All Forum Posts by: Frank Chirkinian

Well I tried to login to my listsource account the other day and found the account had been canceled.  Now I've been a faithful user of listsource for sometime now for our direct mail campaigns (which complements are others) and I've spent a decent amount of money with them over time, so I was wondering why they would summarily cancel my account without a courtesy call at minimum.  So I called them up and found out that they have now changed their billing policy.  They are now demanding an up-front contract for the year based on an estimated number of records you'll be pulling throughout the year.  They are also demanding upfront payment based on your estimates for the entire amount for that year, and the price per record has gone up to boot.

Is anyone out there using another data service for their direct mail that is as good as Listsource?  If yes, then please let me and the rest of the community know.  

@chris 

@Chris Heeren There are also differences in markets, so if he's in a very competitive area, he may find better deals in areas that may be less competitive or secondary to whatever main market he's in.  That's where I've found the most success more recently as my market is extremely competitive.   Secondary markets.

Then there's the issue of who controls the senior debt.  Who's on first?  If it's a large institution or servicer, then you'll likely not going to have a very fast foreclosure filing by them.  It could take them a year or two to get around to it.  And there's very  little chance of calling them to talk over a loan assumption or satisfaction.  They're not going  to speak with you unless you have authorization signed by the person on the note.  So your sort of at the mercy of the guy on first.  Unless, of course you can get the borrower on the phone and work it out with him.  Have him sign an authorization to speak to the bank and get him to play along.  Tell him he can get out of a bad situation more quickly by working with you rather than have this drag out and affect his credit and ability to operation for the next two years.  

@Joel Florek And that's a brilliant post.  Here's a guy doing it the right way.  Take a page from his book!

Well let me chime in here.  

First off, anyone who is in the business has gone down the same frustrating road you're on now.  It's sort of a right of passage.

Having said that, you're also facing a poor timing issue.  When I first started as an investor in 2009, business was great and it was easy (on a relative basis) to do deal with no money.  I was buying short sales and doing back to back closings with none of my own money using 100% transactional funds from easy to find transactional lenders at 1.25 points only.  Most times, we were the only buyers for those short sale, so the banks had little choice but to sell it to us at a great price.  And, by the time we received an approval, we already had a buyer in tow. Those were the days.

Fast forward to today and all the short sales and REOs are competitively bid up to retail value and banks are not likely to discount.

Then, as the market improved over the last couple of years, seller expectations have changed so if you're doing direct mail, you're finding it more difficult to find sellers willing to discount their properties for a quick cash transaction.

So, some of this is not your fault at all ...just a timing issued.

Remember, the best of times are the worst of times and the worst of times are the best.  That adage has never been more true as it is relative to real estate.

Well if you're planning on getting the tenant out of the property, I think you need to be a little careful.  I know here in Florida, if I were to purchase a property with a tenant, I'd have to live with the existing lease.  Now you mention a rental agreement and I'm not sure what the difference is.

I know when I'm faced with needing the relocate a tenant, I usually pay them to move and fund their moving expenses if I want it bad enough.  Sometime the property is in dangerous and unlivable condition and that cash for keys strategy is the best way for me to handle it.

You need to vet them as any major bank would using fanny freddie guidelines as per Dodd/Frank act. I believe you also need a separate servicing company to service the loan. You may want to tell them to take possession in the name of an LLC and not O/O but as an investor. Investors are not subject to the same guidelines.

@Shelby Pracht I like this idea in the current market.  All of the primary markets in most metros have low cap rates given the competition in the marketplace.  However, drive 40 miles out of town and you'll find opportunities to by income properties in the secondary and tertiary markets with cap rates that exceed 10% regularly.  You just need to make sure you've gauged the rental market and know what the market garners for rents in the particular area.  I've been investing in multifamily outside of my market in areas most wouldn't think to look and it's work out well for me.  Just do you homework.

I'd be interested in seeing your Florida tape as well.

Not seeing lines items for vacancy factor 7-10% or management. Maybe that's why your NOI is higher that it should be?