All Forum Posts by: Michael Krupp

Hey@Ben Layman I happened to just see this.  I have been involved in real estate investing for 20+ years as a hard money lender and investor.  I have been using Bookkeepers for QuickBooks for almost that long. I have always had local bookkeepers or remote ones based in the USA. I have been hearing about VAs, Virtual Assistants for many years and was too afraid to go down that road.  I finally had some coaching in this arena 6 months ago and tried it. 

While there are many VA options and countries, I chose the Phillipines as English is their second language and there are a ton of people that are trained and familiar with real estate investing. There are CPAs, MBAs, and Quickbooks Certified Pro Advisors. The average income and cost of living is much less there than in the US FYI. So now, I have had a Bookkeeper based in the Phillipines remotely login to my Quickbooks desktop, and my banking and credit card accounts as View only, same as if they were remote in the US. You should look up www.onlinejob.ph.

I am totally satisfied at both the service, expertise, and costs.  You will not be sorry. FYI, I also am using one of their VAs as my full time assistant as well!

Do you want to make money in real estate with little-to-no risk, getting paid in days and never getting your hands dirty? That’s wholesaling. Yes, it’s legal. Yes, you can do it with practically no money or experience. And no, it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is one of the foundations for learning the skills to succeed in every other aspect of investing, so we think it’s one of the most important topics of the year.

Hi,

Lots of questions: So you are going to invest long distance? Have you done this before? Do you have a team of contacts in the Baltimore area? I am also not sure if you are thinking of this as a rental or resale?  Is it Baltimore county or city? If it was bought in 2017, there is likely a mortgage on it close to the purchase price, do you know what the mortgage balance is? If the owner is $15k in arrears and you add that to the mortgage AND you add another $29k to the owner ( even if the $29k included the $15k) and you add that to the mortgage, there likely is no room for a deal here in my humble opinion.  What is the state of the default? What stage of foreclosure assuming that is the case?

Hi Morris,

So it is a 2 unit, with $800 rent per unit and you believe the value is around $130k. You believe he would agree to getting the debt paid off and moving on correct? I have a bunch of questions: Is the debt current? Have you seen the house, pictures, video, or had an inspection company take look at repairs needed? Do you have a copy of the leases? Is it market rent or below market? What is the status with lead certification? Are you aware the lead concerns with rentals in the Baltimore area? Have you verified who is on title and if the POA process has started or you will have to get that moving with the son? Having a vacant unit next door may not be a good sign of the location, especially if there are more vacants or board ups on the block. Do you currently own and manage out of town real estate and have a system to do so? Do you have a team in the Baltimore area, realtor, contractor, property manager, etc? I just think before proceeding, these things should all be considered, before even considering if it is a good deal. I always find that there is more work needed than most think.

I just have to agree with most of the above, never buy used appliances for a resale property.  Also, I buy 10+ sets of appliances annually and always check HD, Lowes, and Best Buy which also has a local outlet store.  Sometimes you can find a gem on CL, though it is very hit and miss, and usually not what you are looking for. There are others sources such as Sears outlet, that sometimes can offer bargains.  Local suppliers have a harder time matching prices of the big box stores. Cummins in Baltimore is one example that has come close.  There is also AJMadison online, that can offer very competitive pricing.  Typically, I end up at Lowes because they have great prices, their Pro QSP program offers discounts, and they will deliver the appliances, without you there via a lockbox, and text me a picture when they leave. With HD, you have to meet them every time and this has been a nightmare for me, though they do also offer great Pro pricing. There are discount coupons available online, though the Pro discounts often are better.  

Hey Mike, there are a lot of great forum posts about being new and just starting out. I have posted several times on this topic. There is good ideas here already on this post, and I think there are some other things you should consider if just getting started. Are you from Baltimore or investing out of state? This will make a difference in my opinion.

1) Get involved with local investor groups, go to a few meetings, meet people. You will find many people willing to share and advise. Just do your due diligence and make sure you connect with ones that are vetted and real. You will learn so much having your feet on the ground in the local market. You just have to be mindful who you connect with.

2) Consider finding an experienced investor that is willing to help or coach you, you’ll be surprised. If you find the right person, it would even be wise to pay them. Maybe you can intern with them for free.  The right coach will teach you how to make money in this business which is priceless, as well as expedite the learning curve.

3) Make a detailed plan.   Would you consider a resale flip or just rentals?  It depends upon what you want and what type of deal comes to you first. You can with help minimize the risk on either one. Rentals are great to build passive income and flips for short term gains. 

4) If rentals, what price point are you shooting for? Low end, mid priced, etc.  The lower end which you describe above comes with a lot of baggage and challenges that many of us experienced investors stay away from.  I doubt you would want to live in an area where the house is $15k and the amount of work it will need will surely exceed the purchase price as @alan c states.  Have you driven the neighborhood?

There is so much to say to new investors, so please continue to check out the forums on this topic, especially in Baltimore if you want to do business here.  Just make sure you do your due diligence before jumping in! We are all here to help you!

I actually posted something like this previously in Bigger Pockets. I bought an identical houses, in Baltimore city, not rented, set up for 2 units.  I pulled permits, started the rehab, and at the first inspection got a stop order due to the 2 units.  It was not permitted and vacant for a period of time.  It was at one time...two units. I had to go through Zoning and had an experienced person that deals with Zoning handle it all and was not able to get the zoning to do 2 units. It was a while ago, and had something to do with the size of the property and the total size of the lot.  Definitely call Baltimore City zoning office and tell them the address and they can share with you the current situation or viability of getting 2 units.  

Amen to what @ned carey says above and if anyone knows, he does!  In the future, you should make sure to read and know what the contract stipulates prior to signing it.  With that said, do your due diligence first, inspect the property, before signing any contracts as well!

With $20-25k, you could do a project yourself locally using OPM, hard money or other financing. Do you want to be a passive investor or do you want to learn how to do this business?  If you want to be passive, then the split to me on most real estate investment partnerships may depend on the following:

Who found the property?

Who is getting/holding the financing and signing as guarantor? 

Who is managing the project?

Who is handling the financials/bookkeeping?

What % of the total investment you are putting in?

Every deal or partnership could be slightly different, and depending on the agreement the split could vary greatly.  Is this a one time deal or intended to be more than that?  I would highly suggest some sort of partnership or investment agreement that spells out exactly who does what and what that means in term of shared profit.

If you want to learn this business, then that is an entirely different situation and you could arrange a coaching/mentorship agreement with him for the first few deals to teach you how to do the business and that is obviously worth something on his end.   Just some food for thought. Best of luck! 

There are some very interesting and creative ideas here.  I have one question...What percentage of investment deals closed do you think are done with No Money Down? I would love to hear feedback from this group?