All Forum Posts by: Lee Pedrazas

I am hoping to find a successful real estate investor who would be willing to take me under his/her wing. I am a newly licensed Realtor and a part time student at UT. I will graduate in June of 07 and plan to work as an agent while building my own portfolio. I am very sincere and look forward to meeting you.

Please contact me via email with questions.

Thank you.

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Is it possible to find good deals on the MLS? I'm in the process of gettting my sales license here in Texas and was hoping to specialize in investment properties.

anyone?

I see a ton of these in the MLS that advertise "Great cash flow" or :cash cow", but when I run a really quick analysis (mortgage payment, closing costs, 30% for expenses and vacancy, and taxes) I get either no cash flow, minimal cash flow, or a loss.. Are they talking only to people who can put 100k down, lying, not know what they are talking about or what? Is there something wrong with my rough analysis?

I got that info from a link that was posted under another topic having to do with section 8. Looking back, it is not actually part of the section 8 website and the numbers are proposed figures for 2007. Here is the link http://www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr/fmr2007P/FY2007P_ScheduleB.pdf

I'm in Texas and considering purchasing a fourplex in a lower income community of mostly fourplexes. One of the units is rented at approximatley 600 per month, but according to the section 8 website the section 8 FMR is over 800 per month. If I could get section 8 tenants in the rest of the units i would cash flow pretty well... in fact I'd be very happy with it.

My question is: How long does it take and how difficult is it to get section 8 tenants into the place? Since there is only one unit rented, I would be at a loss until I got more tenants.

Much appreciated!

I have joined a local REI club, but I don't understand how this will help me to learn the market. The first REI meeting that I went to was great in that I got a lot of contacts for brokers, hml, inspectors, etc, but I still have no idea if the foreclosedl or handyman special homes I find in the mls are below market value.

There seems to be a wealth of information online, but not a lot of info for true beginners. For instance, I know that I will need to use a hard money lender and that I will have to find a deal that I can purchase and rehab for 70% ARV. I know that I need to be able to acurately estimate repairs, closing costs, ARV (very important), time, loan costs, etc. I understand that this is a numbers game above all else.

I can know all of these things, but I still have no way to estimate ARV. I have no idea what houses are selling for in any given area now so I can't even determine current market value. In terms of repairs I'm also relatively clueless. I would have to call a contractor to come out and give me an estimate on any particular property taht I was even considering purchashing. I would also have to get an appraisal ahead of time to make sure that I thought I could get the property at a good price. And since I would jsut be guessing, I may have to pay for an appraisal on several properies before I found a candidate. Then, if I decide to go with the property I could make an offer contingent on an inspection and financing, and my lender will probably require another appraisal by one of their guys so I would end up paying for two appraisals. Do you see what I'm getting at?

I' perfectly willing to put in the time to get things done and learn what I need to learn, but I need someone to point me in the right direction.

All advice and help appreciated.

How can I learn my market without access to real estate agents' CMAs?

Recent sales prices aren't listed with the tax office. I need to be able to estimate ARV, but without cmas or the ability to look up sales prices with the tax office this seems impossible.

I would get an agent, but I'm not ready to actually buy anything. I'm 23 and in school full time over the summer and again in the fall with almost no break. I should be ready to purchase next summer. I just need to be able to learn the areas around town in the mean time.

Any suggestions? The more specific the better. Should I stick to one area or neighborhood at a time until I learn that one (or at least learn the listing prices)?

I need help...

I don't like the online appraisal sites like zillow and the rest. I don't feel comfortable with their results. Do any of you routinely use one of those sites with success?? For my area the recent sales VS zillow estimates are way off.

All advice appreciated.

I'm starting a new thread which better explains what I'm looking for.