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All Forum Posts by: Michael Peters

Michael Peters has started 1 posts and replied 19 times.

Post: Pre-qualified versus pre-approved

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0

jandr is exactly right,
I just never contemplated "pre-approval" aka
"shopping the loan" as a bona fide system.

I do my job, and then based on knowing the matrices HAVE a home for the loan based on familarity with lenders and their programs Before Submitting same.

Lenders don't like(as a rule) multiple "submissions" while I know this was never mentioned by jandr, this is what 1 would be led to beleive.
We don't submit partial or full packages to lenders (normally) for a "pre-approval", we submit them for FINAL approval, clearing of conditions, and funding.

I have submitted contingent on credit, spoken w/head underwriters, etc., just prefer to not "shotgun" or even solicit the file unless 95-99% feedback from A/E/Underwriter is positive and we're just dealing with a specific exception to their guidelines...

it is NOT wise (imho) to submit a "package" to either multiple lenders, nor to "partially submit" a file unless there is some specific issue w/the borrower/property that needs to be dealt with in advance of complete submission. I've never considered this to be "pre-approval", though I certainly see how it could/would be consdered as same. No "hard feelings" and an FYI for anybody contemplating the "I'll send the file to a doz. different lenders and see who says yes first"....You won't have too many lenders to call on real quick like? You may even be unemployed real quick like?
MOST(if not all, however I'm not an expert so I can't SAY ALL) lenders require an "Assignment of File" letter on the Top of the File stating that YOU ARE NOT Submitting to anyone else...and You'd be LYING with every signed letter to all after the 1st lender?
Know Your lenders, and don't be afraid to ask A/E's and Especially Underwriters for SPECIFICS about Your "situation" making the file "outside the box".
Sorry if I caused confusion w/my original posting,

--Mick

"I sell Money...Need Some?"

Post: New Florida Lincesed Mortgage Broker

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0
Originally posted by "wilsandka":
Hi I'm new here and I need guidance or advise, I will be taking my Florida state exam next sept 27th, I'm new to this business and I need advice on how to enter the business, after I get my license should I apply for a "job" as a loan processor or how do i sign up with a mortgage company where I can broke my loans without being in a "payroll" clocking in and out. Help how to start

Hi Wils!,
Welcome, I'm in Florida, a going on 6 year veteran MB, and STILL learning new every day...will "Hopefully" continue to do so until they plant me in the dirt.
Whatever assistance I may be of, let me know I'll help You any way I can;
-Mick

Post: What was your biggest mistake investing?

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0
Originally posted by "marks":
So inactivity is the common theme so far. Interesting. Anyone have other mistakes we can get something from? TY.

Ty,
That's about the ONLY "mistake" You can make?

Title Companies & Real Estate Attorneys Provide You with Title Insurance,
they alert You to "clouds" on title (or anything that COULD Be a problem that the seller neglected to "mention";

Home/Structural Inspectors give You a size up of repairs needed,

Apprraisers give You an accurate valuation of the property & marketplace (& also point out any obvious structural or neighborhood problems)

With an appraisal, You'd KNOW Whether You were potentially paying too much or not....

There isn't too much left except failure to follow thru after purchase in the case of making needed repairs?

About the only thing any investor needs to know is that AFTER You close...everything else that CAN go wrong(in the rest of Your life) WILL!. The engine will have problems in Your wife's car, tenants will move out in Your other rentals, prices will go up for repairs, hurricanes will come....blah,blah,blah....figure DOUBLE Your original time frame on repairs, ALWAYS.
Figure 1/3rd higher costs than quoted estimates, BORROW accordingly.
BE the BOY SCOUT.
I have, I PREACH it to my borrowers/buyers/investors, & every operates under the "Be Prepared" philosophy;
Do these things, & I doubt You'd ever have a "catastrophe".
Trust the experts & LET them do their JOBS!
If You do, Your "job" of making money becomes incredibly easy (& hard to scre*w up)
Hoping I helped U get a bit closer 2 that 1st one;

Post: How long will it take for you to Retire?

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0
Originally posted by "Jeff":

Bottom line I think is to live below your means, save and personally control your riskiest investments, ie real estate. quote]

Jeff, I think U made a TYPO...
Real Estate is the LEAST Risky of "investments"(by definition, things that APPRECIATE in value)...
Can we take a minute & evaluate RISK in "investments"
What R the other things folks "invest" in 4 Retirement?
Pensions...usually yield < 2% on investment (been 2 a gas pump lately?...2 % isn't keeping up w/inflation)

IRA's..3.5% STILL < REAL inflation #'s(I don't need Greenspan 2 tell me stuff is costing more...I SPEND that $$ he's talking about)

Keough accounts, same as IRA's

401K's a hair better, & w/matching employer funds, pretty decent...maybe 7%

Stock Market....sky's the limit, right?
20,000, that's where DJSE was at a While B4 9/11/01
Even Prior 2 that eventful day it WAS on the downhill slide.

