All Forum Posts by: Lin Ding

Hi Bryan, I see no comments on this. Sorry I don't have the answer, yet I'm on the same boat. Hopefully you closed successfully on your house. I'm making my offer on my first time home buy. I still have no clue what I'm doing or what I should look for while reviewing the sale agreement. But My agent encourages me to put $2k down as initial deposit for a $190k offer and financing estimate 95%. I was offered by the mortgage broker I talked to the $15k down payment assistance including closing cost. 

It would be nice to know what happened to your home purchase.

Best,

Lin

Hi all, is there or do you know any portfolio lenders out there in the Tampa Bay Area or Florida in general? Please get in contact with me. Thank you very much!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Lin

Thank you very much @Shawn Greeves! Your advice is precious. It's more clear to me now. Have a good holiday!

Lin

@Account Closed It's so scary thinking about knocking on the door. I never seen the person who lives there. I just see this rusty old truck in the front yard covered by tall grasses. And sometimes during the nighttime, I see some lights and it seems the TV is on..... How do you normally start the conversation and also don't sound threatening? The guy probably doesn't have any other place to go either. 

@Shawn Greeves what letter report? Sorry still trying to understand everything.

Hey BP nation, I've been thinking about this for quite a few days. I would like some advice. Ok here's the situation. There is this distressed property one block from me. I walk my dog every day by this property. Well, the area I live in is a very popular area, growing and the city is investing a lot money redeveloping this city park down the street to a high-end shopping, entertainment and restaurant condensed area. For a 2b2b condo it sells for $300+K. There are half-million or million dollar homes on every block. And many new houses or new constructions are here. But this house is not at all well maintained. Tall grass, window unit, looks pretty old (built in 1908), just in a bad shape, comparing to the houses around it, just not "fancy" at all. I looked it up on Zillow, this is a 1bed 1bath 716 sqft and it has a backyard. When I searched it on tax record, it shows the owner is behind on taxes, still owes 2015 taxes. And there's a tax certificate issued for 2015. As a newbie, not very sure what this means. I looked on auction or tax lien website but it's not on there for auction sale. Can the owner still redeem the tax certificate? How can I buy this property if I'm interested? Should I go knock on the door asking if he wants to sell the place or should I send yellow letters? I found out online he's a 63-year old elder. Say if I bought the place, does it mean there's a tax lien on it and someone else can buy it at an auction since it has a tax certificate created? I'm a little confused what I should do here. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Lin

@Account Closed the one lender I talked to usually charge 5 points and 12% interest. I had a gap between the acceptable price and funding. It seemed to be not for me as a new investor. I'll keep looking for other deals at a better price. You make money when you buy not when you sell. 

Thanks all for your attention!

Thank you @Stephen Quesinberry for sharing your very first deal. And it's great you break it down in details for us. And you are right, as a beginner we are so tend to over-complicate things, try to overthink 5 steps ahead and feel overwhelmed and then stuck. Focus on one thing and one after another. And the instinct on a good deal takes practice after analyzing a bunch of properties. It's almost like peeling an onion, not until after 4 or 5 layers you don't see it's really a good one. But we got to do the work one layer at a time and be patient climbing that learning curve before becoming an expert. I'm in that process of finding my first deal and preparing to learn tons more than I can be educated by books and seminars/classes.

By the way, you are in a great market. I moved here from Dallas. It's a biiiiiiiig city and has a large population. Your next is just around the corner!

Best,

Lin

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I'm sure the profit margin on this one is pretty thin and also subject to the accuracy of those estimate. I would be lucky if I break even on this if BRRRR strategy is the way I want to go. How about wholesaling and seller financing option on this one if they are possible? This will totally change which type of contract and contingency clauses I need to include in the sale agreement. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie and the very first real estate investment deal is so nerve wracking, Especially I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm working with an agent on a property posted on MLS. I've been reading, listening to podcast and even took some real estate courses. But still doing the real thing is so different from what can be learned. So please help me evaluate my first deal. I know there are these amazing calculators to use. But some numbers I don't know what to put in there, so the estimate can be way off... My strategy is BRRRR and after a few years I may consider to renovate and sell. That said, my first deal, HELP!

It's a Single-Family located in a nice location and quiet neighborhood with newer homes being constructed on that same side same street, and it's just steps away from CVS and Walgreen. It's also only a few blocks away from "The Bayshore"(waterfront). It's 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, 1,342 sqft. The lot is 10,125 sqft. The house is built in 1940. The report shows it has lead paint since it's built before 1978 and has termite problem in the unattached garage building. They already got a full price offer @ $179,900 but because of the termites, the buyer insists on treatment, so my agent suggests me to put a matching offer in. ARV based on my agent's comps is about $220k, however using some other comps system it comes out as about $250k. Estimate repair cost is $15k to bring the property up to date. Property tax $691/yr. Rent in the area about $1300-$1600/month. I'll go with $1500/month. Hard Money lender will fund 65% ARV ($250k) which is only about $163k, which means it has to come out of my own pocket $17k plus repair cost. Can I find a second lender for this deal if I don't have money to put down? Also could you help me to evaluate if this is a good deal or I should walk away?!

Thank you very much!

Lin