All Forum Posts by: Mark Lenox

Hi, @Zoran M. 

Interesting question.  My background is Marketing (not Sales) - Direct Mail, online and some advertising.  My first question reading your post: who is your father-in-law's customer?

On a side note, somewhat related, sometimes I see properties for sale in a high-end area (e.g. Hudson), but the house itself is a shambles and old. I have wondered whether it could be worth it to demolish and rebuild. It seems if a new-construction 4 BR, 2500 square foot home was built, the ARV would be high. Have you had any thoughts about that? I personally have zero desire to deal with city governments personally, but if there was a builder already familiar with all of that, it could be a possibility. One would think the cities would be ecstatic to see a run down vacant house replaced with a shiny new one.

And the rich get richer.... the escrow rule makes it nearly impossible for newbies to start investing.  I hope they all learn the lesson of Garfield Heights and allow the free market to work as it should.  Having the POS is one thing, demanding the money in escrow only inhibits competition IMHO.

I am a new investor in the Cleveland burbs market (one rehab complete so far).  I have come back to the BP forum a number of times now to re-read about auction.com. I have heeded the vast majority of advice about it and stayed away, but I do keep coming back.

Why? Because when I am house hunting, there are so many that come up on auction.com (and occasionally other auction sites).  So, there must be people obtaining properties this way.  Otherwise, banks would not be listing their foreclosures this way, right?  If all of the smart investors stayed away from these auction sites, my thought is that they would wither and die off.  Instead, I see listing after listing come up as auction.com or hubzu or some other auction site to be wary of.

So, my point finally is that there must be investors out there who are making this work.  If one of you is reading this, many of us here would sure like to know how.  There's got to be a strategy that works or they wouldn't still be around.

Thoughts?

Welcome, Alex.  Valley View here - right in the middle. :)

-Mark

@Jewel Starling ,

Seeking a mentor/consultant to start with can be a very good idea.  It is how I started.  I must admit that I did the vast majority of the work and did not utilize the consultant very much on my first project, but it was a confidence-builder knowing I had that "safety net" in the event I started to feel lost or overwhelmed.

I haven't seen you mention what kind of REI you're looking to get into. If it is flipping, you could consider offering a percentage of the net profit. That way, the value of the consultant's time is tied to making sure you are successful.

Good luck!

Mark

Hi, Kevin. Welcome to BP and REI! I am in the Cleveland area, too, and just started with REI in the spring. My first flip rehab is done and up for sale now. I've had quite a few showings but no offers yet the past two weeks.

What type of investing are you considering? Fix-and-Flip? Buy-and-Hold? Wholesaling?  At this point, I'd say getting one deal done is the most essential from a learning-curve perspective.  I have vastly more knowledge and confidence after just one flip than all of the reading in the world.

Let me know if you'd like to talk more.

-Mark

@Uwe S. 

Many thanks!  I will check it out.

-Mark

Hello, Neil. You may want to try Duane Linder at Blue Roots real estate group.

Good luck!

 Hi, @joe gore... I am a cash buyer in the Cleveland area market and cannot find many deals. May I ask where you're hearing of them?

Thanks!

Mark

@Engelo Rumora 

Thanks much for the encouragement.  That is good to hear.