All Forum Posts by: David Stafford

Hi @Ed Lee, 

Anyone has the right to this information; you would need to contact a title company or an attorney who is authorized to do this kind of title work. The catch is the cost -- it could be a few hundred dollars to dig up the dirt on the property only to find out it's not a worthwhile purchase. However, in my mind, a few hundred dollars is far less scary than thousands or even tens of thousands you might find yourself owing after the purchase if you didn't do the work in the first place. 

Hi @Ed Lee, 

Mortgage and Judgements, otherwise known as M&J reports (but could have other names in other states) are essentially the background checks any title company will perform on a property to search out what liens, debts, clouds or otherwise a property might have. It’s vital to know if there’s some sort of deficiency judgement against the property for unpaid taxes, a builder’s lien, a distant relative who might have legal ownership rights, etc, etc. If you’re looking to purchase a foreclosed property at a sheriff sale or some government sell-off, they will likely provide the property free and clear of all encumbrances but I still research property history myself just as an extra measure of protection. Keep in mind, if you’re buying a property where the secondary mortgage lender is the entity foreclosing, there might be a primary mortgage debt that still exists and has to be paid. This would typically be referred to as a “subject-to” and it’s not something that would be hidden but it’s a prime example of a property you might think you’re getting for a good price only to discover that upon the winning bid you just earned yourself all the other debt on that property and you must now pay it. Hope this helps.

Hi @Ed Lee, 

My license does not help with foreclosures directly; the information about any foreclosed upon or soon to be foreclosed upon property is public knowledge. With that said, I can access mortgage and judgement information about that property much more easily -- a non-licensed person would have to contact a title company and pay a decent amount for that info. As I said in the original post, knowledge is king and the speed of that knowledge can make or break a deal. Considering you likely have no access to the property, you need to discover all you can prior to the actual foreclosure. 

I have never had any issues with disclosing my status as a licensed agent whether I'm buying or selling. At the end of the day, all properties sell at market rate no matter who is in the deal. Hope this helps! 

Hi, @Darius Rafiei, 

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime that is convenient for you. I live and invest in the city, hold my license and who knows, perhaps we could be of great help to each other. 

-dave 

Hi, @Roy Jeong, 

Welcome to BP! Your question is a bit broad and likely not by design, but it's difficult to focus an answer. If you've decided for yourself that multi-family is what you want your focus to be then begin learning everything you can about multi: where are you looking, how many units, who is going to manage the property, etc, etc, etc. As far as looking at the numbers -- try using the BP calculators. They work well and offer great insight into what's profitable and why. You need to know the market where you want to invest (most people would suggest buying in your local market) and you might want to consider house hacking (living in one unit) for the sake of savings. House hacking would apply only to 2-4 unit properties, nothing larger. 

It's great to have your own criteria of what you want/expect and why but you have to make sure your criteria is relevant. Finding "good deals" is relative -- what's a good deal to you? By what parameters are you considering a deal to be good? Nevertheless, you will likely find the "good properties" through the building of relationships with commercial brokers or with residential realtors who work with investors and understand RE investing. I hope this helps. 

-dave 

Hi, @Rob Wilcox, 

Is there no way to ask for a zoning variance and make the property a legal duplex going forward? Not to imply that doing so is an easy task but is it an option? Other than doing some serious due diligence into the history of the property to see if it complies with the city's rules, you have to ask yourself is it worth doing all the work or should you simply move on to another property? 

-dave 

Hi, @Anthony Joyner, 

This is a common thread here on BP and you'll get as many different responses as you'll have people responding. I have held my license for about 15 years -- the same amount of time I've been flipping or investing. I personally find it equitable to have because it allows me access to people and to information faster than a non-licensed person. However, you do have to take the courses, take the tests, pay the money, take continuing ed. courses, etc, etc. 

As a licensed agent, you will also be held to a much higher standard than those who hold no license -- pleading ignorance in the court will not find you any favors. If you screw up, bend rules, break rules, say anything you shouldn't say you will have a hefty fine and potentially worse waiting for you. But all for good reason -- you are dealing with what is likely the biggest, most expensive purchase most people will ever make and you cannot take that lightly. You are a professional and should act accordingly. 

If you have no desire to make this (Investing or RE) a full-time career, I'm not sure would bother. Find a great realtor who is investor friendly and let them do their job of finding you great properties. It takes the onus off of your back and allows you to focus on other challenges. Hope this helps. 

-dave 

Hi, @Rudy Brown, 

I would suggest that spreading your money out would be much more advantageous -- you're not only growing your portfolio faster, you're also diminishing the likelihood of losing your shirt if one of the properties doesn't cash flow for a while, has debt, etc. Using the BRRRR method is terrific, assuming you know you can find a property that is undervalued, you know (or are mostly certain) you will be able to refi after the reno and you can easily find renters. But yes, you are correct in that you could only do one at a time. Hope this helps.

-dave 

Hi, @Michael Klinger, 

You have a few different options: you can ask the listing broker -- I have found that they are typically a fast and reliable source of knowledge. You could also, as you mentioned, call the tax assessor's office. I wouldn't necessarily mention the specific property about which you have interest but ask them what is their policy when a property changes hands, what is the current mill rate, etc. You could also try to get the information on a different but similar property -- one that has recently old -- and find out what happened to the taxes on that property. I hope this helps. 

-dave 

Hi, @Jamie C., 

Welcome to BP! Flipping can be very rewarding and also very hard work but at least you already have a partner with whom you can jump in and begin. My simple answer to you would be to look beyond who is putting in more hours or more work, per se. You need your brother to do the work and he needs you to put in the money. While he may physically put in more time, you are codependent of each other. I would suggest that if you were going to put in money but not time of your own, may be structure it 50/50 but since you're also putting in time, perhaps think of a 55/45, 60/40, whatever makes sense to both of you and whatever seems equitable. 

As time moves on and you start deal two, deal three, four, five, six, etc, the "duties" of each person might become more clearly defined. That's not to say you won't still put in some labor and also your brother might begin to contribute money as you guys become profitable. If I'm the money guy in a transaction and I don't do any labor, I structure my deals 50/50. With all that said, while working with family or otherwise, disclose everything and have everything in writing. Working with family does not preclude this being a for-profit business. Hope this helps!

-dave