All Forum Posts by: Ann Watkins

Hi Mo and welcome to BP. You've gotten some great advice from the folks here already, which just goes to show you've come to the right place.

Welcome @Aja Rogers you will find a thriving market here in Houston. Bookmark BP as your daily read and you can't go wrong. There's a lot to learn while you grow and BP will prove to be a wealth of knowledge.

And yes, definitely get your RE license. It's worth it just to buy and sell on your own account.

Brightest Blessings!

@Charles Fealy

Welcome! And congrats on your accomplishments! UH Alumna Class of 91 here...great school!

You will meet some great folks here and find a wealth of information.

@Tanisha Smith

Welcome welcome! You've taken the first step to ensure your success in real estate investing, which is pursuing the knowledge. It only gets better from here. You'll find a wealth of information here and folks are more than willing to share knowledge and resources.

Like you, I began investing in real estate when my kids were very young and was blessed enough to have enough rentals to put them all through college with out anyone having to take out student loans.

You can do it!

Welcome indeed!

Broker Admission: Tari is a very hard working agent who always puts her clients first. She has the full support of the other agents at The Watkins Group to make sure her clients receive the full service and attention they deserve to get to closing!

Josh James Hey Josh that is good information. I've always done business with Startex and those folks are very helpful. BUT...but they still want to get paid. They did give me somewhat of a discount for just the lien information, but it was still like $150 maybe a little less.

I'm pretty frugal...lol...so for a property that may get pulled the morning of..I couldn't do it.

One thing I use as an indicator is when the property was foreclosed on. I usually pass on anything that the final judgment was too recent, because I figure those folks are probably more likely to come back. But if the initial delinquency was 4-5 years ago, to me that 4-5 years they ignored it and shows a greater chance they've abandoned the property.

It's really all like a big puzzle to me, putting all the pieces together and finding the clues...lol. I love this stuff!!! (sorry...it's the caffeine)

Sharon Hiebing So sorry I just saw your post. Yes you are correct I always pull my own comps before bidding or submitting offers for clients. My post was to share what tools I use and to fill in some blanks I still have.

For example getting a good handle (often in short notice) on whether or not there may a mortgage or other existing liens. MERS is one source, but not all mortgages can be found there.

And as an investor I really don't want to pay a title company to pull title unless I'm absolutely sure I'm going to bid. This can be tricky because it takes time to get the title from the plant, so you need about a week. But then the property could get pulled the day of the auction if the owner makes payment arrangements. So then, you'd just be out of the money you spent on the title.

I was asking about ways to determine first and second position liens without spending money.

I was doing my homework on a cute little condo that actual sold at the past auction for the taxes due. Whomever bought it did not do their homework (unless maybe it was the bank).

I found out that the property had a $49k mortgage, and that the sneaky HOA's were waiting until it went to auction and then they were going to file a $20k repair lien they've been sitting on, against the new owners.

The property is encumbered right off the bat at $79k plus the cost of the bid itself...I don't know what it went for but it started at $9k. PLUS I found out there were taxes outside the judgment years of another $3500.

All this and the comps come in at $39k....I passed...lol. It will eventually show back up at the auction or as a bank foreclosure and I may make a run at it then. Because as an REO all junior liens would have been dealt with.

I'm not a pro at this and am just finding my way, and trying to learn without too too much trial and error...so if anyone has any input please please please chime in.

Thanks Sharon and yes we need to meet up and do coffee or something.

Hi Stephen and welcome! We should talk. I have a son stationed in Japan who is also in the Navy. I'm helping him find properties here in Houston, so that while he's away he can start cash flowing. He's originally from Houston but was stationed in Cali before he and his wife got shipped out.

And yes I am a Realtor here in Houston.

Yep what Joe Liu said. Cash is king, but also if you're terms are better. Quicker close and sometimes a higher earnest money, but you have to be careful with that on. Your buyers could wind up losing their earnest money.

Probably the most impacting of terms is not having a bunch of terms or other wants and wishes ($0 closing cost from seller, don't ask for home warranties, for the pool to be cleaned, etc)

Jennifer Lee Hi Jennifer,

This is exactly why I went with a transactional brokerage right off the bat. I didn't want a big name firm dictating what I could or couldn't do with my license. As most brokers would want you to be doing a certain amount of cold calling or knocking on doors all day long to get listings.

I initially started off buying for my own account, but then found all my friends and family wanted me to help them find good deals too.

With my first brokerage I paid $179/yr and then a $150 transaction fee every time I closed a property. Strangely enough, by just dealing with folks who sought me out, my referral business grew and I started getting serious buyers and sellers due to word of mouth.