All Forum Posts by: Mack Lev

I was watching this guy on YouTube named Phil Pustejovsky and he talks about all these creative ways of investing, best tactics to use, etc.. And I know some real estate gurus can be kinda phony and cheesy but this guy was genuine. Getting to my point, he has a apprenticeship program which you can apply to join, and it's basically a mentor following you step by step to make sure your doing all your translations correctly. And in the end the profits are split 50/50. I know your first thoughts are, "that's crazy and not needed". But 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. And I would pay good money to have a mentor by side to make money with. Now my question is have any of you guys heard of a similar program that does this kinda work. Paid mentors hip. I'm also in the Houston area if that information helps. Thanks. -Mack

Originally posted by @Heath Thomas Jr:

The best way to determine the actual value of a house is to use the MLS. This means getting your license and learning to pull comps, or use an agent. Agents are usually happy to do this, as long as you A.) Purchase the house through them or B.) sell the house through them.

Since you are going to be wholesaling these you should probably get your license or work out something with an agent so they don't have to work for you for free. 

As for liens, I believe they are all wiped out. If not your settlement attorney will alert you to any liens, but by then it may be too late to back out of the auction, depending on what site you are using. 

I would love to be able to do the work for myself and not have to use a real estate. Although im not opposed to the idea of someone seasoned helping me but I do want a little independence. The license your referring to is just a regular real estate license? And that license allows me to utilize the MLS like a realtor would?

Originally posted by @Ned Carey:

Yes this can be a practical idea. But you haven't said much about your financial situation. How much cash do you have? Do you have the funds for holding costs and renovation of the property?  Are these funds in addition to any reserves you need for repairs on your rental property? How much risk are you comfortable with? 

These questions and more go into whether it is a good idea for you.

Not much at this current point in time. I dont know if i stated this, but I have a cheap rental property owned free and clear and I was planning on getting a HELOC for it. So must of my funding would come from that.

When i went to purchase house insurance for it they said the value of the property was $82k, but I bought it in 2014 for $26k. So its conflicting numbers to some degree but basically I assume I would get hopefully maybe $40k through the HELOC to invest in. My on hand cash isn't as much. (Im only 21)

Alright so I'm currently trying to get myself in a position to use the equity from my rental (that's owned free and clear) to try to acquire another piece of property for a flip. My rental property is cheap so I'm guessing at a 60% LTV with a maximum property value at about $30k hopefully I can get somewhere around the $16k figure. Now my preference is to bid for a foreclosed home online because the profit margin in the end is very substantial depending upon what you get. So my question to you seasoned investors is will I have enough money to compete in bidding out other investors? Is $15k enough? (For a decent property) And also I plan on selling which ever property I get as-is to save time and money since I already acquired it so cheap and because most likely will be out of state. But are there any other expenses I should save/borrow for? And any other tips i should know when bidding online? Thanks in advance, Mack

Alright so I'm in love with the idea of buying property at a severely discounted rate through online auctions. The opportunities seem endless. But Im confused on a number of things.

1)How do you determine the actual value of the house?

-I know sites like zillow and truila exist but i feel like those aren't exact. And I don't want to contact a realtor everytime to find out the exact value but I'm not sure if thats the norm (Im still a novice at this). And if i do have to contact a realtor for exact figures do I have to use one for that area or can I just use someone I already know locally?

2) When doing your due diligence what do you look for? And are all liens wiped out through the foreclosure?

- I know checking the county website will tell you alot but is there anything else I should look out for? Again these online auctions are for properties out of state so I would have to be calling the shots from afar. Im willing to make trips if needed but the idea is not too, if thats possible .And my primary strategy is to sell as is. Since the property was already severely discounted why bother with fix up? Get in get out is my strategy.

Again thanks for all comments, opinions and suggestions, and advice.

-Mack

Okay so granted my situation.. •$5k line of credit •1 cheap rental property owned free and clear It's a start to start rolling in real estate but to me honestly my resources are limiting me. So I was considering taking out a investors loan with a down payment to go to a tax sale auction to win a property that was originally out of my range then pay the loan back on the flip. Worst case scenario is that I walk away at the tax auction with nothing or my other efforts in trying to find the right deal have failed. So I would just return the loan, pay the interest, pay the repayment fee, and the monthly payments that came with the loan. For a $50k loan that may all equal out to $1500+ of my own money just for holding the loan. My question to you seasoned investors is what I'm thinking practical? I mean I dont want to go to a tax sale auction and get outbidded every single time because I didn't have the money to compete with anyone. That's a waste of property researching and my time. I'd like to know what you guys think or if there's any other methods to use the loan money to my advantage or to even jump in real estate with the resources I have. All responses are appreciated. Thanks in advance -Mack

Okay so Iam a novice investor with only 1 rental property under my belt that is owned free and clear (also I'm only 21). I was thinking about using the equity in that home to go out and do other real estate investments.

Now the property isn't worth much (purchased it for $26k in 2014, listed for $22k) and I know the LTV on a non owner occupied home is low (Wells Fargo is 60%). So if I can pull out only a small considerable amount assuming I can pull out anything at all would it be a good idea to combine that with the money from my regular LOC? ($5k limit but working on raising that)

Or would it be just a better idea to raise my LOC as much as possible and just try to use the funding from that?

Also if anyone has any other tips on how to further my investment portfolio with my limited funding and average credit score (694) please tell me. I'm all ears! 

Thanks in advance

Mack