All Forum Posts by: Kearsten M Higgs

When looking for that kind of cash-flow it will be strategic to start looking at other markets and start learning about long distance investing. Out-of-state investing is a top choice. You can invest in any market selecting the ones that you believe are seeing the most growth, and do it from anywhere. Once you get your systems down, you have a real estate business model that you can take to any market and be still be successful. I work with plenty of out-of-state investors who are seeing great success here in Ohio.

Read this article on the "core 4". It explains the team that you should develop to have a strong foundation under you while investing remotely.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-team

Dayton, OH is a market you could look into. There is an abundant amount of deals beating the 1% rule there. And the price to enter is extremely low compared to other markets in the U.S

Well thank you all for reaching out!

I hadn't expected a response but this website seems really good!

Im new to investing as it is, I wouldn't understand how to invest out of state.

ill read that post for certain.

A concern that comes to mind when investing out of state is everything!

Forgive me but I'm very new to the space and don't know enough bout anything investing related to begin attempting to buy property from another state.

Any resources help!

I do believe it though, I've been playing around on Zillow and see great prices in states that are not here in Utah. Almost makes me want to pack up and start in another state altogether!

0 Votes

Ogden, Utah

Quote from @Kerlous Tadres:

Quote from @Kearsten M Higgs:

Hi everyone,

I have been listening to Bigger Pockets for about a month now and have reached episode 40 and decided it was Rome to get networking.

I'm interested in learning real estate so that I can make a Cashflow of $500/monthly after expenses and so that I can start to build wealth.

Any guidance or resources you'd like to send my way would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Hey Kearsten,

The first thing I would do if you have not done so already is to house hack! After that you can decide on what market/area you want to invest in

In order to house hack I'd have to have the type of income to quality for a home and here in my state the home market is between $350k to $600 k

My income would only qualify me for Maybe $150k worth of house.

Im unaware how to move forward with a house hacking option at these prices.

0 Votes

Ogden, Utah

Quote from @Min Zhang:

Hey Kearsten, welcome to BiggerPockets! Love your dedication. As an investor myself, I have seen areas like Cleveland and Dayton with COC ranging from 10-18%. You should check these markets. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Oh wow!

Well thanks for the information, I'm not sure how to get started let alone doing any type of deals out of state. How would I go about that?

0 Votes

Ogden, Utah

Quote from @Devin Peterson:

Hi Kearsten!

So exciting to hear you are ready to begin your journey! Best things to do when getting started is building your team. Insurance agents, title or attorney reps, lender, and general contractor and property manager! Be sure to talk with a few different folks to get an idea of what fits! Happy to connect and discuss the endless options and creative financing available for investment loans. Good luck!

Hey thanks for responding, getting started is the scariest part!
So do I just start calling companies or how would I build a team when I have no property to flip and work on?

0 Votes

Ogden, Utah

So I'm looking to get started in real estate investing and I came across this group.

i was wondering if anyone knew anything bout them and what they had to say.

Seemed to me that no one who was involved with this group was really willing to let me be a part of anything until I paid for the expensive program they were offering.

0 Votes

Salt Lake City, Utah

Hi everyone,

I have been listening to Bigger Pockets for about a month now and have reached episode 40 and decided it was Rome to get networking.

I'm interested in learning real estate so that I can make a Cashflow of $500/monthly after expenses and so that I can start to build wealth.

Any guidance or resources you'd like to send my way would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

6 Votes

Ogden, Utah

Quote from @Marty Boardman:

Quote from @Patrick K.:

Hi all, I have been watching a lot of Pace Morby's videos these days. He is an advocate of subject-to financing to purchase properties.

In all the videos I have watched, he talked about all the up-side of subject-to financing. but the downside is rarely discussed. I thought I could use BP's collective brain power to help educate myself further on this subject. For all questions below, it is assumed I am the buyer, who wants to assume the seller's loan and take the title of their properties.

The pinkest elephant in the room is what happens when I as an investor default on the loan payment. I understand the ownership goes back to the original seller. However, if this is during an economic downturn when default would likely happen, there might be no equity in the house for the original seller, and I can't see how a seller would be comfortable being ultimately responsible for a mortgage that might last 20-30 years. It felt like a glorified rent-to-own agreement.

Any thought would be appreciated.

As others have pointed out Patrick the original seller does not get the house back if the buyer defaults. The investor has equitable title to the property. If the bank foreclosures the investor receives any surplus funds and the original seller gets nothing (well, they do get a foreclosure on their credit report).

There are really only two types of sellers that are agreeable to subject-to deals:

1. Sellers with no equity

2. Sellers in foreclosure

I've done hundreds of subject-to deals with both.

When the housing market crashed in 2008 I defaulted on numerous subject-to deals. Values dropped by 55% in my area (Phoenix) and there was no way I could sell these properties. Fortunately, I escaped any legal trouble because I worked out arrangements with the original sellers and gave them their houses back. Others didn't want them back and were okay with a foreclosure. After all, they were headed that direction before I stepped in to buy their house in the first place.

In 2023 and beyond, I think acquiring houses subject-to is a smart strategy, especially if you plan to fix and flip because you don't need to keep the mortgage in the original seller's name for very long.

As for acquiring rentals, subject-to is also preferable as long as you can count on at least $300 + in cash flow (and have reserves for 6 months). But I would advise you have a plan in place to pay off the existing mortgage in 2-3 years because eventually the original seller will become unhappy with having a loan in their name and no house to show for it.

