All Forum Posts by: Danielle Hammond

After a few months of research and digging, I have decided to start out my investment business with vacation homes. I am going to get my realtors license and work for a local realestate company who I have talked to a few times and are very helpful. They will provide me with knowledge of the area, help networking, and provide office space to get started. My business will be whatever I make it, and I will pay them a percentage or flat rate for 1-2 yrs. I figured this will be a great way to learn and get my feet wet - risk free. I guess my next step is learning how to find and manage property rentals. Does anyone have suggestions for this type of work. Id like to know a little on my own going in- rather than relying on the brokers and showing what a lost puppy I really am. I hope I can start my business and bring in my own cleaning and maintenance crews so the actual homeowners don't have to do any work and can enjoy a profit off their properties that they normally pay to winterize and lose on taxes. 

Advice please! I love books and blogs if anyone has recommendations. 

Originally posted by @Joel Owens:

The problem is if you have that many collections they will be looking to lien anything that has potential value.

Paying hospital bills month to month re-seasons the timeline on the ability to collect.

Companies buy this stuff from hospitals and docs for a few cents on the dollar and then add crap fees to it.

What you should try to do is negotiate a settlement considered payment in full and also they delete the account off of your credit reports whichever they are showing on.

How much hospital bills are you talking about?? If you have low income and high debt filing a chapter 7 and blowing it all out and starting over might make more sense.

Credit can usually be cleaned up. Some people just dispute the debt as not theirs and then if they keep giving to a new collection company they sue them in court. Filing in some areas only costs 100 bucks. When they see you have filed they likely will just settle in your favor rather than pay their attorney thousands to show up in court.

You have to know how the legal system works.

You might need to re-assess your plan. If you did a chapter 13 those keep your credit in the toilet while under the plan. 90% do not finish the plan ( usually 3 years)  until full discharge  and the case gets dismissed for non-payment. Then all the frozen creditors lump on more fees and interest and it is higher than before.

The chapter 7 blows it all out if you qualify and immediately in a few months you can usually give someone to start offering you credit again with a small amount to rebuild ( few hundred bucks credit card with a deposit etc. ).

Also because you have credit issues a hard money lender or private lender will not feel comfortable lending no matter how good the deal is. They make money and velocity by charging upfront points. Get the money out and get it back in quick. If a borrower new to rehabbing with spot credit gets stuck with the property the HML lender wants them to be able to refi out and qualify for a landlord type loan. The HML doesn't want to be stuck extending the loan. Remember they want points, points, points. Some companies have investors that invest with them and they pay a set fee in interest ( return ) to them so the points are their spread. If they have loans extended all the time they are not making any money ( points ) for themselves.

Maybe if the deal is so great why not you just assign this deal for someone else to buy and then use the funds to dig yourself out of the hole etc.

No legal advice given.   

joel, it would not tag you, my response it above.

Originally posted by @Ryan Dossey:

Why don't you look for someone to partner with on the deal/future deals? 

There are tons of people who have money but no deals.

I have a partner, but he is in the process of getting married and building his house. :( He will be will me in future deals next year, just found this opportunity and didn't want to miss out on it.

@Joel Owens

(MY NAME tag does not work?? on my phone or laptop?? I don't get it. )

My hospital bills were Originally $50,000. I was young and NAIVE to collectors, when I should have filed bankruptcy immediately. For the past 2 years I have been doing exactly what you stated.. Saving money... calling them and settling, I never get that great of a deal. the last one settled for $600 on an $1100 bill... and they wouldn't agree to remove it completely. Some have, and I've gotten better deals. I am learning to talk to them.

 I have them knocked down to $10,000 remaining. These are spread out under different companies, making my credit report look like a disaster. It is seriously taking the life out of me, but I feel like I worked too hard and did too much to file bankruptcy now :(. My ONLY other debt is my student loans from US DEP of EDUC. It is only 1 bill, and shows up as positive remark on my report, as it is paid on time every month. I have NO credit care debt, except a secured card, that I use and pay every month, for building purposes (shows up positive on my report as well). Nothing else!!! I never went out and bought luxurious things and then refused to pay, I pay my bills on time every month (of course those are not reported). Just hospital bills from losing my health insurance for 5 years in college.. pretty lame my punishment is so harsh. I am doing what I can, and soon will be in the clear.

PS, when people tell you that you can ignore hospital bills, because they have no affect on your credit, Do not listen to them... this is VERY UN-true... LOL, my mom did not have a full grasp on how things work.

JOEL, I appreciate your time and advice, very kind of you.

This was my response..

More better?? lol, I would love to work with you, but if you can not produce a proper sentence then I do not think you should be working with a bank, or handling my finances. A little advice is to learn how to speak proper English and write in complete sentences. You will have better luck making deals and connecting with the people you are trying to scam. If an actual business owner saw such an email- with such horrible grammar, you wouldn't have a job communicating with clients. Duimount Finance Home , is not a company.. unless you spelt that wrong too???

Thank you for your time.

THIS is my latest scam I received today!!! lol... these people can NOT be serious??? can they?? ... "credit card which is more better.. " Also, he knows my name, he contacted me, and when I replied to his original message my names was signed at the bottom. I just can't stand it. ...

