All Forum Posts by: Lilac M.

The books you listed are a great starting point to get your excited and inspired about making money in real estate. I have to second Josh on this one - there is a wealth of information online, and if you read as many online articles, blogs, and forums as you can, you will most likely get as much useful information as any book can provide. Remember that the current economic situation is very different than the economy when a lot of books were written, so specific strategies may not be relevant at the current time.

My tenants want to rent-to-own the property they are currently renting. Unfortunately they are under the impression that the property is worth a lot less than it really is, although I've told them the actual value. If I agree to do rent-to-own, can I simply let them put a portion of their rent towards a deposit for a couple years and then let them buy it at market value at the time (based on an appraisal)? Or does a selling price need to be worked out ahead of time? What happens if after the given amount of time they decide they don't want to buy it or can't get financing - can I keep the portion of rent that would have gone to the downpayment? How do these things usually work?

I wonder if laminate flooring (Pergo) would have worked for heavy-wear tenants. I've always thought it was cheap looking, but recently saw a Pergo job that really looked like nice hardwood, just tougher and more resistant to pet scratches and spills.

To answer your original question, I think the key is not the type of repair needed, but having the right contacts to have it fixed cheaply -a really affordable handyman can make a place's interior look great without costing a lot.

I once heard from a real estate agent that buildings with structural problems are the best deal because no one wants to touch it, and owners will sometimes dump the for a fraction of the price, and an entire building can usually be propped up for a lot less than you'd think. For example, a building might be discounted $200K because of structural problems, but the fix is only $50K. I've seen a couple 'good deals' like this, but was never brave enough to take them on.

I just wanted to say thanks for the warm welcome and the tips. I'm thinking that if I don't have any luck with financing, I might try flipping some of my existing properties this year, or maybe just focusing on my educational real estate software company,[LINK REMOVED]. Real estate is so much fun - it's hard to not have a project going...

I wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce myself. My husband and I are real estate investors in the greater Denver area (everything from houses to apartment buildings). Both of us are self-employed, and at the moment I'm busy being a full-time Mom (to twins) and part-time entrepreneur. Since the lending industry right now doesn't look too fondly on the self-employed and the days of creative loans based on stated income are over, we're trying to come up with some new strategies to be able to continue real estate investing without leveraging the way we used to. It's pretty frustrating that this is such a great time to find deals on real estate, but getting lending is so difficult. I'd love to connect with others in the same boat and see if anyone is aware of owner-financing and private lending deals in the Denver area.