All Forum Posts by: John Arcana

I think it is beneficial for individuals looking to invest with little or no money to find and build deals where they can bring on a partner who does have the cash and structure it to where that partner gets the bulk of the profits. Find your deal, run your numbers, then find your investor partner. Sometimes it's difficult to find someone willing to invest with you if you have little to no skin in the game but if the potential return is good enough and you can sell yourself they may take the risk. For example, you could approach an investor with a deal that conservatively could make $40k. Offer them 80% of the profits while you take 20% for your work and finding the deal. Yes, you'd be taking way less than you would/should under regular circumstances but it could payoff dividends in the future. Yes, you'd only be making 20% for doing all the work but look at what you've gained... an investor for more deals, experience in flipping, and a chunk of money to put toward your next deal. Repeat until you've go to enough cash. The key when going this route is selling yourself and proving your competency to your investor since you don't have the skin in the game.  Good luck! 

What is the typical interest rate on a HELOC?

Buyers don't any commission is a real estate transaction. Seller pays the commission for both sides. As a buyer you're responsible for paying the closing costs, which can vary slightly in different areas. And of course you can negotiate to have some or all of the closing costs paid by the seller.

Jeremy Bates I am a 28 year old full time Realtor and also an investor. I'm in the neighboring Beaumont, Tx area and I have access to the Houston MLS as well. I began investing at age 26 as well with rentals and will be tackling my first small flip next month. Coming from New Orleans to Beaumont in 2012 I was shocked at how much less expensive the housing market was here than larger metro areas so I knew I wanted to take advantage of it here. You don't need much cash to start here. Just to give you an idea of the bang for your buck here, I bought a 1200 sq ft, 3/2/1 new construction for just over $100,000 as my primary residence for a couple years before making it my first rental. I would recommend developing a relationship with an investing agent, like myself, because they know what to look for and what a good deal is in their market. We also know other investors and can share the knowledge we've gained from them: how they get creative on financing, what they look for in a deal, relationships they have with, lenders, contractors, etc. I would be happy to share what I've learned with you and assist you on the agent side as well.

**I am not a licensed broker, I meant agent**

I've became a licensed broker in October 2015, closed my first transaction in January 2016. It would've/should've been sooner but there were delays and holidays that pushed us back. The commission paid to my broker for my side of the transaction was 3% of a $189,000 purchase price. 6% commission is the standard in my area (3% to each side). The purchase price of the home is above the median sale price for my area.

Thanks for the help!

I'm still very green in RE investing. I have two rental properties with good cash flow but I have been wanting to attempt my first flip. That being said, I don't really know how to secure financing without having all the cash myself. I've got my eye on a home for sale cash only, $99,000. Renovated, comps show it could sell for about $150,000. (I'm a full time Realtor so I feel my ARV is pretty accurate.) My problem is I only have about $20k in the bank plus a $15k LOC. How would I purchase the property and pay for renovations with only $35k available to me?

Forgive my ignorance, I've only 2 rental properties. One I've had for almost two years and another since June 2015. I have a tenant that has basically refused to communicate with me. He told me (via text) he pays is rent every month, end of story. He's even blocked me on Facebook. I'm now trying to liquidate this property by selling because I have twins on the way. Do I have any case to get him out of the property? He signed a two year lease in June 2015.