All Forum Posts by: Joey Hamaoui

@Ron J. did you find a builder in the end?

If it is a CASH deal I am looking for $540/month in cash flow and $250 on financed. That being said I would entertain other deals but those are my goal numbers.

What is your goal in investing?

Agreed. Definitely get licensed. But if you don't, make sure you consult an attorney so that you can avoid getting into trouble.

Hi @Kimberly Gopp

That is an interesting take on the open enrollment. It seems to me that while having the ability to send the kids to any school would open doors to neighborhoods that were previously closed to families it won't make a drastic effect.

First there is the issue of the commute but second it seems to me that very few tenants are choosing properties based on the school district and more are choosing based on the rent. They may be able to send their kids to other schools now but they will still rent in the same areas and I doubt it will have a significant effect on the home prices because I don't think there will be a large percentage of parents sending their kids to other school districts.

Have you seen anything this past year to indicate it has made a change?

Hey @Michael Huang

Did you find what you were looking for in the end?

Hi @Lisa Emerson

I'm an investor agent and would be happy to help you. Did you find what you needed already?

Hi @Rene Chen

Welcome to the forum! There are plenty of foreign investors in the same situation as you are. I'm a licensed agent in the Jacksonville area and have closed plenty of deals for investors abroad. We are typically looking at homes between $60-80K purchase price with $7-12K renovations and looking at 8-12% returns. I have a good relationship with a hardworking contractor and several subs and I offer project management if you want to be more hands off or just want some boots on the ground to ensure the project is taken care of. I can also refer you to some great property managers that we work with and walk you through the process all the way from finding a deal to cash flow.

If you're interested feel free to reach out and I'll schedule a call with you to see if we can help each other.

@John Thedford it would seem to me that if they put down a $5K deposit or any amount for that matter they now have the property under contract which is an equitable interest. They can then at that point sell their position in the contract to another investor who will close on the deal for an assignment fee.

I have heard that they do need to have the intent to close in some areas where the Realtor boards are fighting wholesalers more and the way to get around that was to either provide a proof of funds or double close.

I have also heard that what the more successful wholesalers do is they cherry pick their pipeline. In doing so, they demonstrate that their intent is to purchase all of the properties but when the property doesn't meet their criteria, instead of dropping the deal they assign it to other investors for a fee.

Again like you said he cannot advertise the property under any circumstances. He can only advertise the contract.

Here in Jacksonville we find a lot of properties listed in the MLS on behalf of wholesalers/investors under the description of "equitable interest". I'm not sure how that works with NEFAR but I have seen such properties.

I have also seen a copy of a wholesaler's contract (which they sent to a property owner regarding a property I had listed!) and in the contract they stated that before closing on the property they have the right to market it for sale in the MLS with an agent. It was the most absurd contract I'd ever seen and we obviously reported the wholesaler (who was a broker) to NEFAR for soliciting to another member's listing (highly unethical).

To be clear my point is not that people shouldn't get licensed and practice real estate according to the law. I just think based off of what I've read, learned, experienced and see that despite DBPR and FREC's efforts to shut down wholesalers it is still a thriving business and if done correctly with guidance and integrity one can be very successful and bring value to the industry.

@Hadar Orkibi ok no problem. I will keep an eye out!

@Henry J. thanks for the input. I thought of doing something like that where we purchased the first home with investments in mind. I see two issues with it that I haven't found a good solution for yet:

1. I am married with two kids and while I would be enthusiastic to "house hack" my family would not be as happy to do so.

2. The areas where I would live are not the same areas where I would invest so if we did it that way we would end up with a nice house that gives a low return maybe 6%.

It seems to me that my best option so far has been to find new lenders and possibly private lending for the first investment property while I continue to rent.