All Forum Posts by: Mel F.

 My apologies if I added to the confusion. If the property is in the Mountains, have you considered making it a vacation rental? Many of them go for $2-300 night, depending on the location. A one week visit by guests, and you've paid mortgage for the month... Just my $0.02...

 I'm in NC as well and wouldn't mind taking a look.

 It's my understanding that an attorney is not county specific although one may know about more resources provided in one county vs another. Title searches are usually additional fees but most attorneys can do one. The attorney usually facilitates the closing between the buyer and seller, but does not necessarily negotiate the terms of the contract.

 Hold your horses! Lol! Save some of these cheap properties here in NC for us newbies!

So... Let's kick off the Greensboro Forum! 

 It's awesome that you get that information for free and only a week later. Some of your competition may only be pulling data from a paid service every few weeks, so I'd say you have somewhat of a leg up. The only thing better would be to have a letter in their mailbox literally the day after receiving the default notice...

I would suggest sending a Check Letter. It's a pretty decent attention getter since most people might think they're receiving some type of refund.

@Trey Watson

I'm also interesting hearing what the majority has to say. In my county (population 220K+), their were 22 newly listed pre-foreclosures in the past week. Their are very likely 22+ REI's in my county so I'd say the pickings are slim and competitive.. This certainly wouldn't speak for the Houston market though.

 Thanks for the quick response. I'm not familiar with a 1031 real estate exchange. Does that mean I have to sell? A local realtor I've been working with for investments mentioned that we are in a sellers market in our city. Alot of new developments are springing up in every wooded area and vacant farm!

We're looking into another SFH.

I've found alot of good research on here about my pending scenario, but nothing quite fits exactly...

Our situation: My wife and I purchased a brand new house (4bd/2.5br) three years ago with an FHA loan. We are right at 30K in equity and starting the HELOC process to tap into the equity (We've been pre-approved, just awaiting fresh appraisal).

The current 3.375% mortgage is only in my name, but of course the deed is in both of our names. Monthly notes are around $965 and we'll be paying PMI for about 10 more months. Once PMI drops, we'll save about $140 month. Fair market rent in the area is $1200 but you can easily demand more based on nearby schools, neighborhood amenities, etc.

We want to move into a new house in the next couple of months for a pending household size increase. Recently entering into the REI arena, I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to get some cash flow.

We're considering using the HELOC to pay the down payment on a new house using an FHA, USDA(If eligible), or a Conventional 97 loan in my wife's name. I'm accounting for about a 5 month holding cost until our first qualified renter shows up. Other houses in the neighborhood have rented fairly quickly and for long periods of time (I was the HOA Treasurer of two years).

My questions:

1.Rent or Cash out?

2. FHA loans require owner-occupancy or enter the mysterious DOS clause.. Being married, I'm sure you see the dilemma their.. How do we overcome this?

3. Can we use HELOC funding for a down payment? Most loan apps ask where the down payment is coming from..

Hopefully this enough details for you all to provide solid advise. If not, fire away!

Thanks in advance BP family.

Count me in! I'm building a network of buyers as well in case you provide a deal that I can't close. I've been approved for various HML and lines of credit, so if it's a good deal I should be able to make somethings happen. Right now I'm looking at more wholesale to retail deals.