All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I really want to know how to analyze a market or neighbourhood in which I'm investing, I'v talked with a lot of people about how to analyze a housing market but I still didn't really understand so I thought this place would be the best option to find. I just want to know how to analyze like how to find out if the demand is high, how do you know if homes are selling fast, how to find out if demand for property in any area rising or falling or how to find out if a neighbourhood is hot or not, I've discussed with a lot of people and they recommend me to use city-data.com which is an excellent website to know about the market but even in that website I don't know what to look for like if the population is 20000 in a city is it good or not or what it should be or what should I type in google to know about a specific market or place?

It depends on what kind of investing you want do. You have choices of single family rentals, short term rentals, vacation rentals, lease options, commercial, townhouses, high end rentals, low end rentals, rehabs, duplexes, fourplexes, apartments.

Give a little more information of what your ideal investment is and we can offer some guidance.

Thanks a lot for responding!

Sure! I am looking for a duplex and then I want to renovate it and sell it for a profit and for even better profit I'll put some tenants and then sell but mainly I wanna start with flipping.

Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Flipping is best done within a 30 minute drive of your home. It requires time and attention if you want it to be profitable. You have to have contractors if you aren't handy with a hammer, you need to buy well below what you will sell it for, you have to be able to accurately estimate what it will eventually sell for, you have to consider acquisition costs, rehab costs, carrying costs, selling costs, prepare for 6 months on average from start to finish, you need to know about title reports, appraisals, escrow, lenders, insurance, sequence of rehab lists, "oops" surprises, market changes, level of finish, what other rehabbers are using for materials, and realize that contractors don't always show up or finish what they start. Then you begin your search for the perfect duplex to rehab and sell. If you are going to have tenants you need to know landlord tenant law for the area you are investing in. All of that is learnable. Now, do you have an amount in mind that youould like to make on this project? I might be able to fill in the gaps so you can start looking for the ideal project.

Just saw your message.

Thanks a lot for responding!! this is very helpful! I really appreciate it! but how do you get to know about the landlord tenant law for the area? Yes I currently have $100000-130000 that I can spend.

Actually, what I was interested in knowing is how much would you like to MAKE from your project? We work backwards using that number to determine how much you need to have and how much of a house you need to buy.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Trevor Aydelott:

Well I've been on the phone all day every day with realtors across the country and people don't follow up, or when I talk to them they say OMG you found the perfect person to talk to. And take forever to respond. lol

But this also goes for my local market. I send offers for my clients and no response. You know how it goes. lol

I'll explain it in detail when we talk. lol

I get what you're saying. I just closed on selling a rehab of mine that I never had listed in the MLS, (It's a Long story). I represented myself as normally I would. Anyway, the buyer had a buyer's agent and I agreed to pay a fee to the agent. We were to close two days ago, all conditions had been met, walk throughs performed, and at 4:30pm the day of closing the agent submitted a Notice to Cure of a trim piece on a door that the painter missed from two weeks ago or they wouldn't close. They wanted money to repaint the entire interior.

This was one of the most inane things I had seen in a long time. I contacted the agent and asked if her $9,000 commission was worth a paint splosh on a piece of trim and if she had every heard the term "breach of contract" and the one "fraud in the inducement" . She stuttered and stammered and backed off. I then received a docusign Addendum from her to extend closing one more day and she withdrew the notice to cure. (I documented it all in case I sued her, her client and her broker and in case I got the chance to make a judge laugh at the stupidity.)

Her broker should be fined and censured for allowing a bone-headed act like that. I can imagine what the rest of the office (of a nationally known brand which favors the color yellow) is like. As they say, 20% of the realtors are good and make a living, the other 80% are well, the other 80%.

20 Votes

Originally posted by @Bryan Otero:

Hello All,

I wanted to know what is the best way to learn my market? How do I find out if its an A, B, C, or D class neighborhood in my town? Is there a website that can maybe give me this information?

You can start by using http://www.city-data.com/ which is Free and https://www.melissa.com which is a paid subscription.

There is also https://www.trulia.com/neighbo...

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Originally posted by @Andrew B.:

Just got an accepted offer in NJ and I’m faced with a weird situation.

My lawyer prepared the standard attorney review and sent minor contract changes to sellers attorney. Seller responded “Refused! House is sold as-is.”

We know house is sold as is, no inspection, etc. Our response indicated that we wanted him to respond to the contract changes, which had nothing to do with the house being as-is, so we could follow up with specific issues.

Through several emails and a phone call, we have come to the conclusion that this attorney is refusing to participate in any type of attorney review process. I have seen nothing to even indicate he opened the lawyers attachment.

I reviewed their website and I do not believe this firm even handles real estate transactions, he is a litigator, so I’m questioning if he even knows what an attorney review process is.

