All Forum Posts by: Kate B.

 This is what I was thinking I'd do!  I'll give it a try!

thanks for the info!   I appreciate it.

I spent most of my life in Albany, NY, and I found this difficult to understand every time I tried. I believe some areas are more vulnerable or favored by downswings or upswings than upstate New York.   Upstate NY seems to motor along.   There are pockets that do better for a time and then don't, like Saratoga.

I am curious what you hear from people in other places.

I don't remember where I read it, but BP was where I first learned about a third party place where rent is paid, online.

Does anyone know a place that is reliable with the lowest fees?

My new occupant came from a rooming house, and before that was homeless, which is where I met him from advocacy work I do.

We agreed, he and I, that paying the rent was better through a third party, automated.

Can anyone recommend a reliable low fee way to do this?   Thanks.

Bill, I appreciate this:  "I error on the side of caution".   That is prudent in handling large value transactions.   Where I see problems and errors with wholesalers or another party besides the original seller and the current prospective buyers is when they come in after it begins, after there is a listing on the MLS. The property is already publicly identified as using this MLS process, and then suddenly with the same MLS number it is now an auction and another owner. I was so curious about this I made plans to see the attorney general. I was just an ordinary buyer and thought this behavior was wrong.

Lisa, these types of stoves are very common in old houses in MA.  (I never saw one in NY, so I suspect they were made locally.)   They are grandfathered in under code, and can be repaired but cannot be bought new.   I have two in a three family house.  One works fine, the other needed a minor repair.   Before I purchased the property, I investigated the costs of replacing the heating systems, either with electric baseboard ($3-6,000) or a gas boiler with radiators. ($6-10,000) (FYI, electric baseboard is very expensive to use -- high bills.) I bought the house and am keeping the old units for now, while budgeting for replacements.

If you're happy and your life is fulfilling, and nothing else would make you happy and fulfilled, just keep on with your work, without goals.   Do what moves you.   At the end of the year see what happened.  IMHO.

Karen, I didn't read everything and apologize if this was already said (my dogs need to go out so typing fast), but just wanted to repeat one thing and add one thing.  1)  If it's your house, at least where I am, you can do what you want. 2)  If you want to rent out, you can LEARN how to do lead abatement yourself.   It's not a tough hurdle.   I helped a friend with that after he got whatever education he needed -- basically a course offered by a county agency.   Don't be scared out of doing it yourself.    -Kate

Brandon, great webinar!   I remembered it was the time about 7 minutes after it started but it seemed I got the beginning which was great -- or there was a delay or a long intro!   I had great fun with the poll question about whether your example was a great deal.  I voted no, and was really surprised when you said 80% voted yes.    I laughed out loud because I am from the northeast USA and thought the monthly amount coming in would never cover all the costs and leave enough.   Turns out I was right, and my skepticism is valuable.   Thanks for the lesson!     -Kate

I'm a novice and wholesaling was a topic I skipped over in my first few months visiting BP, so I only recently got a bit of understanding about it.

I thought I'd share a story from my year of looking for a multifamily property in Worcester, MA.  One property I was interested in did not stand out as fantastic or terrible, very middle of the road.   I decided to make an offer about 12% less than the list price.   Next day I was told there was another offer, and was this my final and best?   Before I could answer, I got an email from my buyer's agent sending me pdfs of documents for me to read that she had just received from the seller's agent.   The seller (a buyer of tax foreclosed properties) was now going to have an auction instead.   To make an offer in this auction, I had to pay $5,000 to someone else and do other onerous things just to participate.   I told my agent they must think I am crazy.  I asked her to withdraw my offer and I'd find a less complicated seller, which I happily did.   I will never buy a property with a layer of added control and expense that does not benefit me.