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All Forum Posts by: David Dey

David Dey has started 8 posts and replied 332 times.

Post: How can i start creating a buyers list?

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Ryan Trippiedi

The easiest and most proactive way to build a true buyers list, (Not a tire kicker list) is to go into your county's register of deeds/clerk of courts and do a document search.

You will look up deeds for the last 30 days.  Now of course we realize that 80-90 percent of those deeds will be people who bought a homestead.  

However, you will strictly look for deeds where the grantee (buyer) is either a corporation, (not a financial corporation) a trust, an IRA, or an obvious investor. (An obvious investor is someone whom you see more than once in the 30 day period with different legal descriptions)

The cool thing about these buyers are, they pull the trigger!!

The only reason you will see their names in public records are if they actually bought a property.  Public records don't lie!!

Once you have their company name, look them up in your local Secretary of State.  (The part of the government where YOU file to get incorporated)

The info on the SOS will usually include names of the officers and addresses.

(If your state doesn't show this info, look up the address of the buyer listed on the deed on Google.  You will find their company info and phone numbers more often then not)

Now simply call them and ask the what they are looking for.  99% of them will be very happy to hear from you.

Also, the fact that you used this inovative way to find them should impress them enough to give you the time of day.

Hope this helps

Post: Subject To vs. Lease Options

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Melissa Castaneda

My very first mentor in real estate taught me many valuable lessons, but one of the first things he taught me was the basics of land trusts for assett protection.

Since then, I have studied all sorts of info on them, but one of the most informational influences regarding land trusts is a member on here.  Jack Shea is one of the most knowledgable people when it comes to land trusts.  His partner, Mark Warda an Atty in Central Florida, literally wrote the book on land trusts.  Their classes are actual credit hours for attorneys.

Now of course, please make sure your state is one that recognizes land trusts.  But thems the basics.

As for the marketing to eviction lists, I was primarily looking for wholesale deals, and in that, this campaign was not very successful.  

We were able to get great terms, as most of the owners were willing to sell, however most were not interested in discounting heavily enough to wholesale.  We got a few, but mainly options for cash flow.  

Now I am doing something totally different, regarding zombie foreclosures and pre-probates.  (My own name for the latter)

This is taking up most of my time for now as there is a definite window for this sweet spot.  

But I do recommend looking into the eviction option if you are looking to buy and hold.

Hope this helps.

Post: Subject To vs. Lease Options

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Hae-Yuan Chang

The due on sale clause is very much an issue.  That's why the land trust.  The thing is they can't tell you not to deal with YOUR property in YOUR own best interest, and putting the property into a land trust is in your best interest.

That is why we do the transaction in two steps. 

First, put the property into a land trust with the owner as the beneficiary.

Second, have them assign ownership to you via assignment of beneficial interest.

That way, if the bank really pushes you to show the trust you can show it to them still showing the original owner on the trust, thus not violating the due on sale.

No, the contract for beneficial interest is different then what we do.

We take the beneficial interest right away.  The difference between what we do and what @Brian Gibbons was discussing is that we take the beneficial interest up front and control the trustee, as opposed to the contract for beneficial interest works similar to an agreement for deed in that you have to perform the contractual obligations before you get the interest, and until then are simply in a lease.

Here is land trust education in a nutshell.

The land trust is a straw entity, not a true entity that offers protection like a corporation or LLC. Think of it this way, a land trust is a curtain, not a wall. The protection it provides is anonymity.

To give you an understanding of how it works.  Draw a circle, then draw a line through the middle of it.

The front of the line is public record, behind the line is behind the curtain.  No one knows what's happening behind the curtain except the trustee and the beneficiaries.

The trustee is in front of the curtain and is the "hands and feet" of the trust, able to buy, sell, mortgage, lease, or what have you.

However, the trustee is not the owner, but simply an employee of the trust.

The owner, or beneficiary is behind the curtain and not a matter of public record.

Again, only the trustee and the beneficiary him/herself knows who the beneficiary is.

This creates the opportunity for all sorts of unique transactions, such as subject to, and contract for beneficial interest, among others.

There is plenty more education on the subject, but I hope this gives you a basic start of an understanding.

Hope this helps.

Post: Finding the owner of a vacant property

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Robert Lorenz

The old adage of more than one way to skin a cat will apply here.  (Btw, who was the barbarian that came up with that saying? Maybe a dog?)

