All Forum Posts by: Geordy Rostad

Thanks @Matthew Fassett and @Avery Gilmer, this is exactly the sort of insight I was looking for.

I did cold call a neighbor in an area I was trying to purchase in and asked him about a house near him that was in foreclosure. We had a great conversation and I did feel great about that because I did have something to offer him. I wanted to help him out by fixing an eyesore near his property and improving his property value and safety. That was a pretty easy call to pick up and make.

That seems excessive. I understand them not allowing you to shampoo. Most people ruin the carpet when they shampoo but I would think they would cause a bit of damage by pulling the carpet out to flip it over and check it with a blacklight.

@Matthew Fassett You're 100% right. My mindset is wrong on it. Honestly, I think I have some PTSD about cold calling from another job I did. I used to do social engineering tests for a computer security company. We would call the customer's employees and try to trick them into clicking links infected with viruses so we could report findings back to the clients. I never felt right about it because yes, we were helping the client but the individual employee would be in hot water if we fooled them. It was a bad scene. Obviously what I'm trying to do here is not nefarious but I'm still having a hard time getting around the fact of the matter that personally, I HATE receiving cold calls. I always try to operate with a golden rule mindset so this is a hurdle. How do I wrap my head around doing something to others that I would never want done to me?

@Avery Gilmer In my cold calling, I never said "Hey there, I'm interested in buying your building". Never anything close to that. But I have a feeling that many people before me have already burned through all of the patience of the people I'm trying to call. I have no idea what volume of such calls these people receive is but I expect it's relatively high. I was calling property owners in Tacoma and now I've heard Tacoma is one of the hottest markets in the country.

I sold a house one time to a rehabber where the previous owner stripped the home and sold everything including the metal roof! This was in the Pacific Northwest so needless to say, it was absolutely riddled with mold. Everywhere you could think of was moldy. My buyer knew it ahead of time so he planned for it.

He ended up stripping it down to the studs, he put a roof back on the house, then he hired a company to do ozone treatment on the house. They treated it for several days and moved the machines around into the crawlspace and into the attic, etc. After that, the mold was definitely dead. He painted out the worst spots with Kilz and proceeded to rebuild the house. The whole time during this process, he took pictures to document how it was treated so it could be shared with any inquisitive buyer. Obviously he had to disclose it on the Form 17 (Seller disclosure) so he knew there would be questions.

The house turned out beautifully. Ended up being a great project but certainly not for the faint of heart.

Your case sounds nowhere near this extreme but I still might consider adding ozone treatment to the excellent suggestions everyone else has already made. Also, document the process with photos. Post a few back here even. They might help someone later who stumbles onto this thread.

As a rental property, even at $285k it sounds like an excellent value. It beats the 1% rule by a long shot.

As a single family though, if you wanted to finance it, it still has to appraise. If it can appraise for the $285k, then it's probably worthwhile. If not, maybe the seller is unrealistic.

When the property was purchased, was it an open-market arms length transaction? Or was it one family member selling to another?

If you can prove yourself by flipping a few of these, then you can go to the bank and say "Look, I have steady income!"

Alternatively, can you find a cosigner to help you make it work while you're establishing yourself and making the move from "unemployed" to "self-employed"?

Hey Daniel, 

I just saw this fresh thread with a new investor who lives in Hemut. You should reach out and see if he can tell you about the good and bad areas or any other questions you may have about the area:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/55/topics/713917-newbie-from-hemet-california

There's a few things to consider here.

First off, for conventional lending, most of the lenders are using the same guidelines so if you are having trouble qualifying with one, that same factor could be an issue with another lender.

Second, you'll want to read the financing contingency in your contract to make sure that you can switch lenders midstream without defaulting on the contract. I don't know where you live so I can't claim any familiarity with the forms you may have signed.

Third, If you let a new lender pull your credit again, you could potentially lower your credit score which could cause you yet another problem qualifying.

Fourth, the appraisal you have paid for will not be transferrable to a new loan/bank. You'd have to shell out more money for that at the other institution.

Are you using a mortgage broker or are you dealing directly with a bank? When dealing with a bank, it can seem disjointed and can honestly seem like they are just sitting there looking for excuses to not loan you the money. When you deal with a mortgage broker, they act as your advocate and help you round up the paper work and if they see something going sideways with one lender, they can usually slot you in with another one really quick without skipping a beat. 

I'm not advocating that a broker is the only/best way but in some cases with more difficult qualifications for instance, they can be a huge asset.

Have you spoke with your realtor? What do they think? Make sure you have an open communication with them about this since they will probably be able to provide you good perspective on the situation.

Great! Welcome!

What sorts of properties are you going to focus on? 

Bay area is pretty expensive but I love to visit there on my way to Disney Land.

I hear Banner has some good programs for this.