All Forum Posts by: Don Coumbs

I make a practice of not evicting people, but these no eviction orders have changed the power dynamic in the tenant/landlord relationship and it is definitely making it harder to be a landlord.

@Account Closed, yes I was asking for an additional payment. Less than I stood to make on the purchase, but enough to cover my costs. The trustee initially agreed and then started putting off the transaction and finally cancelled it.

Eventually I was contacted by the criminal investigation unit of the IRS and the FBI.  The owner had been allegedly involved in mortgage fraud.

I posted because people should know that something went wrong with the property and that is why it is being foreclosed on. It is likely something to do with the financing, not the house itself. But even then, as had been said by several people, it can cause the new buyer problems. I see people (my competition) bidding almost retail prices for these houses, and I can't believe it. In my mind, a courthouse sale needs to be priced to account for the risk the buyer is assuming. 

My second purchase was a HUD repo. The agent HUD used stiffed the company servicing the property (winterization, lawn mowing, posting notices.) So we wound up with a lien filed months after our sale. It was less than $1,000, but at the time that was a big deal to me. As it turns out, HUD ate the fees and we didn't have to pay.

On a later occasion, I bought a house on the courthouse steps only to have the trustee contact me to "rewind" the sale. The previous owner was claiming a deployed military foreclosure exemption.  I had already recorded the sale and made an agreement with the tenants for them to continue renting from me. I agreed to resell the property to the trustee, lost the tenants and held the property for a few months expected the resale to go through.  Then the trustee decided not to buy it.  I had foolishly let them set up the purchase and sale agreement, and their contract had an out for them. This is not really a "burn" I still own the house and it is a fine rental, but it was a lesson learned for me.

@Kyle HippYou are so right about prioritizing family. I think you are also right about planning, but not letting the plan take on to much importance.

I know what you mean about how big a deal a few thousand dollars for repairs is.  There was a time that it was a huge deal, and with scale it becomes routine. Now watch, someone with the scale to think that my entire operation is a minor expense is going to scoff at me.

I buy fixers too.  I feel like my sweat equity is what makes me able to make deals. I did a pretty hard 4 weeks on a house starting in late August, but I was getting a fairly solid 6 hours of sleep a night.  You are hard core - and 17 years younger than me.

Way to go, getting free by your early 30's.

@Jeff Wallace, I had an economics professor who said that any non monetary compensation you can take from a job is %100 tax free. To me, one of the primary benefits of having a business is that I can do things the way that I want.

It sounds like you feel less management headaches, less debt and less risk is worth something to you. Any non monetary value you receive from that is all yours.  So far the government can't tax happiness.

I'm really tempted to do what you did. but I think my cash flow would go down marginally, and I am not quite that Dave Ramsey. Although, in a few years when I can clean up all the debt and still have enough to live on, I probably will.

@John Arendsen I have one in college now, one sophomore in high school. I hope to have a success story like yours in a few years.  It sounds trite, but that is the success that really matters.

@JD MartinBoy are you right about the boom. I wanted to contract that one, but all the tree services were busy. My college girl tenants wouldn't go near the place with that tree hanging over it and I didn't blame them. But I take your point.

You are also right about rehabbing an empty place versus working around a tenant's stuff and with them looking over your shoulder. I'll take an empty place any day.

If my plans go through, I will have another rehab in the next month or so.  I'll be adding a bathroom among other things.  I think I will do the plumbing and hire out the sheetrock, but to each his own.

@Jeff Wallace, Thank you for the input. I often feel like I must be doing something wrong since other people have gone to 200 doors in 2 years or something.

I take your point about lifestyle. Am I reading too much into your comment if I say risk avoidance is a big part of your decision too? I know it figures into my thinking.

I am also thinking about deleveraging. My problem is that if I sell the places I want to sell, I really won't increase cash flow enough to compensate for my lost appreciation and owner's equity gain as those mortgages pay down.  My current thinking is to wait a few years until there is more equity to tap by the sale.  Was your picture more clear cut? I read that your cash flow went way up.