All Forum Posts by: Michael Carbonare

It's always a bad idea to borrow money from family or friends.

How squatters are handled is dependent on the state's landlord/tenant laws.

If he is all over YouTube and social media with hundreds of videos, that should be all you need to know that he isn't actually investing in real estate but is instead investing in the sales of get-rich-quick schemes.

10K plus half a mil?!  "A bit over priced" aren't the words I would use.  !@#$%^&*

VA loan?

Shoutout to Hempstead, my home town.  Hofstra University, Jerusalem Ave, Peninsula Blvd. . .warm summer nights.  But I digress. . .
Is it hard to wholesale properties in New York?  I have to say it's hard to wholesale properties everywhere.  You're fighting and clawing against other investors to find desperate homeowners willing to sell their house for .40 on the dollar.  Ain't easy at all.  I understand the appeal, especially with all the wholesale gurus pushing their get-rich-quick BS.  But the reality, at least in my experience, is quite a bit different.

As Ben wrote above, seller financing would alleviate the need for all the associated BS from dealing with banks. But that usually means the seller wants a substantial chunk of cash upfront so it might not fly.
I'm a lease option guy and have been working these deals for 27 years.  Depending upon the homeowner a lease option might be a workable solution for both of you.

I've been working out of state deals for several years. It takes a bit more research and caution, but real estate is a coast-to-coast business these days, what with information readily available at your fingertips.  That said, I wouldn't recommend a new investor jump into an out of state deal that requires rehabbing.  That can keep you awake at night if things don't go according to plan.  Most of my virtual deals are lease option assignments/flips.  Risk free and minimal cash out of pocket required.

@Alicia Harrington You didn't say where you're located, but many investors and first time home buyers are facing runaway real estate markets.  Waiting is usually an exercise in futility.  As you're saving for a down payment the real estate market is appreciating at a much faster rate, leaving further behind than you are today.  I'm in south Florida and real estate values are way too high in my opinion and thwart any chance of being profitable for the buyer.  What to do?  Invest virtually, in other markets that are more buyer friendly:  declining sales>increasing inventory>price reductions>extended days on the market.

A bird dog is someone who goes out and finds a deal for an investor.  Assuming it really is a deal and the investor closes on it, he tosses you a bone in the form of a finder's fee.
If you go through the trouble and effort of finding a good deal, keep it yourself and make a heck of a lot more than a finder's fee.