All Forum Posts by: Jason F

Both you guys should try to work with them prior to the auction.

If the home has equity, you probably aren't the only investor contacting these people. It would stink to be at the auction, ready to bid and have it 'called off' because some investor wired the money the day before.

It might also save you money. People with cash to spend show up at the auctions and they are usually willing to pay more than they should. Before I really began investing I would 'sandbox' and go to the auctions every week to see what properties went for compared to what was owed, what they were assessed for and how many of them never went to the chopping block.

I slowly realized that the good deals rarely went up for auction and when bids were placed they were usually at levels that even I knew was too high. You never know, a neighbor or rich uncle could be the one bidding against you.

I had a lady contact me that said she only needs 10%. I find that really hard to believe.

Other than the % discount they accept. Be very weary of the process and the contracts they need you to sign. I remember reading on some companies website that they have you use their purchase contract which says that you only have to go through with the sale if they buy your note after closing, or something like that. I asked the guy who contacted me how they expect me to 'reverse' a sale if for some reason they don't purchase the note post-closing. He just kept telling me to listen to the web-seminar that was coming up.

I also don't think they offer any guarantee that they will buy the note post-closing or at least at a guaranteed price. So what they might do is tell you they will give you x% and when you finally close drop that number down. Yeah, sure they might sing a Letter of Intent with you but that really doesn't mean squat.

I would be weary of these companies Alex. Most true note buyers look for a well seasoned note along with a lot of other things before offering 85 - 90%.

I use excel for all my budgeting/proformas.

It's nice to be able to gear a financial model to do exactly what you want it to do rather than plugging info into another.

I agree Jordan.

Hopefully the labor unions won't run all their companies into the ground either.

I think people will slowly realize the crap they buy from overseas will never stand up to it's US made counterpart.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a great show on FX.

The Office
Grey's Anatomy (never get married) (ever)

That's a good question. I know if you use a traditional mortgage you will default the minute you tear down the structure.

Maybe go to the bank and try to obtain a construction loan? I'm sure they would require some sort of plans for what you are looking to do.

I've always considered 'flipping' when you wholesale a contract or sell a property with no work. You are 'flipping' the contract to someone.

That show made it seem like 'rehabbing' was 'flipping'.

I have run into this same problem. Taking a 10 minute drive to the east side of Gainesville you quickly realize some properties must have 8+ people living in them. Not to mention a make shift bar-b-q food service business run during the weekends. But my tenants not pulling their trash cans back before 5pm on Thursday is cause for alarm.

Good point Tom. Same thing here. The larger complexes always seem to have overflowing dumpsters, abandoned cars and MASSIVE keggers that need to be maintained by the police on a weekly basis.

Steven, not being allowed to rent your home really takes the cake. Our founding fathers are probably rolling in their graves.

The funny thing is that Gainesville is a 'Tree City' and very big on keeping development at bay. The majority of the city dislikes the college kids (although they bring in so much revenue) and hate apartment complexes. However, they are making it harder and harder for SFH's to house a portion of the college-aged population. That is forcing more landlords to give up and more students to flock to the apartment buildings. Now most of Gainesville is covered in these cheaply built massive apartment buildings with the problems that Tom brought up. These thing are going to look like complete s$%^ in 10 years after they've had thousands of students living in them.

I guess that would begin with what you are looking to accomplish. Are you looking for a bird dog, mentor, buyers, investors, GCs, etc.

I would bring your business card and a pen. When you have a conversation with someone, write down what you are looking for on the back of your card and give it to them.