All Forum Posts by: Hattie Dizmond

There are several ways you can handle this transaction, each with its own set of requirements.  Just know, regardless of who you transfer the property to, you and your wife are the only ones legally responsible for the mortgage.  That same mortgage will also appear on your respective credit reports and will factor into any debt to income analysis for future borrowing.  I'm not saying don't do it, just understand that the exposure in this case is all on you and your wife.

Welcome JoJo!  You're among many Newbies from the DFW area.  We're all trying to figure this thing out.  BP is a great place to start. 

Hattie

Joe is correct.  You can "opt out" of the online data mining service.  However, you can still go to the DCAD and pull the information manually. 

Hattie

Welcome!  I'm a wholesaler focusing on the Richardson & Grapevine/Colleyville ISD's.  Feel free to give me a call or shoot me a line and let me know what it is you're looking for.  I'll be happy to keep my eyes open.

Hattie

First, welcome to BP.  You'll get a lot of invaluable information and help here that would cost you a fortune in fees or mistakes to get on your own!

Second, Richard makes some very good points.  Here's my extra 2 cents on a couple of your questions...

4)  Remember you are interviewing the banker.  You want him to want your business and court you, so don't come across as desperate.  Also, if you have the ability to do a couple of deals on your own, without outside financing, that will go a long way toward getting you the most favorable terms...just proving a bit of a track record.

5) 70% is a guideline and really is determined by what your costs are, and you need to be sure you are covering ALL of your costs...commissions, taxes, holding, reno, etc. You need to be exceptionally conservative on both the rehab costs (estimate everything high) and your ARV (estimate everything low). After all that is accounted for, if you are comfortable with the profit you can get from the deal, then the % on the spread is irrelevant. When it becomes relevant is if you are looking to Wholesale the deal.

6) If you are confident you can make payments on a HELOC, even if you had only 1 source of income, then it's one of the best ways to self-finance your own deals. The terms are usually great, and you can move quickly.

7) Look into the possibility of moving some of your retirement holdings into some form of Self Directed IRA. If you believe in your investments, why shouldn't you invest in them? I would seek out a Tax Attorney, because there are lots of possibilities and some great tax shelter opportunities. Plus, if you do it correctly, and you are conservative in your deals, all of your investments are fully backed by tangible, hard security...real estate. You have no security or guarantees with funds and stocks and the situation is a lot more volatile. The DFW real estate market has shown to be very dependable and not swayed by the bubbles other areas of the country have seen.

Good luck!

Hattie

Barrett,

I'm new to investing, but spent 20-years in banking, so the financial part is a little clearer to me.  In my opinion, the question starts with what your goals & philosophy are, what your time horizon is for those goals and how well you know yourself!

If, for instance, your REI philosophy is that of a buy and hold investor, with a goal of owning 5 properties (or cash flowing $x amount per month) within the next 3 years, then it makes a lot more sense to refi now to facilitate your goals. Even if your passion is to become a flipper, if you have a goal to flip 1 house per month over the next 12-months, and you need cash to start that process, then a refi now is still a good move. If you're simply looking to pick up houses along the way, as a part of your retirement planning, then hold on to the property at the current financing level and let it pay off, then bank the cash flow for down payments on the next properties.

Also, and this is the part about knowing yourself...or at least knowing how disciplined you are.  Refinancing the property to pull money out to start flipping or to purchase more holds doesn't mean you can't still pay off the property before the 30-years is up on a new mortgage.  If you pull the money out toward new deals, regardless of the type of deal, and you getter better at your deal making so that new buy & holds are cash flowing or producing at better rates, then you pay off whatever property you owe the least on.

Anyway...my 2 cents!

Hattie

Welcome to bigger pockets!  It is an invaluable source of information, feedback, support and advice you could never possibly pay for!

Hattie

Jake,

I'm new to real estate investing, but have lived in the Dallas/Ft Worth area almost my entire life.  We didn't experience the bubble a lot of the country did, but we had plenty of predatory lending that occurred.  The result is an estimate that a lot of folks here are still underwater on their mortgages and/or the foreclosures haven't peaked here, which creates motivation.  That is just one source of opportunity in this area.

Combine that with outstanding job growth, rising home prices and a record low inventory of houses for sell, homes are literally flying off the market, which means well done flips sell fast...really fast...and rental rates are skyrocketing, particularly in certain areas.  Those areas are select school districts that provide easy access to work and private school quality education at public school prices!  An example, a 2,100 sq ft, 4/2/2 home was cosmetically upgraded, no structural changes and no over the top finishes, just modernizing a home built in 1963.  It rented in 2-days, word of mouth, for $2000/mo.  They could have gotten $2,500 easy.  White collar tenants, signed a 2-year lease and have already improved the home, all because that was the elementary school they wanted.

It's a great market and a great time to be in it.  I am way more clear on the market, than I am on the actual real estate investing strategies and structure, but I want to learn and would love to partner with an experienced investor.

Hattie

I'm willing to work, doing whatever, for the opportunity to learn from an experienced investor in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.

I have a full-time job, so it would have to be off-hours or at least things that I could do on a flexible schedule, but I have time and the desire.

I have 20+ years of IT Project Management experience, business process reengineering, process design, etc., with expert level MS Office skills.  I also have general construction experience and am way more than a little handy.  I just want to learn.

If anyone needs any help with their back office systems or processes, that's probably where you'll get the biggest bang with me, but I'm not beyond doing anything.

Thanks!

Hattie