All Forum Posts by: James W.

I would inquire on the terms of the 3% as it seems too good to be true for a 30 year fixed. It may be a variable rate loan or a loan with a much shorter term. It might not be a bad idea to look into a FHA loan as you could get in with a lower down payment if you can qualify.

I would work on getting pre approved before getting too serious on the purchase.  

Non owner occupied conventional loans require 25% down and plan for an interest rate of 5%+ for 30 years fixed.  Not sure how recent your 3% rate quote was, but that does not seem right in this rate environment.  Might want to double check that.  

@Bruce Runn  Jordan was probably looking at the link below:

https://www.housinglink.org/List/RentLimits

If you pull up HUD fair housing rents, which I believe is what Section 8 is based off of, it shows the same rates you have posted in your link. I'm not sure why the link above is showing that high,

I'm not an agent, but agree that the market is doing really well in the twin cities market now.  If agents have deals, they are selling.

I think the struggle you would have is getting business in the first place.  If you are not from the area and do not have many connections for buyers/sellers, you need to figure out how you are going to get any work.  It isn't a job where the work will just fall on your lap.  You need to find the buyers/sellers to make any money.  That is the tough part about getting into RE.

I do not think they will necessarily approve the full amount for each property either.  I looked into it several months ago to see if it is something I should try to consider for one home but decided against it at the time.  I think the person assigned to the case needs to look at comparable rentals to see if that rate is reasonable as well.  If a 2BR in a lower class area rents for $1,200, I don't necessarily think they will approve $1,400 for someone with full assistance just because it is within the limit either.

I might possibly have a project or two in the cities in the near future.  If you send me a message, I might be able to have you tag along or come take a look if schedules would align.  

@Tom Gimer This was a tax forfeiture so my understanding is that the state of MN took title via the unpaid taxes and this sale makes @John Woodrich the legal owner of the property.  He is purchasing the property, not a lien against the property that is past due by the owner.  

In looking it up online, the state of MN takes title to the property via a State Tax Deed and that is what they are conveying on sale.  

I use Zelle where possible but not every bank/credit union works with Zelle so it is not perfect for every situation.  I have a triplex where none of the tenants bank at a place that uses Zelle so I need to do that separate.  I opened an account at a credit union nearby, gave them my business name and member number (not account number) and they can just go deposit it for me at the teller station.  They don't have my actual account number and I can transfer money to my normal account if needed.

Its a great deal for those with lower class properties, but for those with nicer properties, it puts a different class of tenant you might not want to rent to, closer to being within reach of your property.  I do not have anything in the city of Minneapolis, but I believe the Minneapolis rates apply for several areas in the metro as well from what I recall. 

It will be interesting to see if those raises are pretty much automatically approved by their offices. 

I looked into it once and believe the rates above still need to be approved by someone in their office and deemed appropriate for an area.  

I wonder if this has to do with them not being able to enforce the change they were pushing through that required landlords in Minneapolis to accept section 8.  I know there was a group suing the city over it but don't recall seeing how it ended.