Has anybody ever dealt with something similar?

You said: "I reviewed their website and I do not believe this firm even handles
real estate transactions, he is a litigator, so I’m questioning if he
even knows what an attorney review process is."

Attorney's are in it to get paid. If a review process isn't included in his agreement with his client or he won't get paid for taking the time, he won't do one. All attorneys have a colleague or two to turn to for each specialty under law if they have a question and can ask "what is an attorney review process", tho' it would be comical for an attorney to not know the answer to that one. If that attorney feels they can't properly represent their client they can refer it on to a selected colleague who can. And they have the Bar to refer to for clarification.

Do not assume that because an attorney refuses to do things the way you think they should be done that the attorney is ignorant of the process. Since he practices law full time, he may know a little more than you know about law and the issue at hand.

But, the real point is why waste your time if they are not cooperating? Will you be initiating a lawsuit against an attorney because he won't review an offer?

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Wayne Brooks:

@Account Closed Nope....”as is” refers strictly to the seller not agreeing to do any repairs to the house.

Are you licensed in NJ where the property is located? By the way, are you an attorney? Seems the two attorneys probably know the law in NJ. Just guessing.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Jesse Martin:

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $203,000
Cash invested: $29,764
Sale price: $264,900

The true NO MONEY down Fix & Flip!
3/2 2600sf home...great area full of 4-bedroom homes

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

This was a deal where the owners couldn't sell the property and didn't want to invest any more money into the home or keep paying the mortgage.

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

We negotiated the deal by showing them if they sold today for their asking price, this is the number they would walk away with after all the fees and closing costs. It was the fairest deal for both sides even though the home wasn't selling at that price and we could have potentially got the home for cheaper. We saw the value in the deal and didn't want to take advantage of the sellers if they would agree to our terms. A lot of the times, terms are even more important than the purchase price

How did you finance this deal?

This was owner financed by the sellers with zero money out of our pockets if we would just take over the payments. We wrote up contracts for them to carry for 3 years but trying to resale in 12 months where they would make their money at that time on the sale. Did everything through the title company where the payment was directly made to the lender not the seller

How did you add value to the deal?

This was a HUGE 2600sf foot home that was only 3 bedrooms. By turning this home into a 4 bedroom it would increase the value, as well as making it easier to sell. We fully enclosed an area in the large living room adding a closet and French door. We also did a lot of remodeling on the property. Full repaint, brand new LVP flooring and carpet throughout the home. New granite in the bathrooms, toilets, sinks, and fixtures. New New New it really turned out awesome!

What was the outcome?

Here are the numbers:
Purchase price: $203,000
Remodel Costs: $26,658.60
Holding Cost: $3,105.59
Rented the property to the buyers for approximately 8 months with a profit of: $3,319.86 after expenses
Sold: $264,900 - under market value for a quick sell
Total Profit: $34,695.68

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire the right contractor! It all turned out fine, but on this deal, we had a lot of babysitting. Get a better disclosure from the sellers when they "Claim" to have repaired a shower leak...

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

Nice creative thinking.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Adam F.:

I've had my rental listed for about 2 months now, and haven't had anyone fill out an application until this week. I should mention this is the second turnover I've ever had and I've only been a landlord for about 2 years now.

I just got the screening results back, and everything looked really good except I noticed they both (married couple) had multiple small business federal tax leins between 2010 and 2017, for amounts up to 350k. I'm not sure if this is a deal breaker since they both have really good credit, good income etc. Plus they're my only serious prospects right now and are looking to rent for 2+ years. However federal tax leins sound pretty serious to me, especially with those types of numbers.

Just looking for some advice or insight here on the best way to move forward.

First you ask them what the liens are about.

Those are large liens. They either make a LOT of money or more likely and what is Not commonly known is that if you sell a house, for instance, and don't file your tax return for the year of the sale, the IRS will place a lien for the entire sale amount. Since the IRS doesn't have a purchase basis or other offsetting information, they use the sale amount as a place holder. The IRS will also "file" your return for you until you file a correct return. Once the returns are filed, the amount the taxpayer pays is regular tax plus penalties.

Also, the IRS will do "an offer in compromise" and adjust the amount to as little as 10% of the actual amount if the couple is elderly with few assets. It takes an Enrolled Agent but is well worth doing.

And any IRS liens will show on both reports if they file jointly.

And there may be multiple liens reflecting the one transaction if they didn't file for consecutive years.

Looks to me like they got behind or didn't file and they don't really know how to address the issue.

I'd rent to them if they could explain what is going on with the IRS if they are otherwise stable. It really can be something that none of us would know how to handle if not trained in these things, and they just haven't found someone to walk them through the solution.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Lamar Rodman:

Please comment

What is your question?

