All Forum Posts by: Craig Shrimpton

Thanks for the info!

Looking at a 3 family property that also has a small detached commercial building that could be used as a store, office, or workshop.

Would I need a commercial or residential loan for this?

Thanks

Discharging a firearm in a dwelling is generally a criminal act. His action has threatened the health and safety of all tenants (you) in the building. What if the bullet went through the wall and hit you in the head?

They have to go pronto. Talk to a lawyer, you probably have the right to immediate termination of the lease. However, you most likely have to follow the legal eviction process unless you can get a restraining order since there's no way to predict if he'll come back and do it again.

While the homeowner is hosed either way, he is less hosed if he sells to you. However, you are profiting directly from his misfortune, whereas the bank is not if they are forced to foreclose. The bank almost always loses money on a foreclosure.

The other interesting side effect is you are also helping the bank by enabling them to avoid a foreclosure and saving them a potential loss due to fees, etc.. In fact, the greater benefit is to the bank as they get near full value on the original investment.

Are you a white knight then, or just a profiteer?

It's an interesting ethics question.

All,

Please help me get my head around a basic principle.

One of the basic points in buying for cash from distressed owners is the investor is somehow helping them. I'm trying to figure out exactly how.

For example: You find a house that has an ARV of $100K and the buyer has $80K of equity. He's late on his mortgage and the bank is threatening to foreclose on the $20K balance and he comes to you looking for help.

You determine that due to neglect, it isn't worth $100K because it needs $20K worth of repairs to get it to $100K. You offer him $56K for the house thus leaving him with $36K in equity/cash after paying off the mortgage.

However, if he just lets the bank foreclose and they eventually sell it to you for $56K, isn't the owner in the same position? The bank can't keep more than they are owed.

What am I missing? (I think I know, but I'd like to hear the explanation)

Thanks,

Craig

When you select a city there is an input box near the bottom of the page for getting an estimated value. Enter the address and it will return the closest recent sales similar to the target house. You still need to manually check the sqf and conditions, but it looks like a reasonable value to me.

They are around 6-7 months old and I'm not sure if that's due to no sales or lagging data.

I'm using it as a ballpark figure. 

Thanks,

Craig

Are the comps you get from city-data.com accurate?

Thanks,

Craig

@Doug Merriott I've looked at Pittsfield and there are properties that will cash flow, but you have to be careful. There are a lot of sub-600 FICO neighborhoods there. I think it's pretty risky for a newbie like me.

Craig

Hello,

How's the flipping market in Worcester? I used to live on the west side and my first house was an REO that I got cheap which I sold 15 years later for a big profit. However, this was almost 10 years ago and I'm sure the market is very different now.

Just wondering if there are any areas worth looking at for REOs and short sales for moderate rehabs.

Thanks,

Craig

@#$% that auto correct! The bank may have had an obsession, but they actually took possession.

lol.