All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

You know, having seen all kinds of things, I learned to give benefit of doubt even when red flags are present. So, while she didn't meet minimum qualifications, I still decided to check it out. You never know. There are some counties in our State where I heard Judge works in his pajamas (not literally, but you get the idea), drinks tea with Prosecutor and defense attorney, then makes his ruling. One could be living in a not too populated area where people know and trust each other a lot, and many of the formalities are not kept. It would be wrong to judge a person from such background by applying NYC standards of operation. 

 I didn't get any photo ID from anyone. But when I demanded credentials, first he/she disappeared, then came back and provided a photo shopped image of what was claimed to be a license to lend, issued by State of Nevada. 

So, I went online and  searched  https://www.nvsos.gov/sosentitysearch/mobile/default.html   and http://di.nv.gov/ins/f?p=licensing:search , didn't find anywhere a lender named DIane Windsor, nor a lending company named "Windsordfunds Finance Company". So, I figured it was a scam and decided to warn everyone not to share private/personal information with anyone claiming to be a lender, until their credentials are verified on State's website.  

Yes, they are. Hard money loan with no origination fees/points, charging only 5% interest rate, with current interest rates on 30 year mortgage above 4%? Can't be happening.

Everyone, remember: all lenders must have some kind of a lender license or work for a registered  and licensed by the State company. To check lender's credentials go to Secretary of State's and division of insurance (or licensing/regulatory) page. Type in lender's name, their company name and broker or lender id numbers. Do not rely solely on the image of the license, those can be forged and photo shopped. Always check with State if it's a valid, existing entity and whether lender has a valid license. Do not give your personal information to just anyone who claims to be a lender. 

ALERT - To all Bigger Pockets users

I was contacted by user with screen name "Diane Windsor" who offered a too good to be true hard money loan, that requires no credit check and is based on property value only. He or she suggested to close within 72 hours, with 5% interest rate , with interest only payment for 12 months and no points charged. She insisted on one thing: my email address.

I asked her or him that I wouldn't be able to share any private information necessary for loan application processing if he or she didn't tell what company he or she worked for. Needless to say, I haven't heard from "Diane Windsor" since.

Please beware and do NOT share any personal/private information with anyone who claims to be a lender, but does not share their broker id or provide any lender information.

Best regards,

Eric 

ALERT - To all Bigger Pockets users

I was contacted by user with screen name "Diane Windsor" who offered a too good to be true hard money loan, that requires no credit check and is based on property value only. He or she suggested to close within 72 hours, with 5% interest rate , with interest only payment for 12 months and no points charged. She insisted on one thing: my email address.

I asked her or him that I wouldn't be able to share any private information necessary for loan application processing if he or she didn't tell what company he or she worked for. Needless to say, I haven't heard from "Diane Windsor" since.

Please beware and do NOT share any personal/private information with anyone who claims to be a lender, but does not share their broker id or provide any lender information. 

Best regards,

Eric 

Oddly enough , current downturn is artificially created. First, by a media hype of impeding "slow down". People read news, get scared and stop buying. Second, by Feds who are too afraid of inflation , therefore  must stop or slow down the economy by increasing the interest rate. These two things combined have slowed down housing market lately. 

In DC the main question is: how much money do you have to invest? I went to couple of investor meetups held by Walnutstreet Finance in Fairfax, VA (they advertise their meet up on this board as well), and they give plenty of valuable advise, absolutely free, if you just show up and listen. I also met couple of investors and realtors there. I wasn't interested in rental properties, as I was looking for fix and flip properties, so I won't comment in regards to acquiring rental properties in DC. But as far as fix and flips are concerned, the key to making it happen in DC is to have CASH$$$. You should have at least $150K in your bank account, which would allow you to get enough financing for the rest of the project. There are homes you can find in $250K-$280K range that need good amount of rehab work done, and as soon as you finish your project those properties can be sold relatively quickly, and you can make a nice profit out of it. I no longer look for investment homes in DC, because it's outside of my price range. But if you can afford to invest in DC go for it. Everyone I spoke with said good things about DC market.

P.S. You can't compete with large multinational corporations, they have capital, leverages and wholehearted support of the government at all levels. They can make enormous profits at razor thin margins, which will throw you out of business unless you want to donate your own money to run it as a charity. No one can grow in a place where market share is owned by few behemoths who benefit from 60% to 80% of all transactions. It doesn't matter how confident or "not in a newbie" mindset you are. Just as you can't fly jumping off the cliff , only because you are confident that you can. Laws of physics couldn't care less about your mindset.  But RE is one of the very few areas where a small guy (at least in theory) can make it. And, I am sure, anyone who has $150K-$200K cash in a bank account and healthy finances at home has a shot to get into RE investment business in DC.

