All Forum Posts by: Mike G.

Whoa, great topic. It took me all a while to read through everything. I kept waiting to read why Jonathan thought that flipping REOs was illegal, shady, or even risky from a law standpoint. I never felt that he presented a case for his concerns. Is there anyone else who feels as he does that flipping an REO via a double-closing (or simultaneous closing) is a legally risky venture if there is no fraud involved? I can't see why it would be, but the reason I kept reading the whole thread was because I wanted to learn if I was wrong.

Thank you, Jason and Stephani for continually pressing the issue! I know this topic was started well over a year ago, but I just came across it and had to comment. :)

That was my thought, too. Gas isn't exactly cheap these days. Nor is time, ever. That said, it's probably worth the experience to try out the drive-for-dollars technique. You'll get familiar with the neighborhoods, and if you find one good deal it would be worth it.

Yeah, you can look for private money lenders to help fund your flips.

Also, I recommend speaking with at least 3 accountants. Interview them and choose the one you think is best.

Hmm. I wonder if you could have said loudly, "Okay, I'm going to call the police now, because I don't think you should be left alone at home" and then waited as their parents came running to the door. Just kidding of course. :)

Pat, IF you actually rented out the property and have all relevant documentation for that - lease docs, payments, etc, then I think you could make the argument that you're not a dealer (assuming you haven't flipped other properties). But really, you should work with an accountant who is familiar with real estate investment.

Max, I think the other paragraph in your link that is relevant is:

"...it is presumed that frequent lending by one individual to another in a manner that involves interest rates well above the prevailing rate might be considered to be part and parcel of an illegal loan sharking scheme in violation of RICO."

In other words, charge more than 10% interest at your own risk.

Also, I note that the copyright date at the bottom of the web page you reference is 2008, so if this matter is of concern to you, you might want to find out if Indiana now has a usury law.

Thanks for bumping this up, Duke. Now I have some cool podcasts to check out. Though it seems like 1 or 2 of them may not be running anymore.

I have read that the magic percentage for a minimum bid on a HUD offer is 82%. Don't know if that's still the case, but it sounds similar to what your agent said. If you're comfortable with the 85% bid, I'd say go with that.

Or the bank can postpone the sale for any reason it wants, or no reason. At least in California.