All Forum Posts by: Joshua B.

Can a title company close on multiple properties with one purchase agreement? Can anyone recommend an investor friendly title company in se Michigan, near Ann arbor and Detroit.

Kind of an odd question. Sure, you can have one P.A. cover multiple properties. However, at closing, the title company will likely prepare separate closing documents for each property (closing statement, deed, etc). You can have one deed to cover multiple properties if you really want, but the properties have to be in the same county.

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Welcome to Ann Arbor @Anthony Taylor! You made a good choice leaving Ohio to come here!

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@Travis Walker Good to hear you're getting back into it. Curious to hear your thoughts on Belleville as a rental market. Is that where most of your units are? Seems like many of the solid, blue collar auto jobs in Belleville/Ypsi have disappeared in the past 15 years. Not sure how that has impacted things in your opinion.

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Originally posted by @Joe Doman:

Hello, I am looking to network with people investing in Inkster Michigan. It is close to Westland, Garden city, Detroit etc.

I came accross a potfolio of 15 sfr and the owner is willing to sell at discount. I just have no experience with lower end homes; values in the 20-40k. Would love to hear from anyone with experience investing in Inkster.

Thanks! -Joe

There's a reason that guy is looking to sell his portfolio. I wouldn't touch that deal with a 10 ft pole unless he sold them all to me on land contract with no down payment and no personal recourse.

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Detroit, Michigan

Originally posted by @Mindy Jensen:

A friend and neighbor is considering moving. I would list her house.

She has a desirable home - .75 acre lot in an area where .1 is huge.

The problem is that I think the house was built on top of an underground lake. I've never in my life known of a home with so much water in the basement.

She had a trench dug out in the basement, and a drain system installed with 3 turbo-charged sump pumps.

Since installation, there has been no water, and it's been a couple of years.

I'm a "disclose everything" kind of agent. This one is a bit different since I have first-hand knowledge of the defect - I even helped her bail the water out several times.

We're in a super-hot market, so I think it would still sell. But it's been repaired, so disclosure is not required.

I know what I have to do, but I want to hear it from you all, too.

@Russell Brazil ? @Dawn Brenengen ? @Jonna Weber ? @Dan Mackin ? @Anson Young?

I feel like you're asking to be sued if you don't disclose and something bad happens.

I'd disclose, but when disclosing I'd also provide a bit of well-presented information to show I repaired it correctly (i.e. contractor information, a summary of what the issue was and what was done to fix it, etc). Basically demonstrate that you've got your act together and don't cut corners.

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Originally posted by @Andrew M.:

Hello Bigger Pockets Community! First Post here!

I've been saving up to buy my first deal, reading books, listening to podcasts, and trying to position myself for success in real estate as best I can. I am 21 years old and work a well-paying full time job in the Metro Detroit area.

I have found an off market deal through my agent and have first dibs on a ~1300sqft 3B 1B SFR in Redford, MI with an existing tenant of 8 years already in place. I believe I'll be able to acquire the property for about 70k and plan to put 20-25% down, it has a new roof and has been inspected recently and everything is up to code. Rent has not been raised in years and is currently about ~$200 less than what I think it would rent for, ~$950).

My largest concerns are managing a property that will be an hour away from me (especially on my first deal), and possibly finding a good property manager if I decide I need one, does anyone have any recommendations?

I look forward to connecting here on the BiggerPockets forums and hope to find useful insight from others in my area who are able to help!

Thanks!
-Andrew

Hey Andrew - @Keith Jourdan owns and manages rentals all over that area. He just successfully bumped up all my rents on a multi-family property by $250 (in total for a 3 unit building) this month without losing any tenants.

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Originally posted by @Mike Romanowski:

Hello Bigger Pockets!

I am in an interesting situation! I have been working closely with an investor for the past 4 years, managing his rental properties. I recently became a licensed real estate agent in the same area (Ann Arbor, MI) to earn some extra income, and to satisfy my life-long curiosity in real estate. My dad and I bought a 3 acre property when I was a kid, and turned our 500 square foot shack into a 1,400 square foot decent home, so that really sparked my interest in renovating properties/real estate.

Recently, my investor boss has expressed interest in flipping properties in our area. He has experience flipping 100+ properties in Florida years ago (got out of the game around '08). I would be actively involved in these flips: finding the deals, analyzing the deals, writing up the offers, doing some work myself (I'm semi-handy), working with contractors, and eventually selling the properties.

Naturally, I started the hunt for properties! Mainly MLS (REO, Short Sale, Keywords) and driving for dollars attempting to put together my own absentee owner list (takes forever driving for dollars, but good to learn neighborhoods). Eventually stumbled upon list source and ordered around 700 absentee-owners in our general area (about 5 cities) with 90%+ equity, and started a yellow letter campaign that I am doing. Handwritten on white paper, then scanned and printed onto yellow legal pad paper, writing in owner's name and property address, hand writing addresses (and return addresses) into pastel colored invitation envelopes. I've done about 400 so far, and ready to put some athletic tape on my hands, but I enjoy the hustle.

Along with those actions, I've ordered and read both of J. Scott's books and another on home inspections. There is a ton of ground to cover with me being so involved in the project, and I feel like I am drinking from a fire-hose.

I've made 3 offers on homes so far 1) MLS Short Sale, 2) HUD, 3) Off-market deal through my office. None have been accepted, but I am going to keep plugging away.

Bigger Pockets has been a big part of my short journey so far, and I regret not making an introduction sooner. I want to thank everyone here for not selling any get rich quick stuff, and explaining HOW to put in the hard work to see results.

I feel like I am headed down the right path, and I will be sure to share successes and failures when they come.

Thanks guys!

--Mike

Mike - I'm very interested to see how your mail campaign goes in a city like Ann Arbor. Seems like you're dealing with a highly educated populace that tends to know the value of their home (which would seem to make a direct mail campaign incredibly tough). I've thought about doing it in similar high value areas in SE Michigan, so if it works in Ann Arbor, it may work elsewhere.

Curious about others' success rates with direct mail in highly sought after neighborhoods. Seems like it only works in middle to lower class areas.

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@Pete Tam - pm'd you back

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Originally posted by @Pete Tam:

Hey guys,

Any of you know RE and / or Insurance attorney in Michigan !

Thanks

What type of matter is it? I'm a transactional RE attorney. Don't do foreclosures though. Could give you recommendations depending on what you need.

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Originally posted by @Anthony Smith:

@Joshua B. not sure what that means Is Washtenaw county not in Michigan anymore? It's in Ann Arbor that’s 45 min from downtown Detroit. Google is in Mountain View CA and they have test facilities 1hr away in San Francisco CA. So not sure what you were getting at.

Not meaning to nit-pick or give you a hard time. Just seemed like the thread was about investing in Detroit. People in Washtenaw County generally don't think of Ypsilanti or Ann Arbor as part of Detroit (AA particularly, Ypsi to a lesser extent).

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All Forum Posts by: Joshua B.

Joshua B. has started 28 posts and replied 287 times.

Post: Title Co to close multiple properties

Post: New to Bigger Pockets!

Post: 10 year "newbie" in Southeast Michigan getting serious

Post: Anyone invest in Inkster mi? Let's connect!

Post: Disclose Past-But-Fixed Water Issues?

Post: First Rental Property Redford MI

Post: Ann Arbor, Michigan - Agent Getting Started In Flips

Post: RE and / or Insurance attorney in Michigan

Post: RE and / or Insurance attorney in Michigan

Post: Investment in Detroit