All Forum Posts by: Luz Pagan

I am an investor, but my Degree is in Criminal Justice.

Hello everyone,

So if you go to my main page your will see that I invested in 3 properties the same year. This situation started in 2018 and I was all over the place. Then my husband wanted to buy a gas station and manage it. The latter was a terrible investment decision. We lost 300k, and we were slaves of the business with no earnings.

My first investment went this way: We bought the house  and fixed. we invested the same almost amount almost the same amount of the purchase price $89 K. We started with "Sale by Owner" that took us some time. We hired a real estate agent who was given approximately 2 months to sale the house. She took the challenge. However, she could not sale the house and came back with the great idea of reducing the house price (sarcasm) We said, Absolutely "No" The neighbor value is a working class neighborhood. Lowering our profit, plus her commission would have been a lost for us. No way I was losing more money, after the gas station fiasco.

We sold the house, but not as expected...We became the bank and sold it for the price plus a 4% interest. No a bad deal for the buyer or us. We could have asked for more money, but we are honest people. However, we did ask for a down payment of 37K. We have received Note Offers from companies, but we have received very low offers for the notes. Lenders are able to gain all the interest as long as they give us the principal owe. However, there are a lot of sharks in the water. I understand everyone wants to earn something, but the reality is that becoming a bank or selling a note is not as profitable for those of you who want cash now, as it could be. In addition, we did so many upgrades to that house that the market value increase significantly in the area.   That is the only bad thing about becoming the bank.

On the lot that we bouhgt, we received an offer from an unknown company, but they only offer us 20K. Not bad, but I am ambitious. We posted the land for 53K. It has two days on the market as your read this.

Our last and 3rd investment in real estate property was a beautiful house in a very high class neighborhood. We also posted it on Zillow two days ago. There are so many people inquiring about it and some many view in Zillow that is ridiculous. We have an open house tomorrow and we are expecting to sell that house for top dollars. I personally will never advised a new person to buy more than one property at the time. We have learned a lot, but this has caused us a very long delay with no earnings that can make me leave my job.

Now I am trying to sell the house without a realtor. Honestly, I have worked so hard that I do not want someone charging me or inquiring about a small commission for doing nothing, but waiting for clients. This time we are selling by owner, without offering finance to anyone.  Honestly, I do not mind giving  realtor some percentage, but why? I have done all the work without the realtor's help. What do you guys think?

A piece of advise to new people. IF you do not have the finances to rent, or do a note. DO NOT DO IT. Just buy and sale. Do not hold properties.

@Mike McCarthy yes I will definitely hire them again and referr them. They help me so much!!

One of my suggestions is the following: if you want RE to be your only job/business, make sure you speak with a financial advisor about - few important things:

Retirement 

Health Insurance

Savings

Your earnings

Insurance alone is a mess here in FL, it is so expensive. So plead just plan ahead.

I want to update you all on the closet subject. We ended up building a closet and make the 3rd room with about $500. It was a blessing in disguised. We hired a septic person who gave is a page 4 and the county agreed to list the home as a 3 bedroom apartment since we got the permit to extend the study room. They were super nice! So from having a contractor who fool us with the extension when we asked for a 3rd bedroom, We were able to get it done for much less than expected. Most professionals were charging $2000-$5000 to certified a 3rd bedroom and inspect the septic and the disposal area. I hope this help you guys and if you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out.

Hi BP,

I would love for someone to help me out understanding and doing short sales and auctions. I guess what I am requesting is someone who will allow me to shadow them in any of these two deals. i am tired of gurus and people that wants to charge you for this this!

CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW

[FLORIDA STATUTES § 713.015]

ACCORDING TO FLORIDA’S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW (SECTIONS 713.001-713.37, FLORIDA STATUTES), THOSE WHO WORK ON YOUR PROPERTY OR PROVIDE MATERIALS AND SERVICES AND ARE NOT PAID IN FULL HAVE A RIGHT TO ENFORCE THEIR CLAIM FOR PAYMENT AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY. THIS CLAIM IS KNOWN AS A CONSTRUCTION LIEN. IF YOUR CONTRACTOR OR A SUBCONTRACTOR FAILS TO PAY SUBCONTRACTORS, SUB-SUBCONTRACTORS, OR MATERIAL SUPPLIERS, THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE OWED MONEY MAY LOOK TO YOUR PROPERTY FOR PAYMENT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID YOUR CONTRACTOR IN FULL. IF YOU FAIL TO PAY YOUR CONTRACTOR, YOUR CONTRACTOR MAY ALSO HAVE A LIEN ON YOUR PROPERTY. THIS MEANS IF A LIEN IS FILED YOUR PROPERTY COULD BE SOLD AGAINST YOUR WILL TO PAY FOR LABOR, MATERIALS, OR OTHER SERVICES THAT YOUR CONTRACTOR OR A SUBCONTRACTOR MAY HAVE FAILED TO PAY. TO PROTECT YOURSELF, YOU SHOULD STIPULATE IN THIS CONTRACT THAT BEFORE ANY PAYMENT IS MADE, YOUR CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A WRITTEN RELEASE OF LIEN FROM ANY PERSON OR COMPANY THAT HAS PROVIDED TO YOU A “NOTICE TO OWNER.” FLORIDA’S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW IS COMPLEX, AND IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONSULT AN ATTORNEY.

@Mike Koprowski,

I have called a septic company to come and check the septic for me. For free, whic is awesome. I will be calling the city today to check in the capacity of the septic. 

The house is in a HOA community. I guess that when I call I will have more information and wether or not I will upgrate.

I will keep everyone in the loop, so they can learn from my experience. 

ok. I will call them tomorrow. Thank you @Davido Davido

@Dennis M.,

The room it was an enclosed porch. So I added some square footage to make it a bedroom. I want to make a three bedroom home, so I have to get a permit if I want a closet. I will have a septic professional coming to the house ans check if the septic is capable of holding a 3 bedroom house. If so, i just need to request the permit. If not I guess I will buy a wardrobe. Unfortunately, if you want to be in the game in my area, you have to play the game.