Let's start basic then move forward from there.

Look online for obituaries.  If you find one, then it may name next of kin families and/ or friends.

If that doesn't work, check and see if there was a probate started.  (In this case, most likely not)  if there was, look at the motion for summary administration (or the initial filing it should name the heirs and personal representative.

Another option is to go to the department of vital statistics, and get a copy of the birth and or death certificate.  The birth cert will name the parents in which case you can do a relative search, obit search etc on them to see if they had more than one child.  

Death certificate should also do the same.  Also the informant and their relationship to the decedent will be on it as well.

A simple check would be to look up the last name for the decedent on the property appraiser and see if there are others with that same name that own property in that county.  Also, check in the official records and civil records to see if he had ever filed divorce.  If so, the filings will include children and of course look up the ex-spouse for additional information.

A very low tech but often underutilized method of gathering Intel is to knock on the neighbors door and ask if they knew your person.  If not, ask who has lived on the street the longest or who might have known him/her.  There is always someone that knows something.

Hope this helps.

@Michael Mullins

Thanks for the kind words, so how does one make or get their post stickified?

Post: Doing Your Own Title Searches

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Steve Babiak

Of course this is strictly a first grade math class.  You can't teach everything in one post. That is why I repeatedly said "basic search."  I was hoping to encourage great additional comments like yours and David's by starting the specifics.

I have been doing this for 18 years plus and have done over a thousand deals and I'm still learning.  

Every deal is different.  I see new things every day, but even a virtuoso pianist (not speaking of me) had to start by learning scales.  

Even the most seasoned attorney can get stumped once in a while.  That's why they call it a practice. ;)

I am just giving the building blocks (the alphabet) to start one on their on going, ever expanding journey.

@Steve Babiak, @David Krulac and all the others.  Keep em coming, I love learning too!!

Post: Cheapest Title Company in Orlando/Kissimmee

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Christopher Vargas 

Most title companies will be pretty similar as they are charging the standard rate.  Where it is going to differ is closing fees.  

One of the ways not to get screwed is to contact the title company and ask them if they charge promulgated rate (the minimum amount that the state requires for title insurance) the fact that you ask will show them that you know what you're talking about and help keep your costs down.

You can also negotiate the closing fee. (Just cause it may be their standard doesn't mean you can negotiate)

Also, you could negotiate in your sales contract that you will only pay up to "blank" for closing costs and no more.

Then it won't really matter what the charges are as you will have your set amount that you will be paying.

Hope this helps.

Post: Doing Your Own Title Searches

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Account Closed

Ask and you shall receive.  (You better vote up this post for all the info u get 😜)

First the disclaimer:  this is for educational purposes ONLY!!  Realize that the info I am giving you will give you the basics but nothing replaces having a professional do your search and underwriting.  (Remember, it's not whether you are right or wrong, it's what your underwriter will insure)

Ok, that said, first you need the basics the most important sites or offices will be, your property appraiser/assessor, your clerk of courts/register of deeds/official records search, your tax collector, and your local civil records section of the clerk of courts. (Not the same as your official records)

The best site to start your journey is going to be http://publicrecords.netronline.com/

This is a portal site that will take you to public records for anywhere in the country.  (And the best part is it's free) Just click on your state, then click on the specific county.  Now choose the specific site,(example:assessor's site) then click on the words, "go to data online."

Use the search tools on the property assessor's site to find the owner's name, details on the property, and the sales history and legal description. (Pay special attention to the lot number and subdivision name in the legal description)

Once you know the owners name, go to the official records/ clerk of courts/ register of deeds and input the name to do what is called a name search.

Most of the time, you will have to input the name, last name first.

(Just a tip: with public records, less is more.  For example, if you are looking up Justin Valedon, you might input the name Valedon j this way if there are misspellings or abbreviations they will be included)

If the option is there, try to organize the search by date, so all items will be in chronological order.

In your search, you will want to take special notice of mortgages or deeds of trust, along with assignments, satisfactions or releases.  

You will also pay attention to liens, judgments, foreclosures.

Try to match the mortgages, liens, judgements and foreclosures mentioned above to the legal discription listed on the property appraiser. 

(Also, take notice of the "book" and the "page" associated with the items, this will be important when matching the assignment, satisfaction, or release to the judgement, lien or mortgage)

Ok, so here's how it is put together:

Let's say we are doing a search on 123 main st owned by John smith, bought in 1/20/2006.

