All Forum Posts by: Melaines Gil

@Steve Oxenreider 

Hey Steve,

Thank you so much for telling me this. Coincidentally my dad was telling me the same thing today. I am def doing more research on this. But the bad thing is that I don't know anybody from Reading that could help me. I haven't even been there myself. But thank you very much, I will be more careful before proceeding.

@Jesse 

@Jesse T. undefined

Yes, Jesse, you are right. I have been getting some information (from trulia.com) about the rent of other properties around this neighborhood, according to the site, the average rent is $600, but similar 2 beds 1 ba houses are renting for $700 - $1000. I am not sure about the real problems that she is having with this tenant, but I will find that out today when I talk to her in person. Also, according to trulia, the value of homes around this area is $56K. She paid $40k cash back in 2003. But, of course, I won't relly all my research on this webstie. I will continue my research after my meeting with her.  By the way, what would you suggest I do to get more accurate information about this property value?, regarding evicting the tenant, I think these people are taking advantage of her because she is not on top of her property, she barely goes there, and she does not treat this property as a business. Apparently she knew these people from before, and rented her house to help them.  If I get this deal and I keep the tenants there and actually let them know that I am on top of them, do you think there will be a need for eviction? 

@Josh Morales 

what are transfer tax? and I would love to connect with you once I have this deal. Thank you so much for your offer.

@Jessica Stiner 

Thank you Jessica, I haven't been able to speak with her but my boyfriend did. He did go into further details about the reasons why she wants to sell or if the house needs repairs. However, apparently the owner mentioned that the renter keeps the house very well maintained. Of course, I am looking foward to meet with her and have a serious conversation to touch all the details before giving her an offer. I am following your advice.

Thank you. Happy New Year!

@Jay Phillips

Hey Jay,

Thank you for such valuable information. I didn't know such help existed. Thank you very much. I don't know the area, I haven't been there, but based on what she says is not a rural area. Also, if she agrees on the seller's financing strategy, do we still have to cover the closing costs? and what percentage would that be, if the asking price is $25k, and the down payment is $5,000?

Thank you.

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!

Thank you all for your advices. I have been thinking about them all. This deal is definitely an owner financing one since she does not have any loans against the property. Supposedly the taxes are $1,300 annually; the house has 2 beds, 1 bath, a full basement and an attic. In addition, the house is in Reading PA, 2 and a half hour away from home. She rents the entire house for $700/month. Even though we haven't gone into further details about this house, my boyfriend and I can give her 20% down payment ($5,000) and pay a monthly mortgage, but that mortgage can't be $700, because then we won't have any cash flow. I thought that maybe we can rent the basement as well, but that would require money to build a kitchen and a bathroom. Unfortunately, we have little money. For a house this cheap, she was definitely paying a mortgage of less than $700 a month (that is something I have to confirm with her.) This is the first time I take action to close a deal and I don’t know how to go about it. She told my boyfriend that she will put it easy for us, because she wants to get rid of this house, but I doubt that she will accept a monthly payment of less than what she is receiving by renting the house. But maybe that is just an erroneous assumption of mine motivated by my fears. Is it possible to convince her to a monthly payment of less than $700? If so, what would be the best argument we can use to do so? Does anyone think this could be a great deal?

Thank you,

Best Regards

Melaines Gil.

Hello,

I have been studying creative real estate for a couple of months now and would like to take a step further. My boyfriend's aunt wants to sell her house in PA, because her tenant does not pay the rent. The aunt lives in NYC and has her own business here. I live in NYC too, but I am thinking about moving to PA withing the next year or so. She got this house for $40K and is willing to take $20k for it. She is motivated and desperate to sell and I would like to take this opportunity to buy it. However, I don't have enough money, except for less than $3000 in my 401 k and $2000 in a joint savings account with my boyfriend. Also, I don't have a real estate team (agents, attorneys, brokers etc), and I am not sure what would be the best creative strategy I could offer her. Any expert advices will be truly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Thank you all for your great advice. Steve Wilcox, my goal in real estate is to buy residential or multi-family properties and rent them out. Even though my boyfriend is more interested in flipping houses. We understand that flipping would be better after we have some liquid asset to fund the projects. Our short-medium goal is to move and raise our family in TX and buy residential properties there. Meanwhile, as you suggested, we are working on our credit scores, as well as our savings. However, we are currently saving with the purpose of moving to TX in 2016. We predict we will have $12K by then which will pay us 6 months of expenses: rent and utilities while I find a job, moving expenses, an emergency fund, and some money left to buy basic furniture. My boyfriend works for a company that could transfer him there. He is not making good money and is desperate to find a better job, but is willing to hold on to that job so at least we could have that single income source when we move to TX. According to this plan, we won't have enough savings to invest in a house, but we believe we will in a few more years. That's where my indecision comes from, I want to be able to start investing as soon as I am working with a mentor. That's why I have thought about starting to invest in my own backyard before moving to TX, but houses are too expensive here. The other option we have thought about is to use our savings to invest in TX while still living and working in NYC. We have set our goals, but we definitely need some REI orientation when it comes to the plan, to help us find our best option. As an experience REI in the area, what would you suggest we do now that you have a better understanding of our goals.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your helpful advices. In my case, I designed a three-month self study plan about real estate, that I would like to complete before looking for a mentor. Because I do want to be able to bring something to the table when that happens. Meanwhile, I have walked around my own backyard (I live in Queens) to look for properties on sell just to have an idea of the costs, all of them are listed in the MLS and the prices are above $700K. That discourages me a little about starting to invest in the city. Has anybody invested in NJ close to NYC, or PA, CT, where prices seems to make more sense? I have also started to research the market in Dallas TX since I am planning to move there in two years. In case I decide to start to invest in Dallas before the two year time, what should I do first? How is that experience of managing a property from across the country? By the way, starting a real estate business is something I am starting with my boyfriend, in the little time we have studying about real estate, we are interesting in concentrating in flipping houses, and rental properties. Thank you all for your support, and I am sorry for being too broad in my questions.

Thank you so much for those warm welcome words Jon.

I have thought about doing that. In fact, I have started researching the market there, and I have learned there is plenty of opportunities for rental investments especially in the Fort-Worth area (correct me if I'm wrong). I even thought about buying there while still living in NYC, but I don't know if that would make sense, since I would have to travel more to over look the property. If I decide to buy a property there before moving, what would be your suggestion? 

Thank you.