Thanks for getting back to me , whats your name?we are legit and secured and located at Houston Texas, My name is Mr. Alexandre Scott, i work with Duimount Finance Home , Bank agent name is Barry Done , were you can get your loan easily and faster. we can help you with the loan if only you can agree with the terms and conditions,... there are no upfront fees if only you have a credit card, cos the bank agent will transfer the funds directly to your credit card which is more better, faster and secured . but if you don't have a credit card you will pay a fee for the bank transfer. this is what you need to understand before we get started with the business.

Originally posted by @Barbara G.:

I saw an old internet add for your house which was listed under Sale by owner

So I guess the owner was trying to sell it. Try looking at that FSBO and maybe you can find some information on the owner

Why don't you write up a proposal for the owner on owner financing and present it to the realtor.  I think they are obligated to present any offer to the owner. So your offer would be in writing and they would be obligated to present it to the owners.  You can even ask the head of the real estate agency to ask your realtor to present it?  If they see it in writing it would frighten them not to present it. 

Its a small town the neighbors must know who owns it. Just drive around and ask them.  You can even get a reverse telephone listings and call everyone around there and someone will tell you.

If you can get the house  livable you can move in with your dog and get the one, other great apartment renovated and have someone move in there.

About the boiler maybe you can get the boiler on a Home Depot credit card and work out a payment arrangement with a plumber.  Maybe you can get 2 boilers and get something else for electric heat on the attic floor?

How many burst pipes are there and do you know where the leaks are coming from?  Is the water turned off?  I guess so

Maybe if the owner is desperate enough you can work out something with

them

 one boiler is for all three units. To get everything repaired (pipes and boiler installed) is $12,000.00 I have asked the realtor about financing and they will only finance the $25,000.00 for the property with 20percent down and good credit... same as a bank.  I am going to try contacting her again on monday... I dont think they are going to work with me without cash in hand. It is priced to sell because they are trying to make a quick flip profit. I kniw everything about the original owner... they would have worked with me... the NEW owner just purchased for $5,000, on an auction I believe so no one knows anything about them... this happened like a month ago. There are no utilities... so thats more money. My sister may be able to purchase for me under her business name... but that wont help me refinance through a bank under my name when it is ready to go.It actually will not help me at all besides getting if off the market :/

I have bad credit and little money. It is starting to look like I will lose out on this and have to wait for another opportunity. A hard money loan would have worked wonderfully and would have got me started and on a good path, I am going to keep trying.

Originally posted by @Barbara G.:

Hi Danniell

There is a blog called:

Rent-to-own Help!

29 posts by 16 users

This is from the sellers view but there might be some information here that you can use.  Take a look at it ans see if anything could work for you?
Who owns this property?
Are they local people or is it from a bank?
Barba

Its through a realtor and she wont tell me who owns.. rent to own would not cover the $12,000 in repairs for the boiler and bursted pipes.. it is not move in ready :/ (i have looked at and tried EVERYTHING. My only option is a private/HM loan)

Originally posted by @Matt Cramer:

Have you tried local banks for conventional financing or is that not an option? Tell us a little more about your scenario so we might be able to recommend the right type of deal or lender. Is private money the only option because you want it or because you have to go that route?

 my credit score is damaged from hospital bills in collections I am putting everything I make toward paying them off. Private money is my only option. :/ grr

Originally posted by @Chris L.:

The numbers do sounds really good for that property. A few thoughts come to mind that could wipe out your profits:

Are there any liens on the property? ie tax liens?

Foundation issues? The scary thing about foundation issues is that when you try to fix them, it could lead to a ripple effect of other repairs that need to be done.

Buried oil tank? I'm not sure if in your area, sellers are required to remove them. In that process, the tank could leak and you're in a world of hurt paying for soil remediation. 

Rental market? You sound like you're in the beginning stages of looking into rent rates in the area. What you will pay might not equal what others would pay. Call all the For Rent ads on Craigslist and ask how long the rooms have been vacant. Also ask if they've noticed any trends in the rental market. Or talk to agents. Demand could potentially be very different from what you think. And what a place is listed as for rent doesn't necessarily mean what it will end up being rented for. When asking people for money, you will give them more confidence in you if you can gauge how tight the market is.

History of mold? Even if you don't see it, that doesn't mean it's not there. Black mold is toxic and lenders such as FHA will not loan on those properties (not sure about 203k loans).

Best of luck to you, I hope everything works out and you are able to make this deal happen! Keep us posted!

 thank you for your reply! Foundation is good.My boyfriend is a mason, so thats all been checked. Mold has not been. I am waiting to have an inspector walk through. But so far none has been seen by my people. I know the market in my town probably better than anyone else.. I watch everything. I know who the competition is (not much) the biggest realtor/flipper/renter that owns ALOT up here is a slumlord that people are starting to hate for allowing all the drug lords out on the old AFB... he will slowly be pushed out or retired... his son will take over and he already has his dads bad reputation. There are a few others (friends mostly) with only a couple of small properties... we would work together and hopefully get rid of the slumlords making the pricing market so low with junk property. I literally know everyone in my town and what everyone has asked for in the past. This town is thriving in repairs.. rebuilds. New library new park. New police force. Right now might be low.. but it is.. and will raise. If there is onething I am sure of.. it is pricing. I will ask more if my funds for renovations are high enough to make this a beautiful safe place to live. And that is my goal . :)