All Forum Posts by: Chris Dawson

@Rob Scarborough I'd be interested.  I live up by Liberty.

@Timothy Drake welcome to BP! I would recommend that you also look into joining some of the local REI clubs. As a new investor, networking and education are your 2 most important activities.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

@Brian Ewell most small banks will only lend in their own backyards.  They are willing to lend on the riskier investor deals because they are more familiar with the areas.  You will need to contact local banks if you want to go this route.  

@Jen Hoang this website has a good visual of where all of the zip codes are: http://www.zipmap.net/Missouri/Jackson_County/Kans...

@Evan Manship send me a PM.  I'd be happy to help you better understand the Kansas City market.  There are several areas in Kansas City that will match your criteria.

@Josh Anisfeld I have several suggestions for you when it comes to vetting a turn key operation (works for contractors and PMs as well):

1. Search for company reviews on line.  At a minimum check the following: BBB, Yelp, Google+, Facebook, Angie's List, and of course, don't forget Bigger Pockets! 
2. Ask for the names of the owners of the company and then do the same searches above on their names.  You are looking to see if the owners have been involved in any shady businesses prior (or concurrent) to this one.
3. Ask for at least 3 client references.  Follow up with all of them.  Ask what they most liked and least liked about the company.  Ask if they would do it all again.
4. Verify that they are properly licensed and insured.  There is no excuse for a turnkey company to not have a brokerage license unless they are doing shady activities.  Most states require a broker's license to do this kind of activity.  Every company should at a minimum have some type of liability insurance.  Any company doing property management should also have E&O insurance.  Ask to see their insurance.

Hope this helps!  Good luck!

@Sean Casey welcome to BP. Start networking immediately! This website is a great place to network but you will need more. Sign up for some REI clubs here in Kansas City. MAREI.org and Winvestors are two good ones to start with. Read everything you can get your hands on that has to do with investing.

Ask lots of questions!

@Javier Segura how are you finding your deals?  Are you using a real estate agent?  If so, you should be using a good, investor friendly agent who can help you with this.  My definition of a good investor friendly agent is one that can walk the property with you and can point out the major defects.  They should also be able to give you a general price to make the repairs/improvements.  If your agent isn't able to do this or they don't feel comfortable doing this, then you need to get another agent fast.  You are setting yourself up for failure!

If you are NOT using an agent, then you will probably have to find a decent contractor who will walk the property with you and give you a quick, rough estimate.  Don't be surprised if you have to pay for this service.  Most contractors are hesitant to bid on projects where you don't yet own the property (or at least have it under contract).  $50-$75 for this service is a fair price.

One more thing to remember, 90% of the time, you will have the opportunity to back out of a deal after you do your formal inspections.  Use this to your advantage!  If you know you will be having a formal inspection period, and you know you will be able to back out because of inspections, then don't worry so much about a pre-offer inspection.  

Hope this helps!

@Brian Ewell everyone seems to think there is some law that states you can't get more than 4 loans (or 6 or 8 or whatever the FHA mandate is now). This is simply not true. Yes, there is a limit to how many FHA backed loans you can get, but there is no limit to conventional loans. Yes, you will pay more in interest and you will have to put more money down for conventional loans, but that is the price we pay as investors.

If your lender doesn't do conventional loans on investment properties, then you need to find a new lender.  

As mentioned by others, you can also start looking at blanket loans.  These are considered commercial loans and again you will be paying more interest, but this is the way you will eventually want to go.

You really need to find a lender that can do all of this for you in such a way that you are continually buying a new property with an FHA loan and once that investment is seasoned (6 months to a year depending on your lender and a lot of other factors) you move it to your blanket loan and you are then freed up to buy your next investment with an FHA loan again.

Does this make sense?  

@Rick Novotny its hard to find the seller finance deals as they are few and far between.  Here are my 2 suggestions for you:

1. Join MAREI.org This is probably the best REI club in Kansas City. You can search for available owner financed properties on this site. You can also post your request for owner financed deals.
2. Find a local investor friendly agent and have them set up an MLS search specifically looking for owner financed deals.

Let me know if you need any help with this.