All Forum Posts by: James Greenwood

A friend of mine just had an offer accepted on a HUD foreclosure in AR.

On the email that they got from HUD it states things about having intentions of using the house as a primary residence for 12 months, can’t sell it before 12 months etc. 

They plan to have it as a place to live part time between CA and AR but it needs work and will most likely take more than 12 months to get it ready to live in. Their intent is to live in it part time but the timeline for when they can start using it is undetermined.
I'm assuming that HUD is just doing their best to keep these away from investors/flippers.

The worry: 
The language in the email from HUD references fines of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment if not used as a primary for the first 12 months. 

Does anyone have experience or knowledge with this? 
We would love to have some guidance as to whether this is something that they should stay away from or if they are ok to proceed. 

Any help is much appreciated!!! 

They need to sign the contract within 24 hrs or they lose their earnest money. 

Thanks 

@CharitySkore 

Thanks for your response. That would be awesome if you could do that I would appreciate it. Let me know what information you need.

We bought a house in Northern California. Is it necessary to pay the county the $89 processing fee to get a copy of the deed. Is there any benefit to having a copy or is it fine to leave it filed in the county alone? 
Thanks 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Chilcoot.

Purchase price: $46,000
Cash invested: $25,000
Sale price: $229,000

Live in flip
1985 manufactured house on foundation

7 acres

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My dad was watching cheap foreclosures sell in 2012 and got me interested.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It was a bank foreclosure listed at $50,000.
I offered $45,000
Bank countered at $47,000
I countered at $46,000
They accepted!

(The good old days when you could make a lower offer on an already smoking deal)

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

$16k of my own money and $30k personal loan

How did you add value to the deal?

New metal roof
New gravel driveway
New shed and pump house
New deck
Exterior paint
New electric panel
Rv pad with water sewer and electric hookups
Interior: flooring, Sheetrock, paint, painted kitchen cabinets, hearth, windows and doors, bathrooms, walk in tile shower, mowed entire 7 acres.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned how to do all the work myself minus the electrical.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Paula Erle- Dickson Realty

I'm going to pursue a home equity loan in the next few weeks. I'm wondering if the banks approval depends at all on my debt-to-income ratio, or is it based entirely on the collateral in the home?

Thanks

@Jake Alger.   @Keith Underkofler     @Nathan Gesner 

This is helpful. 

@Steve K.Do you have a ballpark cost on error and omission insurance? And is this always paid by the salesperson or is it possible to be covered by the broker that you work under?

I have a goal of getting my real estate license this winter while things are slow in my primary business. 

I've just started looking at online courses that you can pay for: Kaplan, Duane Gomer, First Tuesday, Real estate Express, Allied etc. 

My question is whether going through one of these courses is how everyone does it or is there another way. If using a course is typical which is the best for someone who doesn't have a lot of extra study time?

Realtors, please share your detailed story about the path that you took to get your license. 

Thanks

Investment Info:

Other fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $19,000
Cash invested: $4,000

5 Acres

Bare Land.
Possible upgrades include, driveway, well, septic, home

Investment Info:

fix & flip investment in Great Falls.

Purchase price: $6,000
Cash invested: $6,500
Sale price: $15,000

5 acres (vacant land)

Sold with owner financing, trust endenture, $10k down and five $1,000 payments at 6% interest.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to do this deal primarily to gain experience in investing and secondly to make a buck.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A friend was looking at houses for his primary home. His realtor mentioned it in passing, he then told me in passing.
It was off market. The woman obtained it when her brother passed and she wanted to sell.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

I didn't add value. Just bought it cheap.
I did luck out though when a month after closing the cummunity graveled the main access road. No HOA, I never found out who paid for it. All I know was that it went from mud to graded gravel! Huge plus!

What was the outcome?

Sold for $15,000 after one year and a week of holding.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned that it is fairly easy to buy and sell vacant land without ever seeing a property, if you do your homework.
I learned how to do owner financing using a title company and trust endenture. I was surprised how easy the process was. Buyer pays the title company and they direct deposit into my account monthly.
My biggest challenge was deciding on its projected resale value with poor comps.
Even with a very low purchase price and limited risk it was very hard to pull the trigger.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I bought it through an agent that was way behind the times and I didn't feel comfortable using him to sell.
Found Gena Gremaux at Ridgeline in Great Falls through a friend. She was awesome. Investor oriented

Hello Maxine,

I just ran across this old post. Any chance they still have properties in Susanville that they want to sell?

I am an invester in the Susanville area.

Thanks 

James G