All Forum Posts by: Marty Boardman

No Justin, I do not believe this is the future of house flipping. 

I was approached a few years ago by an investment group in Phoenix looking to implement this strategy (JV agreement). They wanted me to provide the design concepts/SOW/budget for the properties and utilize my rehab team. They would lend the homeowner the funds for the rehab and compensate me for my time. It didn't work out because there were way too many people involved in the decision-making. The owners were especially difficult to work with. Basically everyone watches HGTV and so everyone thinks they're an expert with design. And since it's still their house they want the final say. Never a good idea to "partner" with someone you don't know.

Also, HUGE risk putting up the rehab funds without owning the property. If the owner files bankruptcy, goes into foreclosure or dies you'll have a difficult time getting your money back.

I agree with @Justin Fox - it's best to have full control over the outcome of the deal. Even with the proper expectations set people are people. Buyers are liars, sellers are worse :)

 That's great Michael! Congrats!

So cool this worked for you Michael! I'm curious what you mean by "on board"? Were you seeking her approval to invest money in real estate? Or were you looking for her to be your business partner/co-decision maker?

I've been married for 24 years (dating/engaged for 6 before that) so I've been with my wife for 30 years. I quit my 9-5 job after we'd been married for 5 years to go into real estate investing full-time. I tried everything to get her involved. We attended networking events, mastermind groups, I shared books with her...all of it. But she never had any interest in real estate. I wanted her to be my partner in the business but it just wasn't her thing.

This frustrated me at first, but I had a friend that told me to be grateful that my wife trusted me enough to quit my job, and make important business decisions without her involvement. Sure, it would be cool to be the cute (well she's cute, I'm not) rehab couple that goes around fixing up houses like you see on HGTV. This sounds like an ideal situation and it works for most couples.

The point is if you can get your significant other/spouse to be your partner then great! It's fun to collaborate and work with the ones you love. But don't get too upset if they don't want to run the business with you. All that matters is you have their support/trust.

Got it! You could also wait until it's closer to the sellers' auction dates and negotiate subject-to deals with them. Then you don't need HML or a partner. You could offer each of them 3-5K to sign title over to you. You may have to kick in enough cash to cover their Realtors' commissions as well.

I can't comment on Indianapolis, I don't flip houses there. But when I get this question from wholesalers in my market the answer is always...

ALL that matters is MARGIN. If there is enough margin between the ARV and purchase price then I do the deal. I don't care where it's located or how much work is required.

As a wholesaler it's imperative that you understand what it costs to rehab a house, as well as the holding costs, so you can provide your cash buyers with money-making deals. If you can find deals with enough meat on the bone for you and the cash buyer it's a win-win and you'll have yourself a sustainable business.

Good luck Nolan!

A HML will still want a significant down payment (at least 15-20%). A partner is a good option if you can find someone that knows the area and is willing to take the risk with you.

You didn't mention any rehab costs in your numbers, are both properties turnkey?

Bruce, I see your comments in the forums often and it's clear that you're a successful and knowledgable general contractor. 

I'm curious why you believe coaching is a waste of money? Have you ever invested in coaching before? Did you get burned by someone?

Like @Shiloh Lundahl, every high-level business owner I know values coaching and education, and they all allocate a minimum of 25-30K per year to it.

I'm sure there are other worst case scenarios that could play out if the investor defaults. The previous owner could sue, for example. But if they don't then the only real loss is the property (and any money invested). 

@Tom Gimer I've never heard of a lender placing a judgment like this on the new owner. Not sure how this would work since the new owner didn't sign the mortgage/note or make a personal guarantee. In many states the lender can't even get a default judgment against the borrower if it was a purchase-money mortgage. In Arizona, for example, this can't be done. As long as the money borrowed is used to purchase the property, the lender is forbidden from obtaining a default judgment for any losses.

As for dealing with the previous seller Patrick, if you disclose your intent to keep the loan in their name for an unlimited period of time, there's really nothing they can do. You may not even need to disclose this at all. But if they become unhappy with the situation they could notify their lender that they no longer own the house. That would make it very difficult for you to make loan payments and/or pay the loan off.

Hey Hunter! I've been buying pre-foreclosures and at the auction (Trustee's Sales and Sheriff's Sales) since 2002 in Arizona, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Each state has a unique set of rules for how the process works (judicial and non-judicial states). Utah is a non-judicial state, which means that the procedure is governed by state statute.

As a beginner, I think it's best to focus on pre-foreclosures. As a Realtor you will need to be careful and disclose that you're a licensed real estate professional when negotiating with sellers in foreclosure. You may also want to notify your broker.

I've found it's best to approach homeowners in foreclosure when their auction date is 30 days (or less away) because they have limited options at this point. Here's a link to Lundberg and Associates, they're one of the top foreclosure law firms in Utah: https://www.lundbergfirm.com/f...

Are you looking to do foreclosure deals for yourself, or for your clients?

My two main criteria for investing in mentoring/coaching:

1. Is the mentor/coach getting results in their own business?

2. Is the mentor/coach getting results for others?

It should be easy to produce these results (i.e. video testimonials, screen shots). I don't really care about the price of the coaching/program, I only care that it works. 

Think about it like this...if you invest 2K in this coaching but it sucks and you don't see any ROI after 12 months is that better than investing 30K in coaching and getting a 5x return on your investment in a year?