We see that the houses legal description is: lot 1 block 2 of the big bird subdivision.

We will input the name in the clerks site as: Smith John

We notice he took out a mortgage from Chase Bank the same day as he bought the place.  

It looks something like this:

Date: 1/20/2006

Grantor Name: smith John 

Grantee: Chase Bank

doc type: mtg

Legal description: L1 BLK 2 BIG BIRD SUB,

Book: 1234

Page: 45

Next we notice the mortgage was assigned from Chase to Wells Fargo a year later.

Here's what that looks like:

Date: 2/1/2007

Grantor: Chase Bank 

               Smith John

Grantee: Wells Fargo

Doc type: ASG

Legal description: 1234/45

Book: 23456

Page: 457

(You see the mtg or lien references the legal description, the assignment or the satisfaction or release references the book and page of the lien)

We then see that he refinanced his property the next year.

Date: 3/1/2008

Grantor: Smith John

Grantee: Big Bank

Doc type: Mtg

Legal description: L1 BLK 2 BIG BIRD SUB

Book: 3421

Page: 678

Of course when he refinanced his property, the new loan paid off his old loan. So this is what we found:

Date: 3/20/2008

Grantor: Wells Fargo

Grantee: Smith John

Doc type: Sat

Legal Description: 1234/45

Book: 5006

Page: 678

Ok, so your head is probably spinning from information overload but this is what you are looking at.

You may not have understood everything, if that is the case, print out this post and take it to your title company's abstractor, or to the local clerk's office and have them follow the instructions with you and explain what I just showed you.

So finally, Doing a basic search like this can be a huge tool in your arsenal, but always refer back to your title company for the full works.

Hope this helps!!

P.S. Vote if this actually helped.

Post: Vacation Rental Business Plan

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

@Nicole Jones

@Michael Seeker, is spot on!!  

Every lender asks 2 questions, and whether you answer those 2 questions correctly or not will make the difference on getting your deal funded or not.

If you answer them correctly, they will fund your deal every time.  However, if you don't get your deed funded, look at the 2 questions.  This is where you screwed up.  You didn't answer the questions to that lender's satisfaction.

"So what are these magical questions," you ask.  

Drum roll please!!!

Question 1) "what's my security?"

Don't groan here that this is too simple.  Every lender, whether private or institutional, whether they're asking for your credit and financials, or they're ask how much "skin" you have in the game, they are really asking one question.  "How am I not gonna lose my money?"

if you can answer that first question satisfactorily for your lender, the second question should be rather simple.

Question 2)  "what's my return?"

Let's go back to question one for a moment. 

Here is a scenario, let's see if you can answer it.

So you have a deal at 65% LTV. You are standing in front of "Mr Moneybags," and he asks you question number one, what is your answer?

Go ahead, think about it.  I'll wait.

Ok, so if you answered anything along the lines of a first mortgage at the specific LTV on quality property, you have answered it as most will have, including most of the veterans. However, you would be wrong.

The mortgage and the property it is on is not the security, it's the collateral.  The security that the lender will truly hang their hat onto is YOU!!

If they like you, trust you, and believe in you, most of your job is done.  Now all you have to do is bring them a good deal with a good return.

Conversely, if they don't like you, trust you, or believe in you, you could present them the best deal in the world, at 10% LTV, and they just won't fund it.

This is the mistake that most investors make, and the one I'm trying to help you avoid, is trying to pitch the property when they should be pitching themselves.  Not why they should do the deal, but why they should do the deal... with you!!

Hope this helps!!

Post: Finding 4 plexes

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

Ok @Rigo Medina

There is a promise land available right at your fingertips.  (Or at least just a phone call away)

Your local property assessor has a database of every single property in your county.

The reason is very simple, so they can collect taxes on them all.  

The thing is, you can't charge the same rates for a single family home as you could a convenience store, so the county has different codes for each type of property.

You want a mobile home on a golf course? How about a single family home with an airplane hanger?  How about a quadraplex with the owner in another state? There's probably a code for it.

The cool thing is, since this is a government list, it's public records and you can have it.

Many counties have their database online.  Others, you will have to call in and order it.  

They will probably give you the database in some adjustable format, so play with it till you find the perfect list for you.

