All Forum Posts by: Laura Alamery

Yes, talk to Litton with proper Third Party Authorization.
Most lenders will not do a short sale if there is a pending loan mod, so she will have to choose which route to take.
If she was denied a loan mod, unless her income and debt figures have changed, I would not take the chance of being pushed into foreclosure, if they get tired of waiting.
Also, they might do an exception to the 90 day rule. I had that happening to me before - they took a short sale just shy of 2 months being listed.
So, definitely, talk to them! :)

I couldn't open your image. I don't know if the file size is probably too big.
Anyway, no yellow handwritten letters. I think that is unprofessional and some owners might find it insulting :)
In my experience I have always sent typewritten letters, either as a self mailer on a heavier cardstock, trifolded, or in an envelope with some catchy phrases on the envelope itself.
You can design and print them in your printer at home.
My take on this is: you are not a family member or a friend, therefore the homeowners know that you are an investor looking to purchase their home.
It is more important that you come through as you know what you are talking about, offer something they cannot resist (moving expenses paid, for example), and some great headline.
For example I had a letter that went out that said on the envelope "We don't want your Listing!" and the letter went on explaining that I would buy the property cash, no marketing and wasted time on unqualified showings, etc (of course I had a clause in the contract about showing the property to qualified partners) and I would pay for their moving expenses up to $1,500. Great response!
Regardless of the size of the geographical area that you are targeting, test it by sending it to 100 owners. You should get 2 to 5% response rate, if you have a great mailer (that is what I shoot for.)
If not, tweak it, and send it to another 100 owners.
You will get a response, just try to maximize the percentage rate. :)

I would suggest that you use a landlord property management worksheet, that will list all the possible expenses.
There are several free ones on the web - one of them is at SimplifyEm Property management http://www.topshareware.com/SimplifyEm-Property-Management-Software-download-65356.htm
As far as vacancy number, research your area - talk to agents and landlords, it usually is anywhere from 10% to 30%, depending on the area, type of property, etc.

It is always a good idea to run all real estate transactions either under a corporation or an LLC. Never personal. Also on more expensive properties (or commercial) I form a different LLC for each property - that way you isolate any issues and liabilities to that one property and it will not affect your whole real estate business, in case you run into lawsuits pertaining to that property.
LLC are easier to form and manage. Corporations require more paperwork, annual registration report and they are more expensive to form.
I assume your property is in the US and you are running the landlord business from overseas, but through US business model and tax reporting.

I totally agree. Most "gurus" must have either a big Ego or not making money in the real world! :)
I have been in real estate for over 20 years and I have mentored/coached dozens of investors in exchange for partnering on deals or for very little money.
I do get satisfaction in helping other people making money and I am still an active investor myself.
Beware of these gurus and also their ground-breaking ways of making money in real estate: it is just old real estate philosophy repackaged in a new box!
Let's see where they are in 2030! :)

Most lenders have a short sale package or a checklist of what documents they need. They might also direct you on their website where you can download them. Also I have seen in several forums that other investors post links to sites where they have short sale package forms or you can Google them.
As far as negotiating ... that is the tricky part, since it can make or break the deal. If you don't have any experience yourself, partner with someone who does on the first few deals and get some experience before venturing out on your own.
Offer part of the profits to negotiate the short sale and listen in to the phone conversation and follow the email correspondence between him/her and the lender.

Also another tip ... have a letter or something from the owner allowing you to go in the house, just in case the police drives by and see you or an unknown person trying to step into the house.
I always gave maintenance people, visitors, etc, my business card and a statement affirming that they were allowed to enter the premises.
Believe it or not, they thanked me! More than once it happened that the police walked up to them to see what they were up to.

Yes, here too! I was buying some homes that were getting foreclosed (from the same owner) and when I approached the tenants they had just found out that the owner had been dead for almost a year (that is why he wasn't making payments any more.) and the maintenance man had been collecting the rents! Over $5,000 a month!

Most of the multi-family properties here in St Louis are over 100 years old (built around the World Fair of 1904), solid brick buildings and like they say, "They don't build them like they used to."
With all the updates, I would just have a structural engineer or home inspector take a look, if you don't feel comfortable with the idea because of the age.

If you want to be an investor before being a homeowner, make sure you educate yourself about the landlord/buy and hold business and make sure the numbers fall in the right range, so that the liability of this property doesn't burden your debt to income ratio, in case you want to purchase your own home later on and cannot qualify for a mortgage because your debt ratio is too high.