All Forum Posts by: Dana Bible

Really curious about your results.  I've been rooting for you and hope that you have had some success!

 Hey Bradley.  Have you ever done any marketing in Murfreesboro?  I wonder if that might be a good place for marketing given the growth in Rutherford county, MTSU, etc.  I also understand your frustration with East Nashville.  People there think that because someone just built a brand new 3000 square foot bungalow and sold it for $550,000.00 means that their 1920's 900 square foot bungalow that is falling down in the back that has had zero maintenance for 20 years is worth $600,000.00 

I just listened to Podcast 102, How to Struggle and Still Succeed at Real Estate with Scott Costello.  I think he went 3 years before he actually closed his first wholesale deal.  Of course he started very slowly doing a 100 mailers a month but that gave him and his partner the opportunity to learn how to talk to sellers, learn his market and learn the business.  I don't know if he started having success because of what he was doing or if the market just changed to favor his model but he is doing well now.

 Well as many have suggested on the podcasts, especially @Brandon Turner, wholesale marketing is a marathon, not a sprint.  They suggest that continued mailings are the only way to succeed, especially in a well targeted market like East Nashville.  I think your rate of return for the 1st month is totally in line with what I have heard many say.  You basically need to mail to those people for 6 months in a row before you might start seeing some real results.  A lot of wholesale marketing seems to be timing.  They might not be super desperate this month but next month when your mailer hits their hand they might be.

Yeah I'm lucky with zoning in my town.  Small town north of Nashville, large swaths already zoned R6 high density.  On the medium density zoning it says conditional use is multi family does that mean I would have to get the zoning board approval rather then get them to switch the zoning designation?

Just a note on Hubzu, Hud etc. homes.  Be sure you look at the house in google street view if you are not local.  I was following a house and wondered why no one was interested in it then I looked at the property.  There is a car junk yard right next door with junker cars about 6 feet from the side of the house!  Of course they did not show that in their pictures. 

The QCD has no effect on the foreclosure.  When it was foreclosed on in 4/2014 fee simple title was passed to either the beneficiary of the foreclosed mortgage, it's nominee or to a party that purchased it at the foreclosure auction.  At that point, the trust has no interest to convey so the deed in 12/2014 is meaningless.

Thanks for the 203(k) loan definition. I had not realized that it was for rehab only. I thought there was an FHA one time close mortgage that combines a construction loan with permanent financing. I have started approaching several lenders to get program details.

Thanks for all the great info! My reasoning for doing a fourplex comes from advice from @Brandon Turner from the podcasts. Basically the financing for a SFR is the same for a fourplex but you have the extra cash flowing units. My situation is that I would be happy to live in one of the units for a year rent free and then probably move out to make my unit available for rent. @Mike H. I really appreciate your detailed breakdown of the numbers. In my town, property is much cheaper then that and I also have been looking at some basic floor plans that should build for less then $95 per square foot. That will make the numbers a little better in my favor.

Go into the office and tell them you need to look at the probate index.  You don't have to tell them why, just say you are doing some personal research.  They will either have it in an index book or on computer.  You would then look up all the probate filings for say the past 2 months.  There should be a name, case number, date filed, and maybe the name of the executor depending on how they keep their records.  

You then take those file numbers and either pull the files yourself (or hopefully its on computer and you can view the docs there) or hand the list to a clerk to pull.  What you are looking for is an order to admit will to probate and that should have the name and address of the executor on it.  You might also just peruse the will to see if it mentions any heirs and look at any other orders that may give you some information.  

Once you have your names you can look at the tax assessor's website and look up what property they owned.  So now you have a list of the deceased, the person responsible for the estate and hopefully a bunch of houses they owned!

Good luck!