money lenders in your area. 16% + 4pts is just way too expensive for money. BUT if you can still turn a profit by paying those rates you should still do the deal.

Has anyone out there used the REO auction site HUBZU to purchase a property? They like like they have great deals but I haven't been able to get anyone from their customer service on the phone so I'm concerned that this may be a scam site.

Does anyone have any experience with HUBZU.com

I am in the same situation as you, have you decided on a software solution? I'd love to know what you use because my excel files are getting too confusing.

Hey all,

I have started a yellow letter campaign a 2 weeks ago and so far have sent out 90 letters and have had 8 phone calls.

2 just put their house on MLS
1 wanted way too much
5 weren't interested in selling

So i guess people are opening my letter. When people talk response rate of 5-8% are these the type of responses you talk about? or does 5% response rate mean only motivated sellers?

FYI I will be increasing my mailing production real soon.

Hi Tim,

So in terms of mailing list organization do you have separate excel files for each type of list. out of state owners, probates, NOD, etc or do you merge them all into one file? I have over a few thousand names and the excel file is quite big and am looking for ways to organize & simplify.

How does everyone keep track of their mailings. Once you get your mailing list with hundreds of names in excel. WHat software do you use to keep track of all your mailings? So you know who got followed up with. How many letters you sent them. etc,

I use excel right now and color code rows but there has to be a better way. I've heard of Sage ACT as one option but not sure how I would set that up.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Shawn