All Forum Posts by: N.A N.A

Originally posted by "hairmetal4ever":

The ONLY way I'd buy right now, if I were you, is if you can legitimately find a property for less than 70% of its market value, and even that is suspect.

You have no cash reserves, a dangerous position for a homeowner to be in.

sorry to be obtuse but when the market is falling do you/REI consider 70% to be from the "high" sales we had last year or from CURRENT selling price???

In my opinion, we won't hit bottom until AT LEAST the end of 2008. The bigger problem is that we're on course for a major recession. Americans can only spend money they don't have for so long. In addition, our country is rapidly becoming a service economy which doesn't actually make anything. That means that our national wealth is being transferred overseas - NOT GOOD!

It's been a good ride for the United States, but the best days are behind us.

Mike

hairmetal you can ignore MikeOH's "doom and gloom" if you like but he is on target. Greenspan sold us down the drain and Bernanke is following suit. It is only a matter of time before China, Japan and our other international creditors decide to dump their ever weakening dollars. We've got the trade deficit, budget deficit, negative savings rate and record setting debt. All point to unavoidable economic pain and suffering in the very near future.

That doesn't mean there won't be opportunities in real estate and elsewhere. But the assumption that RE will "start going back up" vis-a-vis the recent bubble is misguided at best.

I've tracked it for a while, and the nearest I can gauge is that Zillow can fluctuate up or down very rapidly based on some formula the software uses to calculate their "Zestimates". Closest proximity sale price has a lot to do with it, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with matching #s of BRs BATHs, etc.

It's good for a cursory look at an area with which you're unfamiliar, but I wouldn't try to present a serious funding deal to any investor with numbers based on Zillow's estimates.

But the good news is that we DO qualify for a 100% VA loan and we CAN afford a small house! :lol:

Dh and I are 22 yrs old and i have the real estate bug although i've never done anything with it. Yes i am scared. We have to small children and I don't want to hurt my family and/or make us homeless. We are in the process of buying our first home and wouldn't you know it....every house i LOVE is a fixer. Liveable usually but still a fixer. We don't plan to flip right away but wait 2 years since EVERYTHING 2 years from now will make us move.

Heres a quick info about a house I looked at today that i LOVE already (and can see the wonderful way it will look). We are in tucson so prices SUCK but at least its a "bad" market...for sellers!

1700 s.f. 3/1.5 1 carport HUGE lot. Formal dining, large living room, regular dining, large bedrooms. No landscaping, decent curb appeal as is.
$163k asking price....my realtor/friend called and asked if $150k is possible and got a "possible" answer so we looked.
Needs: carpet in all bedrooms and hall. formal dining needs flooring (although for our use i would use it as afamily room so i would use the same carpet). All new windows, install a/c (only has swamp cooler), dryer plug (weirdest thing in the laundry room it only has a normal outlet and no 3 prong dryer but has gas hookups). Extras that would make it even nicer: add a master bathroom suite, covered patio, 1-2 car garage depending on permits, minor landscaping, love :mrgreen:

Some renovation costs i would guess at $15k for carpet, a/c, dryer plug, windows. No idea on the addition, garage and covered patio.

Realtor said this home would easily be worth $200k w/small renovations in CURRENT market. If we held onto it for 2 years maybe $250K considering its in the DESIRABLE part of town.

Anyways I am just wondering what you would do in this situation as a first time homeowner, investor/flipper. I wonder if we would be better of getting a townhome that needs less renovations but only keeping it 6 months while we fix it up. I just hate moving!! :shock:

whats up hair-

Im sorry but i can't help but laugh everytime I say that (lol). Well we all have are reasons for doing what we do and after reading that I would sayt that you made a wise decision! So now that we have that out of the way why not tell us what interest you the most about REI and our site as well? I would like to know to see if myself or one of our other members can point you in the right direction! Thanks for your time and I do hope to learn your name in the new future, talk to ya soon!

Hey there hairmental4ever-

Welcome to biggerpockets and I do hope you will keep enjoying all of our forums and members as well. So is the a name behind the face or would you much rather be called hairmental4ever? As for myself I couldn't picture yelling for someones attention down the street names hairmental4ever (lol)! So that's goood to hear that you are looking to rebuild your client database in a new state. Quick question what made you decide to sell three out of the four houses that you owned? Was it due to the fact that you didn't want to manage a property out of state, if so you could have got property management!

I am sure you will find what you are looking for on one of our forums so keep searching for REI never give up! Thanks again and please feel free to ask all the questions as you will soon see we here are all friendly!

Lender,
How long does a lender typically expect on seasoning? If I pay cash for a property, how long until I could refi and pull out some equity?
Bryan

rdinvestor,
I didn't realize there were tax advantages to an LLC. I was of the understanding that the LLC only protected your personal assets from liability if the LLC got sued.

I have been told by a number of mortgage companies that I cannot get a mortgage in the name of the LLC. I can have the property deeded in the name of the LLC, but I have to personally sign for the mortgage. Can you give me the name of your mortgage broker so I can try to work that deal?

Thanks,
Bryan (also from PA)

The extra veil of protection and the tax loop holes are the reason that all of my properties are under my LLC. I have not had any problem in getting a mortgage for my properties even when my company was new.

I don't think that you are being vague at all. I think that a basic plan with different exit stratigies is a smart move. You need to see where the opportunity is to make money and take it.

Good Luck,

rdinvestors