All Forum Posts by: Kim Bayless

@Cassi Justiz thanks for the reply. I did try a few local banks, but they want to use my personal income and credit score for loan decision rather than asset based.

I’ve researched but keep finding lenders who won’t go below $75K loan amount. Needs to be under my LLC, and based on asset value/rental income. Getting a mortgage in my personal name is not an option. I’m preapproved for larger amounts. The lender minimum is my sticking point. Any suggestions?

@Renat S. that's most likely a tax issue, they must rent it for 6 months to be able to write off the loss in a more advantageous way.

Would you mind sharing the contact you talked with? Was their number listed on the FSBO site?

I'm very interested in pursing this house I found.  If possible!

I keep getting conflicting answers when researching, so hoping someone current on the changes can help me out. My father passed away in February 2018. My mother was told she must sell their home by the end of 2018 to qualify for the married $500K gains exclusion. If it sells after that, she only gets the $250K single exclusion. Is this correct?? I see where it changed from one year to 2 years in 2007, but did it change back to 1 year now?

There's usually a  Frankenstein house in every neighborhood.  Abandoned and grown up for months or years.  But I was surprised to run across a severely neglected one that is owned by Invitation Homes.

Has anyone tried buying vacant homes from them? Why would they buy an REO property in 2015 in a fairly nice neighborhood, and then abandon it??

Thanks for the input!  The existing plywood is not swelled, surprisingly.  Just very very wet.  Looks like it will be better and faster to pull it. Could possibly have even reached the floor joists.  I need to get in there and be sure how far it goes.

I bought an REO townhome that I just started work on. Obviously they never bothered to walk their dogs. I pulled out the old carpet and pad, which were still wet, and found that the subfloor is soaked as well.

I read some prior posts about sealing with Kilz, but does it need to be dried completely first?  Not sure whether to try and save it, or replace it.  Any advice welcome!

I use my iPad for most of my real estate business.  It's loaded up with everything I need to go paperless:  deal analysis forms, rehab estimator etc. for running the numbers, and all my different forms/contracts.  Seller digitally signs on the spot when we come to a deal.

I sometimes use a desktop for research, but that's about it.

Welcome Shane!  I'm nearby on the West side.  Lots of opportunity in the area.

One suggestion as an alternative to renting....look for a property you can buy subject to the existing mortgage.  Payment usually lower than rent (for the same value home), and when you move later then rent it out for cash flow.  Or flip it.  The mortgage isn't in your name, so it doesn't affect your ability to borrow on a home later.  

In addition to BP, a good resource for education is the local REIAs.  There are several.  Meetup is a good site to find details and schedules.

Welcome! I second the suggestion to check out local REIAs, especially Atlanta REIA. Networking is key when you are new. I've met several veteran investors who helped me a lot. I've been in real estate for a long time but mainly on the retail side. Learned a lot in a few months. If I can help in any way feel free to contact me.