All Forum Posts by: Jason Hirko

There are a lot of active REIAs in Jacksonville. One that I have been to is run by a private lender who is a good guy. More importantly, what specifically are you looking for from a private lender? Are you looking for someone to lend to you out of their savings account or something more along the lines of an HML? Curating true private investor/lender relationships is a full time job and takes years of networking and proven track records to establish trust, but can be well worth it in the end.

In my experience, the 2% rule hasn't been a thing outside of C- and D class properties for years. Today's market has little to do with it.

Conventional rates will stay where they are throughout 2023, or maybe decrease slightly. The FED will do a 25bps increase to the FED rate tomorrow, and then leave it at that rate until consumer spending power decreases to a noticeable degree. But conventional rates won't necessarily increase commensurately with the FED rate as conventional loan demand continues to be at its lowest levels in recent memory (which is partially to blame because of fewer purchase transactions, but mainly is due to refinance demand falling off a cliff). 

The dirty secret about the FED rate is that in order to combat inflation, the FED has to reduce consumer spending, which it can only do by reducing wages. As long as wages stay high and unemployment stays low, the FED will continue to throttle the economy. 

The appraiser doesn't have a Crystal Ball, so take their opinion of value as just that: their opinion. They don't have access to any different data than a Realtor with MLS access, so if you and your agent truly can't find comps, there just might not be any, and an appraiser is just going to start making a lot of adjustments to get to a value. Your best bet (as others have said) is an agent who closes a lot of deals in your city. They will have the best feel for your market and how this house compares.

 Lien waivers are not a substitute for paying a contractor after the work is completed, they go hand in hand with it. Even if you pay the contractor after work is completed, you have no guarantee he will then pay his subs, unless you get a lien waiver. If that happens, the sub that does work on the property can lien it, which causes you a bunch of headaches. So you basically get the subs to waive their right to put a lien on the property in exchange for payment. 

I have a house under contract for 48% less than their original listing price from Q2 of 2022. I always say it never hurts to make offers and get OK with being told no. 

I buy off the MLS now, but I am also only buying 1 house a year these days so I can afford to be picky. Back when I was going for volume, buying direct from HUD was my bread and butter

I use Radian/Red Bell and pay $30/property

I would love to be able to integrate my BP profile and my website - like have my reviews on BP show up on my website or vice versa!

You lost me at "...my real estate agent pressured me to make a decision without explaining the consequences..."