All Forum Posts by: Leah Ezra

 Ryan, 

we pay utilities and the HOA.

 My husband and I are actually planning on moving to San Diego within the next couple years, so I am not necessarily planning on living here. However, if the house could potentially sit here for years, I don't want to just give it back. I feel that it could potentially be an investment, it's a perfectly fine house and needs minor work, all of which is cosmetic. The house is fairly new, after 2000's, so it's up to date. My thought process is we've been here for 6 years in foreclosure, and we still haven't heard anything. If it were to sit for some plus years, I would rather find a way to secure it and use it as an income source, rather than just give up. 

 Wayne, I need a solution and not necessarily the negatives! I'm not asking to have the home for free, however, I am looking for a solution(s) and how to approach those solutions. :) 

 Miguel, my dad is a general contractor working with investors. One of the investors he works with has told him he made an offer over a year ago, but we have not heard anything. My dad said he's not sure the deal ever went through. The house has moved banks countless times, within the past 6 years. A bank called last year about this time and gave us a "warning," but nothing has happened so far. We actually haven't even reached out to the banks or inquired at all.

My parents separated in 2012, my father was the one to initially leave. When he moved out, I lived with my mom in our family home, but eventually she moved in with her new partner. At the time she decided to move, she offered that I either move as well, or keep the home and pay rent to her. I chose to pay rent and stay. I am still in the same home, now living with my husband and 3 dogs. This home isn't where we intend on staying for the rest of our lives, however, I feel like letting this home go would be silly. The house has been in foreclosure for going on 6 years this August (I believe). We have a feeling that the bank has lost the deed/paperwork to the home. I am curious what measures we could take so that we can guarantee our home won't be taken away, and we can own it free and clear. 

 Phillip, I am not 100% sure of this option, as I currently inhabit a home I don't plan on leaving at the time. 

Hi Christopher, 

my ideal is to focus more time on my e-commerce site and build it further. Once that income succeeds, I will take it and put it into investing. I currently have a client I work with 2 or 3 days a week, and my husband and I are planning on doing conventions to make some cash flow, but still have enough time to focus on our business. At the end of the day, we need to pay bills, but we kept getting stuck in the rat race trying to keep our bank accounts pretty. We worked and had money, but no time and energy to really build our business. Now we may not make as much as we did, but enough to maintain a lifestyle, and have a lot more time to build our own success. 

I will continue to study up, before making any further deals. Most of the deals I've been listening to were termed deals, where they were either purchased for what was owed on the loan, leased with the option to buy, or owner financed. Once the owner agreed to lease, the investor would place a tenant in the house, but charge a high nonrefundable down payment. They never paid out of pocket for the property, but made money on the deal by being a broker. In owner financing deals, the investor would find a renter and charge a profit on each month's rent, so if the owner wanted $600 a month, the investor would ask for $800 a month, pay the loan as well as make a small profit. Then there's the buy at what's owed option, which you would likely pay out of pocket for or get a loan, but then immediately flip the house at retail price, OR rent it out. 

I am interested in any type really, but I've given the most thought to flipping and renting.

I am local to Las Vegas, I just joined a lot of meet up groups including Bigger Pockets last night. This past week I have been filling my head with as much information as I possibly can, and shall continue doing so. I have always talked to my husband about doing REI, but I haven't quite felt like I had the time or energy to dedicate to the subject. About two weeks ago I was let go from my day job, due to my employer having cash flow issues. I started sending out a ton of resumes to try and find something part time to keep me afloat, and so far nobody has responded to my emails/calls. I decided that if nobody is responding, that must mean its just time for me to forget about the financial risk of not having steady income for the time being, and just go for my dreams! Investing is one of those dreams.

Being that I am a rookie, however, I feel that I need some guidance. I've been seeing a lot of mastermind groups and such, but I'm not sure if a group will be as beneficial to me as having some kind of mentor that is focused on me. What are your opinions on groups vs. a mentor? 

I am also writing to this forum to ask what the best deals for a rookie to start making are? I've been studying a lot of Legrand and Pustejovsky methods, talking about using little to no cash or credit on deals. These methods sound incredibly appealing, but I'm not fully understanding deals like ACTS, and how they work. I understand the basic, however, I'm not understanding the amount of money in which is earned off of each deal. Most of the houses I see in Las Vegas, only ask for first and last months rent, which is usually nowhere near $10,000 +. Can other investors in Las Vegas comment on how this method works in the specific market we have here? Are Legrand methods actually the best, and if not, what are better methods or other methods I could begin using? 

I have always had a clear vision of what I wanted to do, but I finally have the time to educate myself and really get started with my business. 

My husband and I would like to go into business together, so whatever way we file taxes I'd like to do once a year for both of us. As of now, I am looking into getting my tax identification number, and a business license. I have an online clothing store that I'm in the process of building. It's become a hobby of mine, as well as an income source. Eventually my plan is to use the store for income to invest in real estate as well as other investments. I want to know how I should go about my taxes and write offs, so that I am able to use money rather than really spend it, and what I should state my business as (an llc, corporation, or sole proprietorship)? What do most REI's claim their business to be?