All Forum Posts by: Greg Scott

@Account Closed Just one? I recommend getting about 20 realtors. The best deals won't be on MLS so you want a lot of realtors out looking for you. When the stumble upon a killer deal, you want them to call you first.

The group I learned about how to do this is putting on an education event this weekend in Detroit.   Great stuff.  Check out my posting in the events section.

NARPM.org is a great website to find property managers in any city.  I would look for ones with more designations.

If you look, one of the best in Detroit is Richter & Associates out of Livonia.  I use them for my local properties.

In fact, you can meet one of their people at an investing event this weekend in Detroit.  Check out my posting on the Events section.

PS  If you haven't followed the link yet, please note that this event is actually two days long, both Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday tends to focus more on single family investing and Sunday more on apartments.

PPS I just learned they have about 50 people already signed up.  Spaces may fill up.  If you are interested, you should reserve your spot soon.

Fellow Metro Detroit real estate investors:

I wanted to make you aware of an upcoming education event that is a do-not-miss opportunity.   August 5 & 6, Lifestyles Unlimited will be coming to Detroit for an education seminar on single-family and apartment real estate investing.  givemetotalfreedom.com

Lifestyles Unlimited is the largest real estate education and mentoring organization in the country with literally thousands of members. (I've been a member since 2011.)  Lifestyles is based out of Texas with physical offices in three cities, where they have live classes and events. Because of their down-to-earth education and strong network of members and vendors, their members dominate the Texas single family rentals and apartment scene, owning many thousands of houses and apartments. Lifestyles is now expanding nationally and Detroit is one of only five cities they are visiting this year. This may be your only chance to learn from them without having to buy an airplane ticket.

This is not a hard-upsell organization.  The $200 entrance fee also gets you a year-long membership with ongoing access to dozens of on-line training videos, webinars, and live events (mostly in Texas).   Many members buy only the annual basic membership over and over and never anything else.   

Why do they stay members for years?   It is an amazing value.  As a long-time investor, I believe this is the best bang-for-the-buck in real estate education.

Why am I posting this?  I get zippo financially if more people come.  However, I have seen  how powerful it is to have a strong network of like-minded real estate investors who come together regularly.  Bigger Pockets does this in an amazing way on-line.  Lifestyles, with their education, mentoring, and networking opportunities, you can have this same feeling in person.

Again, check it our here at givemetotalfreedom.com

Hope to see you there.

@Ned Carey  I suspect you are right on both counts.   There are legal battles going on now between powerful people with much more resources than I have.   I think I'll stay out of the fray for now.

@Kenisha Forbes @Jerry K.

Here is a follow-on to my previous posts.  Thanks to Kenisha and Jerry for providing potential leads.  I followed up on them and it was confirmed that the liens are effectively worthless.   Technically I own the rights to be paid on those liens for 20 years, but given that they are liens on undesirable rural land, the likelihood anybody would buy them is remote.

All of my liens were selected and bought for me by PIP with the intention of getting them either redeemed or foreclosing on the underlying asset. While I am sophisticated enough of an investor to accept risk and losses, others familiar with tax lien investing indicate it should have been easy for them to predict that many of those liens would become worthless.

Sounds like you were trying to get a conventional loan.  There are options.

Easiest is seek a local bank out for a portfolio loan.  (Loan held by the bank and not resold)  They are technically commercial loans against residential property.

Alternatively seek private money lenders or, if more pressed, a hard money lender.  After your 2016 taxes are filed, which should be very soon, you can refinance into a conventional mortgage.   Talk to a good mortgage broker (not a bank) about how this last part works.

Good luck

@Tyrone Watler

Good job finding a motivated seller.

First rule, ignore the tax assessed value.  (How often is the government right?)  You need to find comps to assess the value or potential value of this property.

If you are lucky, the property is actually worth much more than that.  If not, this is a much tougher deal.  I know there are strategies out there to try to turn this into a deal, such as short sales or note buying.  I am no expert in those.

Good luck

@Melissa Cunningham

How good is your deal? What is the purchase price vs. current value? What do you anticipate it needs for repairs and what is the ARV? I would be able to communicate those clearly, otherwise nobody will talk to you about this deal.

With a short fuse, I think your best bet is to contact BP members who are active investors from NW Ohio.  Also, call your local RIEA.  They should know somebody:  

http://toledoreia.com/

@Carolyn Keller

Great start!  Keep going!

My goal is to never have a rent property that is paid in full.   For some reason people are scared of debt, but a responsible amount of debt is actually much smarter than debt-free.   Why?

• You more likely to attract a lawsuit on a free-and-clear property.
• Your cash flow is likely so large, depreciation won't offset the income so you pay taxes.  Mind experiment:  What if you got a mortgage for 50% of the value then bought another identical property with a 50% mortgage.  (same amount invested)  Run the math.  You will see that you make a ton more money, and likely pay less, or no taxes.
• Leverage is the key to getting wealthy.   If your house appreciates 10%, and you have no debt, you just got a 10% return.   Using even the very conservative 50% example above, that same appreciation now gives you a 20% return.  Imagine how stunning the returns are if you have an 80% loan-to-value mortgage.

I would call a mortgage broker and see if they can help you with a cash-out refi.   If they can put you in a traditional mortgage with low long-term debt, it would be ideal.   If they cannot, seek a local bank that can provide a portfolio loan.