Hope this helps.

Post: Finding the owner of a vacant property

David DeyPosted
  • Investor
  • Lakeland, FL
  • Posts 344
  • Votes 603

I posted this a Lil while ago but don't know how to send the actual post, so I'm copying and pasting it here.

Let me first start by saying that to find the owner of the property, first you must go to your local property appraiser's site, then look up the address to find out who owns the place. That's the first step.

Here is a link to every property appraiser and public records search in the country. Just click on the map to your state, then click on your county, then go to the data online for which ever branch of public records you need.

http://publicrecords.netronline.com

Hope this helps, so here is that other post.

Finding absentee owners and their phone numbers is actually pretty easy now days. In this age of Internet and public records and ease of access, It's very difficult to stay off the radar.

Everybody leaves a digital footprint somewhere.

Here are some basic tools I use to find people.

Free first:

Whitepages/anywho/zabasearch/

Google is the most underrated tool to finding a person. Starting with their name and hopefully city or at least state. You can find out pieces of the puzzle that make it easier to locate the person.

Ex: if they are a professional of some sort, i.e. Doctor, lawyer, now you have areas you can find them. If they are a part of a forum, it pops up.

I once pulled up a person that was a on a site for classic cars that posted a request for parts along with his phone number. (Bought the house and made a 20k flip profit)

Public records are amazing: if you locate the area where the seller lives, make sure you look them up in their counties property appraiser, and clerk of court/register of deeds.

Examples of places you can find them:

If they pulled a permit on a house the notice of commencement may include their phone number.

If they were in a lawsuit and represented themselves, most forms will include a phone number.

If they were a landlord and did an eviction, the 3 day notice or complaint will usually have their phone number.

There are quite a few areas the info will show up in public records.

Social media is the hands down best way to locate people.

I have found more people through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn then I can tell you.

My favorite example is where I located the owner of an abandoned home on Facebook. I had tried every tool I had available to me prior including free and paid services. Including high end skip trace tools. I had found out she had a daughter but couldn't find her either. Then I tried Facebook. Her daughter popped right up showing that she worked at the local Applebee's as a bartender. And on her page her most recent post was a request by her to her fb friends requesting a ride to work. And in the response was.... Wait for it... Her mom apologized for not being able to pick her up as she was heading into work right then. (Thank you oversharers) a quick click over to moms fb page revealed that she worked as a waitress at the crackerbarrel next door.

One of our bird dogs actually went over there and talked to her, set up an appt and we ended up buying the house for $600.

Cheap next:

Ussearch is a cheap skip trace tool that costs about $49 for a 3 month unlimited use service. There is a lot of junk in to sift through but many times you get lucky. The best tool in there is their direct link to social media.

More costly but worth it:

We have access to a service called tracers that, for .50 per pull, gets us some of the most up to date info on anyone out there.

We also employ a couple of private eyes that are somewhat entrepreneurial that will not only locate the owner but set up the appt for between 500-1000 per closed transaction.

These are a few of the tools we use to locate our sellers... And our buyers.

Hope this helps!!

P.S. I mentioned if the owner is a professional of some sort.

If they are, check your states Secretary of State corporation look up, manytimes in their filings you will find their phone numbers.

P.S.S. If they own or run a website, that turns out to be an easy search. Whois.sc is like a whitepages for domain owners. Unless they specifically use and pay for a private service, you will have their email and phone number right there. (Try Zillow for example. I used the tool to speak to someone at the company to learn how to get info on expired listings off Zillow)

P.S.S.S. If you still can't find the person, give me a ring and I'll try to help you find them.

P.S.S.S.S. As to the offer, make sure that you talk to them and discuss their situation with them before you make your offer. You may be leaving money on the table by just making an offer and not seeing where you can solve their problem.

Ex: they may not have the ability to do the probate in which case a lower offer with you covering the cost and walking them through the process may be in order.

Maybe, they have liens and judgments against them that by you negotiating you can save a truckload of money.

Ex: code enforcement against the property that you can get reduced by bringing the property into compliance. (I once got a 300k code enforcement lien reduced down to 1k. I benefited from my sweat equity of solving problems as opposed to giving it to the gov.

My approach is to ask the owner to forget what liens and junk is against the property, what do they need for themselves. Then I put that number or solution into the contract "plus payoff of all liens and encumbrances."

Hope this helps