All Forum Posts by: Johnie Hopkins

 @Larry N, do you mind sharing which insurance company you selected and your experience with them so far?  We are in the process of acquiring a rental in Baltimore and are looking for quotes from good providers.  Thanks in advance!

Hi @Christopher Mongeon,

I subscribed to Real Acquisitions over the weekend and it was immediately helpful.  Excuse the delay [and length] of my update; I responded to another thread with my initial review, but should have done it here.

So far...

Using its 'title information' and 'motivation %' searches, I found out just how motivated the seller of a property was prior to seeing it.  I was also able to compare the realtor's sales and rental comps to those produced by RA. That, too, was very good to have as I considered multiple rehabbing options after walking the property with a contractor.

Title Information lists all found documentation (deeds, liens, releases, etc.) while Motivation % lists potential owner motivations (delinquent taxes, suits, judgments, cancelled/expired MLS listing, orders). Many documents are directly available for viewing. For those that are not, the number can be used to find them on the County Clerk's website.

Looking forward...

I have created two Pipelines, each with its own search criteria, that update automatically and show the total quantity of applicable leads.  From pipelines, I am able to add properties listed to my named Campaigns (properties are, then, removed from the pipeline) from which addressed and property-specific mailings can be created for printing by a separate service or individual.

In summary, RealAcquisitions is truly a one-stop service in which I see real potential benefits.  I will continue to check out their weekly webinars and 'RA Academy' to learn how to use it more effectively.

Let me know if you decide to subscribe and what you find most helpful.

UPDATE:

I subscribed to Real Acquisitions and it was immediately helpful.

Using its title and 'motivation %' searches, I have a better idea of how motivated the seller is on a property as I prepare to make an offer.

As I am working with a realtor on this effort, I was also able to compare the realtor's comps to those produced by RA.  That, too, was very good to have as I consider multiple rehabbing options (and at sales and rental potential for both).

Thanks for the heads up, @David Ward.  I have found two contractors that I am interested in via Thumb Tack and will attempt to do a cross-reference using Angie's List. 

Through another recent post, a BP member introduced me to Real Acquisitions.  This is a pretty robust service that provides a grand amount of information properties (legal / homeowner / tax / title), including some county-filed documents and file numbers for others.  The polygon mapping, wide range of built-in criteria (vacancies/owner-resident/probates), custom/keyword search capability, and yellow letter generation all seem worth the cost as multiple services and websites would normally be needed to manage so much.

Subscription to the service would be an investment :), though I see real potential for its return to my pocket very soon.

Has anyone in Houston, San Antonio or Dallas / Fort Worth used other similar sources for data and searches; maybe even those focused entirely on Texas markets as is Real Acquisitions?  I need to make a decision on which service to use, but have not found one comparable enough to weigh in beside RA.

Thanks for your feedback.

@Dennis Rodriguez and @John Truong - Thank you both for providing input.

After the initial overwhelming response to my post (bad joke), my colleague referred me to www.thumbtack.com that facilitates meetings between investors/homeowners and service providers of all types.

I will definitely get a few referrals from the local REIA, as well.

Wish me luck!

Greetings, BP Team.

I am putting the puzzle pieces together in order to get ready for my first project, and ask that Houston-area investors reach out to me with the names of trusted contractors.

Specifically, I am in need of a general contractor that:

1. 1. provides estimates of rehab works that come reasonably close to actuals (firm bids would be a plus),
2. 2. is able and willing to do cosmetic work as well as studs-deep rehabs,
3. 3. has a dependable crew(s) and is known to hit targeted completion dates,
4. 4. is knowledgeable of Houston / Harris County permitting and inspection requirements.

As this will be the first of a long line of profitable projects, I really appreciate your referrals and any other recommendations that you could lend me.

Thanks in advance!

Johnie

After a trip to the Harris County real property records division, I found that external sources have, in some cases, better and more comprehensive tools than even the county has at their disposal.  Accepting that searches like this will almost always be one that I outsource in the future, I will try our Real Acquisitions and report back.

@Sohrab Khosravi,  Thank you for this tip.  

Following this thread has definitely added mold to my list of DO NOT TOUCH items.  Thank you for the very detailed feedback to Barrett.

@Carl Washington :  Good question.  I wondered about the same as a new wholesaler.  

@Matt G. :  How far back should a title search go; the lesser of the construction date +1 year or 30 years, perhaps?