All Forum Posts by: Emily Ford

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Irving.

Purchase price: $150,000

Property needed cosmetics & some foundation & plumbing repair.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Keller.

Purchase price: $129,500

I had made up my mind to do real estate investing 100% the beginning of September 2016. My mindset was to use Q4 2016 to get a mentor and educate myself before starting January 1, 2017. This deal came along from a wholesaler that I had just met in one of the REI meetups. I knew the area and recognized that it was a great location.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Flower Mound.

Purchase price: $117,000

This was my first SFR bought as an investment property. Found it on MLS.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Keller.

Purchase price: $129,500

Great single family rental that I was able to purchase fm wholesaler.

I'm sharing based on my experience....you're welcome to contact me if you like to discuss further.

1. What's the difference between syndication and private money borrowing? I can't seem to find a straight answer comparing the two. From all the podcasts and articles/books I've read, I get the feeling there is a difference. Just not sure WHAT the differences are, and WHY I need to differentiate between the two.  I'm a passive investor in some apartment syndications - meaning I gave lead investors $50-100k to purchase apartment complexes. I do not have any rights to the property as a passive investor.  On the other hand, I have borrowed money from individuals to purchase houses for flips/rentals.  I have only done one lender per deal for reasons to be discussed in question 3. 

2. Can I simply receive funds from a private money lender transferred directly into our business bank account? What is the typical route we would take when it is time to receive the funds in order to purchase our deals?  Consult with a RE attorney, but the basic answer is NO.  I utilize a title company for all of my deals. As such the title company sends wiring instructions to my lender and they take the funds and pay the seller on the day of closing. 

3. We plan on using a promissory note from here: https://eforms.com/promissory-... . Is this good enough, or do we need something more? What other documents would we need in order to protect our lenders and ourselves?  Consult a real estate attorney. I get the title company to generate the promissory note and deed of trust for the lender. One lender so that the lender has first lien position in the event that I was to default. He/she can foreclose on me and take over the property. 

4. Here is an example scenario: we find a property for $100,000 that we intend to flip. Rehab will be $20,000. We cannot find 1 individual to loan us $120K. But we are able to find 6 friends/family to loan us $20,000 each. Is it legal to create a promissory note with each individual, then pool all that money to fund our flip? If it is legal........how do we then get that money to the seller, closing attorney, agent, contractors, etc...in order to successfully complete the flip? I have not done this so I'll pass on commenting.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment.

Purchase price: $178,509
Cash invested: $5,800
Sale price: $339,500

This was different in that it was a preforeclosure; partner and I bought it from the owner and leased it back to him for a year. Seller was supposed to do minor repairs (paint, touchups, flooring) and we split profits with him upon sell. Seller paid rent till October 2018 and ended up having to be evicted. Partner and I had the repairs done and still split the proceeds (minus the cost of eviction, late rent and repairs).

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Trying to start investing business.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Door-knocking preforeclosure list. Got the buyer interested in speaking with my partner; went back later in the evening and partner and I negotiated the deal with the seller.

How did you finance this deal?

Partner provided 95% of funds; I provided the remaining 5%.

How did you add value to the deal?

I did all the follow-up, documentation, and communication with the seller.

What was the outcome?

Made the minor repairs and sold the house a year later which changed taxing to long-term. Split the proceeds with seller.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Should have taken the rent money from their proceeds upon purchase.

I don't invest in those areas unless I can see some type of regentrification; look at the planning and development websites to see if there are any plans for improvement in the area.  After that, it's about your risk and reward analysis. I'm investing in Tarrant County (Texas) and recently bought three rentals in a "not so great area". I'm the type of investor that fixes up properties to the level that I'd be comfortable living there - plus I don't want the headaches of tenants disturbing me that this or that is broken.  I'm a stickler for tenant screening.  The cash flow and returns on investment were worth it. Ex - I bought a property for $57k; put $46k rehab; renting it out for $1650/mth; appraised for $174k. 

I never include utilities unless I'm forced to.  For example, a duplex with a shared water meter.  I found out from the seller that the water bill is on average $120-150/mth.  I put in the lease that I would pay a maximum of $75/mth per address and that any overages over that would be charged back to the tenants.  I've owned the duplex for 2.5 yrs now and water bill has never exceeded the $150.  

My first property was a SFR with a septic system. I had a general inspection done but did not know to get a septic inspection performed. The old system was not working, and it cost me later down the road for the installation of a new system.

I email prospective tenants a tenant selection criteria that they must read and sign prior to them seeing the property.  I look at what property management companies charge for an application and price it accordingly.  I only run applications for the ones that I'm going to most likely rent to. I took an application fee from one gentleman that wanted the house badly even after informing him that I had an application that was most likely going to get approved as long as the background checks came back okay. I refunded him the money without him asking.