All Forum Posts by: Michael Carbonare

Hi, German. There are so many variables to consider before your question can be answered.  For starters, where are you located and how is your local market?  What strategies were you considering?  Single family, multi units, fixers, etc.  What is your current financial capabilities?  All of these are factors in narrowing down your choice for starting.

Henry David Thoreau, one of my favorite authors, went to the woods to live, in his word, deliberately. He lived at Walden Pond for 26 months, a journey of self reliance and spiritual awakening. “Simplify, simplify”, one of the many quotes attributed to Thoreau, is solid advice for the struggling new investors who I have spoken with. The issue it seems, is too much info, too readily available. As a new investor you cannot be a master, an expert of every investing strategy you’ve looked at through hours of YouTube videos, Instagram and TikTok nonsense. You’re neck deep in Paralysis of Analysis, a virus more debilitating than the Spanish flu, Bubonic Plague, and the latest virus du jour, Covid.

I’m no different than you. . .well, I’m Italian, so I’m a better cook and I have three Uncle Tony’s who collect my rents. But I digress. . .

I wanted to know everything before I did anything. The result? I did nothing for 3 years. There was always another book to read or seminar to attend in my search for the secret sauce. Then a wise man who was already successful doing what I wanted to be doing shared some common sense that I took to heart: settle on ONE strategy to get started and block out all the other noise, the BS, and the well intentioned but misinformed friends and relatives telling you that you can’t do this. They are really saying THEY can’t do this. This simplifying approach slowed things down and in so doing sped up my progress. So if you find yourself standing in the same place as yesterday, as last month, dare I say the same place as last year, heed the wise words of Thoreau, “Simplify, simplify”.

Is there a particular reason you want to sell via auction, rather than a more traditional process?

@Kylie A.  I'm not a wholesaler.  Too much work for too little returns.  But I have done many cooperative assignments, a strategy under the lease option umbrella.  The assignment fees in these deals will vary greatly, depending upon the specifics in the deal.  Value of the property and the terms agreed upon between the parties.  $3K. . .$30K?  A $750K house will bring in more than a $250K house, obviously.

@Ashraf Amadou  Sure, email is fine.  See my profile for details.

Mark, the option fee/option money/option consideration, is a nonrefundable amount of money paid upfront from the tenant/buyer to the seller.  The amount is negotiable, but if you're the tenant/buyer in the deal your goal is to pay as little as possible.  The seller, of course, wants to receive as much as possible.

Hello Chance,
I've been investing in real estate for about 30 years, and helping new investors get started investing for about 20 years. I started my business with lease option assignments, which enabled me to raise cash to then expand into buy and hold, and fix and flips.  But the assignments were the key for me, and I still invest with them today.  Risk free and no upfront cash required, and a perfect strategy for investing out of state, a must in my opinion.  Feel free to contact me with any questions.  Happy to help if I can.

Term adjustments can be one or a combination of length of lease; monthly rent; option to purchase price; option money. Reassess the market and adjust as necessary.
There are pros and cons to both a contract for deed and a rent to own.  From my perspective you're better off doing the deal as a rent to own.  If things don't go as expected, an eviction is quicker and less expensive than a foreclosure.

Hi, Ash.  I've been investing in real estate for about 30 years, and I've been assisting individuals who are looking for help getting started in this business for about 20 years.  Feel free to message me with any questions.  Happy to talk real estate.  Best wishes.