Finally, there's a lot of irrational fear out there about the due on sale clause and the lender calling the note. I've never seen this happen. Banks are in the business of collecting loan payments, not calling mortgages. If you're paying on time they don't care if Santa Claus owns the house.

Good luck Patrick!

Marty,

In your experience of buying subject to, what have been some of the ways you've overcome the owners objection to allowing the mortgage to still be in their name and get the subject-to in place?

As an individual not comfortable with other people paying my bills I struggle to be an individual who might allow another person to take over payments and have the unknown idea of an unforseen even happening and my personal credit becoming ruined.

0 Votes

Quote from @Marty Boardman:

Quote from @Claude Diamond:

Quote from @John Slater:

I’m learning some states have laws against door knocking pre-foreclosures/distressed homeowners. I see a lot about “equity skimming” which is very specific and doesn’t mean every investor is looking to skim because they door knock.

Which states can you not door-knock? How do agents get around this? And, are there any exceptions around door knocking pre foreclosures on those states?

Hi John, I was just thinking to myself why anyone would want to door knock. I love direct sales but it seems to be door knocking for leads or sales is the proverbial "needle in the haystack" style of marketing. I personally like to use attraction or content marketing; better use of my time, less rejection (which takes a psychological toll on you) and higher quality leads. I get fresh leads everyday by posting quality, non commercial contemporary content on a daily basis.

If you're door knocking pre-foreclosures this is NOT needle in the haystack. As long as you scrub your list and confirm the homeowner still has an active foreclosure pending, you are knocking on the door of one of the most motivated sellers on the planet. I prefer that over direct mail, text message blasting or bandit signs. I'd rather talk to 5 motivated sellers per week than 100 unmotivated sellers.

I have a 30-day marketing plan for active foreclosures that includes a combination of personalized letters, text messaging and door knocking and I attempt to make contact with the homeowner up until 24 hours before their auction date. I call the last 7 days before the auction date "hell week" for a homeowner in foreclosure. They're out of time, stressed out and have few options. If you know what you're doing and can stop the foreclosure you'll close a lot of deals.

If the NOD paperwork doesn't have the attorney information, how do you know the property is still in foreclosure and when the auction is going to be held?

0 Votes

Quote from @Marty Boardman:

Quote from @Moe Khan:

Quote from @Marty Boardman:

Quote from @Shenell Caldeira:

@John Slater sorry a bank owned property. Itʻs been sitting in foreclosure for a few years and I wanted to ask some questions about it and maybe put in an offer.

If the bank owns the house it's not in foreclosure anymore. It's an REO (real-estate owned). And if the lender foreclosed on the property a few years ago, but still hasn't tried to sell it, then it could be because there's an issue with title, or perhaps there's a legal battle taking place with the previous owner. The bottom line is you can't make a seller sell, even when it's a bank. Most banks want to dispose of non-performing assets quickly, and will do so by selling at a public online auction like Auction.com, or list the property with a local Realtor on the MLS.

Even if you can work your way up to the bank's decision-maker on this property, it's highly unlikely they will sell directly to you. They will want to expose the property to the entire market to get a highest and best price.

Rather than doing this I would focus your efforts on finding pre-foreclosure deals. This is a much more effective approach to finding below-market deals, especially as a new investor.

Good luck Shenell!

Good info. How does a new real estate investor find a pre-foreclosure deal? I am interested in Dallas/Fort Worth area.

You search for notice of trustee's sales at the Dallas County courthouse. They publish these notices online. Here's the link: https://www.dallascounty.org/g...

Newbee here!

Would you mind spreading some light in the differences of obtaining properties of preforeclosure and trustee sales?

Having gone down to the recorders office to look at the NOD list that's really all I understand at all moment.

To be real, I don't quite know what the NOD list is other than a list of the pre foreclosure of a home.

Marty you've mentioned many times over reading through your posts that you tend to contact an owner within 30days of an auction on the home and I'm not sure how to find this information from my NOD list I've acquired. Calling the attorney involved sure, but that information isn't listed on the paperwork I am provided.

New to this space and I'm eager to learn. Still unaware of the correct questions I should be asking also.

Thank you for your time and for being a BP member, I'm really enjoying going through the forms here.

0 Votes

Hilo, Hawaii

Quote from @Marty Boardman:

Contact title companies in your area. Tell them you're a cash buyer looking to buy properties and that you want to connect with wholesalers. The title company rep may not give you names/numbers, but they'll pass your contact info on to their top wholesaler clients. And I promise they will call you. I've found many excellent wholesalers I do business this way.

Another approach...just Google "sell my house" in your area and there will be at least 3-4 paid ads, and dozens more unpaid that will pop up. These are wholesalers looking for deals. Call them up and tell them to add you to their list.

Finally, foreclosures, specifically pre-foreclosures are 100% worth it. The last 2 deals I closed were pre-foreclosures (Arizona). I paid the seller cash at closing and took title sub-to.

Good luck Guka!

If your up for the challenge of doing a flip, what would be your recommendation for a beginner to find the funding to purchase the property with enough funds to finance the flip?

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Kearsten M Higgs

Kearsten M Higgs has started 5 posts and replied 14 times.

Post: Looking to jump in!

Post: Looking to jump in!

Post: Looking to jump in!

Post: Looking to jump in!

Post: Thoughts on RENATUS

Post: Looking to jump in!

Post: regarding subject to financing.

Post: Which states have laws against door knocking Pre-foreclosues?

Post: Questions on how to contact the bank for a foreclosure

Post: How to find homes to flip?