Good luck!

I am a newbie, haven't bought a single investment property yet. I speak more like an outsider in RE, and my opinion is based on my general understanding of a bigger picture and lifetime of observation of things around me.

If you ask of technical side, I would say what you pay for investment property will decide the outcome of your project. Buy it for 60% of AS IF value, and you can probably wholesale it, you won't even need to rehab it. Rehab it, and you will make even more money. And if you are unlucky and buy it just before market crashes, still you should not be ruined. Because houses are unlikely to lose 40% of the value even if we have another Great Recession tomorrow. During the last housing bubble national medial price fell only by 6%, and only few markets took a hit of 13% to 20%. So, get the house for 70% or less of AS IS value (or 70% of ARV minus repair costs), and you should be Ok.

But above is just a math, the numbers, the logical side of it. Social interactions (of which any business is inseparable part of) is more than just about a drawing board, numbers, planning on the paper and executing your goal. We are collectively animals. Imperfect biological machines with all the passions, desires, fears and destructive, irrational behaviors of animals we observe in the nature. Things like your likability, manners, appearances can and will play great role in how well you do in this or any other business. Tone of your voice, choice of words will determine if the person on the other end of the phone will want to have more than 30 seconds of conversation with you. If that person happens to be the owner of the house, a subtle difference can make a difference between closing a deal or getting cursed for unwanted marketing call.

And to one or another degree this same pattern of interaction will follow you anywhere you go, be it a networking meeting, conversation with the lender, a realtor , an attorney and so on. More people like you, the greater your chances to have them cooperate with you and facilitate things along the path. Opposite will happen if you don't fit the mold and are not the type that most people would want to do the business with. To make things worse, this may have nothing to do with your true intentions or with what type of human you are. It has a lot to do with perceptions. And, in my personal opinion, your people skills (ability to deal with others) is of greater importance than your math skills and ability to figure things out in the drawing board. Because if those around you don't work with you , you will accomplish little even if you have brains of Einstein.

And if you have both people skills and a level head on your shoulder, well, then sky is the limit. Those are the types who boast of building a portfolio of 200 houses from $20,000 initial cash investment in a matter of 3 years.

Good luck!

Good morning, Are you going to cancel and reschedule the event due to weather? Or it will be held as planned?

Thank you,

Eric

I absolutely won't give up. I thought about getting into RE business for almost a decade. Few months ago I actually decided to do something about it. Even selected some properties that I made offers on. Fortunately, there are hard money lenders in this business and I didn't have cash to purchase and do rehab on my own. They did a great job declining to fund the projects. And that's when I learned that this won't be easy. In particular, finding properties that are worth investing won't be easy. 

The reason I won't give up is that NOTHING is easy. My 9 to 5 job is NOT easy. Going to school and getting a specialized degree is NOT easy. Doing anything that will bring you income is NOT easy. That is, doing anything that allows you to keep your dignity and self esteem.  Why RE investment should be easy? To make things worse, a lot of people seem to be getting in this business lately.  Which is not a good sign. Anytime too many people try to do something things just go South. There are  way too many clueless people who will "compete" with you bidding against you and over-inflating the cost of the property (essentially shooting themselves in the foot , because they can't think of doing anything better). Then there are gurus who are guaranteed to make money while you pay them to learn how could you save your disposable income.  And worst of them all, there is unpredictable market and property prices begging for major correction. You know market will correct, but you don't know when.

And despite all the obstacles and existing conditions I refuse to give and just prepare to work harder on finding my first property to invest. Because I know this should not be easy. 

The other thing that helps me this time around is that I have been in business some ten years ago, and learned back then that it's a jungle out there. So nothing surprises me, hits me hard or overwhelms me this time.  I just expect it to be what it is. And I know that if I just hit the right target, find the right property I will be on my way up. It may never happen, but nevertheless, I am determined for now to do what I can to find that one property which will allow me to start my journey into RE investment world.

My advise to you is this: have a thick skin. Know that nothing will be easy. Be persistent. Persevere and plow forward regardless of how hard it feels at times. Keep your full time job, don't listen to gurus who tell you to quit and do RE investment 24/7. You can't afford to do this unless you have savings enough to keep you afloat for years. Just keep your full time job and stream of stable income while doing all you can to find the right property to invest.

Good luck!