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

Originally posted by @Nghi Le:

Thanks for all the awesome stuff you're posting on this thread, @Chris Mason.

I'm wondering what your take on this article is? Most people say that the housing and mortgage industry are in much better shape now and that we won't have another repeat of 2008, but this says otherwise and seems to back it up well.

That article just restating what we already know, but with the most scary words one can find. I learned nothing new from it.

The article I like is

JPMorgan: "If There Is Any Good News In This Report, Don't Believe It"

https://www.zerohedge.com/mark...

The big problem with Zero Hedge / Tyler Durden is that he is ALWAYS predicting imminent doom.

The person that "calls it" in 2006, or even 2007, is useful.

The person who is saying that "doom is upon us!" all the way from 1995 to 2008, when they are finally vindicated in 2008, is totally useless. That's ZH/TD, metaphorically. If you believed him in 2013, you'd have gone broke. Same in 2015 or 2017.

Little boy crying wolf.

Interesting perspective. Do you then say that 30,000,000 newly unemployed in a matter of weeks, with no end in sight is nothing to be concerned about? I don't want to put words in your mouth but that is the context of the article.

Even a broken clock is right two times a day. This one looks pretty serious. If the economy was restarted today, it would take months to get back to "normal". Most Americans "Had" $600 in savings. I'm sure that is long gone by now. How do they care for their families for the next number of months ? Does federal debt (giveaways) never need to be paid back?

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Richard Wilson:

I have lurked BP for a few years, posted a few times over the last two years, always with some form of trepidation of entering the real estate market .... I really do believe now is the time, but ****, I don't even know if I'd qualify for a mortgage. Here's my story, I would GREATLY (and that's an understatement) appreciate any advice you have. I was in finance, I do understand #'s but how I handle it wouldn't reflect that ... I am risk adverse, from a monetary perspective, which explains why I am now a Train Operator working for the city lol.

I have no large debts looming, the wife and I maybe have $4k combined across a few CC's.

Salary: $67k/annual but you can't escape OT, and I was at $90k last year

I was left an estate, sold it, invested it conservatively - I utilize gains to help an aging family. Last year I partnered with a banking buddy of mine to purchase a home in CT, cash for $175k (I finance it, he does all the work - we split profits), but after a more critical inspection, he found water damage that ultimately led to the deal falling through. Like, an idiot, I had already had securities liquidated for the deal, so they've been in a money market since early last year.

Credit Score - 680 ... I have money, but still manage to pay a bill one day late. I am in idiot, don't say I didn't warn you.

The deal from early 2019, was going to be a fix and flip, but I know now, that isn't the route I want to go. I want to own units, and lots of them. I reside in NYC, but want to invest in Jersey, where I can still find multi-family homes for sub $200k. My question is, I've heard working for the MTA is a big plus, but how bad will my credit score impede on me obtaining a mortgage? I want to get into the BRRR method ... If a mortgage broker/lender reviews my finances, will they grant me a mortgage or attempt to force me to collateralize my estate investment in order to secure a loan? That is something I would never do ... I would simply reinvest my funds back with my money manager at that point.

I feel like now is the time. I am also looking into moving into one of my investment properties, and renting out the other units. As a first time home buyer, are there any lenders like Fanny Mae that host programs that may boost my potential as a qualified buyer?

I have so many questions. Please .... any advice. Thank you for reading, if you made it this far.

I enjoyed the read. You are in a "self destruct" loop. You allowed yourself to"slip" and pay one bill late to keep the FICO score low. There is an environment or there are people around you that you believe you will lose if you are successful. Sorry, it's the "success psychologist" in me kicking in.

To get out of that destructive loop, you need to team up with someone who will help you through the tough spots. Kind of like a buddy who helps an alcoholic when he needs support. First you have to see the future for what it is, bright, prosperous and all yours for the taking. Then you need an action plan. Then you need someone to help you realize that goal. It is all doable, you have shown the ability to succeed, you understand the numbers and the process, you just need to put your upbringing and past into the rear view mirror and commit to a successful future with a clear path and plan in writing.

3 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Account Closed has started 12 posts and replied 576 times.

Post: I really want to know how to perform market analysis?

Post: Is it me or does most of these Realtors suck at their job

Post: How do I learn a new market?

Post: Sellers attorney refusing attorney review

Post: Sellers attorney refusing attorney review

Post: No Money Down Fix & Flip...REALLY!

Post: Applicant has Federal Tax Leins

Post: Wanting to do sub 2 in Mississippi. Attorneys tell me it can't be

Post: Coronavirus Mortgage Meltdown Articles

Post: I feel like now is the time ... but am I ready?