All Forum Posts by: Louis Davis

 @David Rey 

Typically when I write out my contracts, I include the name of the Title/Escrow company along with the name of the Escrow manager. Disclosure is always key and you want to be sure that the seller is being taken care during the closing process while you are lining up your buyer. 

The phrase (Investor friendly) has always made me laugh. There are title companies that are more difficult than others but they all generally know how to read contracts and close deals for you. The key is building a relationships with about 2 or 3 companies you feel comfortable with so when you do use them, they already know the process and you won't have to break it down again. 

Hope that helps! 

@Matthew M. If you already have a background in contracting then I would start off with the contracting business. Obtain your license if you haven't done so and now you will not only be able to build capital by getting jobs from other investors, but you can also learn about the flipping business by having conversations with the investors. You can find out how much they bought the property for, and how much they plan to resell it for. You already will know the cost of the rehab ;)

Being a GC(General Contractor) brings a ton of value to the table for investors and you are able to employ others in the community. 

Hope that Helps! 

@Ivan Casale The Arizona market is tough due to there is a ton of investors out there. Arizona is damn near the birthplace of wholesaling due to that's where most of the people that teach wholesaling reside. From my last visit there, a lot of people are teaming up and attacking certain parts of the market and they tend to not step on each others toes when it comes to territory. My advice would be to reach out to some of these guys so that you can get hands on learning. Figure out how they market, buy and sell the properties then once you feel comfortable enough, break away and start your own operation. 

Hope that helps

@Matt Quinney Typically you will have renters insurance and home owners insurance on the house to account for unexpected events. $500/month would be great ROI depending on the purchase price. I know investors where if they are making at least $250/month on the property they are happy. FYI, I never buy at full value. Always start with the purchase in profit.

@Erin Empleo Find out what your passionate about in life. What that means is, don't focus on the career that makes the most money. Focus on what you love the most so you can make the most out of it. In this day and age, you can be anything you want. True that's a cliché statement but it is very true. But nobody can answer this question except for you. Good luck

Louis 

@Travis P. You can always check the markets on zillow but the most affective way is to speak with agents and build those relationships. They can not only help you find the property but can run numbers on rentals or resale. You should never use your opinion alone. I have been in this business for 15 years and still look to see what others think.

Hope that helps, 

Louis

@Ryan Speegle This question is always the hardest to answer because usually the person asking the question doesn't know what they want to do. So essentially it's hard to guide you one way or another. It's not necessary to have a license to do real estate depending on what you are trying to do with real estate. For most beginners, they start off with learning how to wholesale because it teaches you how to analyze and negotiate the properties and helps you make a wide range of connections. From that point, you can choose what is worth your time. Is it worth your time and money to flip or buy and hold? Reach out if you wanna go deeper. 

Louis 

@Jacob Morris The biggest risk in real estate is using your own money. You don't need to empty your accounts to buy properties in real estate. The first thing you need to do is find out what you want to specialize in with real estate. Do you want to buy and hold or do you want to flip? The BRRRRR method is a part of the buy and hold method just with a twist on refinancing on the backend to cash out your equity. But do you really want to be a landlord?

Real estate has a lot of different ways to make you wealthy but can also be a headache if rushed into. Yes you can make passive income on rentals. You can also make lucrative amounts with flipping or even assigning properties to buyers that are looking for investments. Find out what it is that brings you passion about real estate and everything else will fall into place. 

Hope this helps, 

Louis

@Zane Clarke 

Seller finance is a swiss army knife with many different weapons.  You have to figure out which tool to use and to do that, you have to have a lot of knowledge about why the seller is looking to sell and the back story of the property. There are 2 different ways to do seller finance: 

1. Owner carry: This is typically used when the seller owns the property free and clear. This way the seller can act as the bank and take monthly payments on the property. For example: Seller wants $100k, property is worth $150k and little rehab is needed on it. I will explain to the seller that I can pay them $80k cash and close in 30 days or $100k over time and some time in the future I will get the property refinanced and cash him/her out. 

2. Owner Finance: This is typically used when the seller has a mortgage on the property and has equity as well. I use this method when I know there is spread in between what the seller wants and how much is owed on the property. You can do 1 of 2 things. 

Option 1:  Calculate what the seller is asking and how much he owes. For example, Seller owes $50k on the house and he is asking $100k. Naturally he wants to walk away with $50k after having the mortgage paid off. What I would do is offer $50k and take over his payments. Now I get a property that is in decent shape with a lot of spread at a highly discounted price. 

Option 2: Using the same example. Seller wants $100k for the property. Owes $50k and property is worth $150k. I will inform the seller that I can pay them cash at $80k and close within 30 days or take over their payments, build equity in the property and sell it on the MLS for full value. Therefor, seller's mortgage is paid, he gets his $50k and he didn't have to do any work. Benefit for me is that I only put up money to rehab the property and listed it. Light work....

It's a long answer but there is no short answer when it comes to "seller finance." Reach out if any of this confused you. 

Louis

@Matt Quinney I focus on the rental rates in the area and have a bottom line number of how much I want to net after expenses. I find this to be easier than just putting a percentage on it. So if you have a property worth $465k, I would focus on what it's renting for in the area. A decent tool to use is www.rentometer.com. But I just use this as a guideline, not the holy grail. 

Hope that helps, 

Louis