All Forum Posts by: Barbara Riley

@Jeremy Davis I am also in OH. I am new and have yet to complete any deal. I am not disputing your statement that wholesaling is illegal in OH. I wonder, though, if you could direct me to the relevant ORC site. I have been unable to find it, and I think I am probably looking in the wrong place. Thanks for your help!

Meant to mention that I didn't forget you are looking for no or very low cost deals. I do not have funds to purchase on my own. I will be either a "bird dog" or a wholesaler on these until I have enough $$ saved to buy on my own. Still, good education.

Be very careful, please! There is a LOT to know about how these work!

The home owner can sell anytime prior to the sheriff's sale. It's still their house. I'm new and feeling my way on this, so be aware! :-)

I'm looking at a house now that has no mortgage. I've found several of those, surprisingly. Don't know why people don't sell rather than risk a bid at sheriff's sale that just pays the taxes and costs...leaving them nothing. I guess maybe denial plays a part? In this case, they did not show up at court or file any answer. The house is quite nice, and appears to be occupied. The sale is coming up pretty quickly. An offer of 70% (less repair and holding costs) should net them a decent amount of cash after the taxes and costs are paid. Their alternative is to let it go to sheriff's sale and take their chances. Looks to be in very good condition, and is in a nice area, so not anticipating high repair costs. I just found it this afternoon, so letter going out tomorrow. We'll see. (I pretty much try to screen for free and clear or very high equity. The court recorder's office can tell you what liens, mtgs, etc have been recorded on a property.)

My caution to you, again, learn everything about how tax liens work. I'm still learning, and I've read a lot. Be extremely careful! Personally, I would never bid at auction. Purchase prior to auction, with inspection and title search done is the only way of purchasing that I would consider safe. I'm a strong believer in failure avoidance! One bad buy can wipe out the profit from your good buys. (Learned that lesson from antique auctions. lol)

Hi, Tim! Welcome to BP. I am in north Columbus. There are BP investor meetings on the first Monday of every month. I think the July meeting will be at Yogi's on Hard Rd in Dublin from 6 PM to 8 PM. @Steve Baldwin is the contact person. Nice mix of new and experienced people. Hope to see you there. (Better double check the location, but I think it will be the same as it was June 9th.)

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Hi Zac,

I don't have marketing money either. My leads are coming 100% from driving for dollars. Although that takes some gas money, simply taking varying routes to normal destinations has filled my notebook with dozens of distressed property addresses. From there, an online search of the auditor's/tax assessor's site yields loads of property information including the owner's name and often a current address.

In most big counties, the clerk of courts has public records online. A check by owner's name will show legal actions such as foreclosure filings, judgments, divorce, etc. involving the owner. TaxLiens.Com lists active tax liens by city. It's about $40/month, but the good news is that there is a free 7-day trial which will provide numerous addresses (for my city there are hundreds) to explore further. At the risk of suggesting something you already know, I'd read up on how tax liens are handled by your local area. Here, home owners unable to pay back taxes, interest, court costs and attorney fees can lose their house even if they have no mortgage. By selling, even at wholesale, they will probably come out way ahead. Oh...I also had an "I Buy Houses" button made by Zazzle. About $10 including shipping.

Best wishes!

Welcome, Donny! Sounds like you are starting out right! Wish I'd explored REI when I was graduating. I had an interesting and I feel worthwhile professional life, but I sure wish I'd started building passive income years ago. I'd be enjoying the beach in Hawaii instead of working 40 hours in my (should be) retirement years. lol. I predict you'll do well.

I can't help you with a PM reference, but I'm really curious about how you selected the duplex. Do you have "eyes on the ground" here? It sounds like you have had more problem tenants than would be expected in a "decent area" of Bexley.

There are really nice areas in Bexley for sure, but it is a mixed bag. There are also some very rundown, high crime, areas...as there are in greater Columbus. When you vetted your PM, maybe you were screening for someone experienced managing "easier" mid and upper income properties when you needed someone not reluctant to go into an "iffy" neighborhood to collect rents and deal with problem tenants.

Columbus is definitely a smart city for investing if you choose your target areas carefully.

Best of luck!

Shaun,

I am 99.9% sure that you must live in the property for one year. You can find the specifics of FHA financing at their website though. Also, you must occupy the property within 60 says of closing. Failure to follow these rules can lead to fines or even criminal charges as I understand it. Talk to the lender about whether there might be any exceptions. I wish I'd been smart enough to buy a double when I bought my first primary residence.

Hi, again. Actually, @Jerry W, I was referring to the VA Vendee Financing program. Non-veteran investor down payment "as low as 5%" on their foreclosed properties. No mtg insurance, no appraisal fees. Good deal. We have maybe 20 at any given time in the greater Columbus, OH area. I don't think this is a widely known program.

Yes. The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investment. I also like Sean Terry (Flip2Freedom website). He posts notice of his webinars on Twitter...@Sean Terry. Good wholesaling / customized negotiating strategies / scripts, etc. He does podcasts too. I've not heard them yet, but I was told they are good.