For folks that got in at the top & watched their fortunes wiped out....know what their Brokers told them 2Do over the losses?
U betcha....NUTHIN'! "Hang in there, it'll come back around". Hmmm?

What, Jeff are any and ALL of these methods secured by & collateralized with?
U got it again.... NUTHIN'!

What does Real Estate (Unlike Federal Reserve Notes, Stock Certificates, and EVERYTHING Else listed above, along with the unmentioned "US Savings bonds")....have over ALL of these?

They AREN'T Printing/Making any more of it.
Talk 2 any SERIOUS Investor in REal Estate....they already ARE "Retired" from the 9to5 office, boss, bosses boss, office politics, etc.;
They MAKE enough 2 not NEED a "job" already?

The REASON it's called REAL ESTATE is because it IS;
REAL Property...because it IS!

Everything else, & I MEAN EVERYTHING ELSE is AIR!
It's tied 2 the dollar & the dollar is only as valuable as the number of them in circulation....& do we as "investors" have any control over that, Jeff?
Everything else is where the RISK is,
Dirt will B worth more tomorrow...I'd wager my bottom dollar on it (& already have)
Truly NOBODY "loses" on REAL Estate in the long haul, it just doesn't happen.
U can't say that about anything else except precious metals 8)

Post: Timing the housing market

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0
Originally posted by "Pam Hudson":
Does anyone believe that you can really time the housing market? We know it is close to impossible to time the stock market. Are there any completly accurate indicators to show if the market will turn downward or up?

Interest rates have not proven to be an accurate measure.

Pam, Interest rates just determine
1-how many people are re-financing, &
2-how much it's going 2 cost You 2 do whatever R/E investing U plan 2 do?

As 4 Your topic of "timing the housing market"

A civil war general had a simplre recipe for success:
"Get there First, with the Most"

In Real Estate....a similar philosophy prevails for success....
The secret 2 success is to find out where people want 2 go....& then get there 1st.

I'm in Florida...been ahead of the curve (mostly dumb luck) 4 the last 15 years myself.

the bottom line is that IF You don't GET in, Regardless of "Timing", even if the market goes thru "adjustments"....do You know of any property available, anywhere in America today for less than it sold for in 2000?
Less than 25% MORE than it sold for in 2000?
That, Pam, just worked out to a 5% ROI per year, as good or BETTER than a Jumbo CD at the bank? That's a "Worst Case Scenario"?
Buy a lot in a Development, preferrably as construction is BEGINNING....shop around, check out the deed restrictions, make sure it's what U would think about KEEPING & maybe even building there Yourself....
hold onto it until 2-3-4 houses are either completed or under construction....check out the price....if it hasn't doubled since there was "nothing", I'll buy You dinner (& buy that lot 4 5% over what U paid for it)
This isn't "rocket science", it's smarter, & Lord Knows, safer!
Get on the bus, or stay on the treadmill.....
as a T-Shirt I once saw put it
"If U ain't the Lead Dog, the View Never Changes"

Post: What does it take to get yourself ready to invest

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0

Terri,
1-GO to a Local Real Estate Investors Meeting (held monthly IN Your area somewhere close by....do a google search on Your city's name & "REIA"
2-ASK ?'s of the real INVESTORS
3-Focus on that which You wish to accomplish?
(eg: flipping?/foreclosures?/Rentals?/Lease-Options?/Owner-Builder?/Rehabbing?)
4-Go back 2 more meetings & Find the people Specializing in that which U Think I MIGHT be interested in....
ask them if they'd like a working w/a PARTNER on 1 project, or maybe if they'd like some volunteer help 2 get a feel 4 what they're doing?

IF U want 2 go on the safe side...talk 2 the private lenders...U're funding at that point flippers/other investors/re-habbers & they're paying YOU 10-18% 4 the use of Your money...while YOU hold the 1st mortgage against the property they're prepping 2 sell 2 pay You back;
It's both an excellent investment (always < 80% Loan to Value{LTV}
& the most secure place U could ever put Your $$?
BE the BANK!
They're not stupid....
they take moron's w/"savings" accounts(paying 1%), & CD;s(paying2-4%) & turn around & LOAN the money to folks w/Top shelf Credit for 5-9%....hmmmm?

Good luck in Your ventures, & if I can ever help, please don't hesitate 2 email?

Post: Investors Who Do vs. Investors Who Don't

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0
Originally posted by "biggerpo":
I'm trying to figure out the difference between investors who do, and investors who just talk about investing.....

What finally motivated you to start investing in real estate? What I'm actually really interested in is what made you finally act on your interest in real estate, as opposed to merely thinking about it.

Every1's comments here R phenomenal! Kudos2ALL of U!
I got in, Biggerpo, after "watching"(as a mortgage broker no less) other folks stepping out onto that diving board & getting Wet (& rich) :wink:

As Investors "who DO"....they ARE!
"Investors" who "don't"....that's an oxymoron?

either You Pay & Play....or You are a "spectator" 2 the sport of getting rich...it's that simple.

Nothing else comes close,
Nothing else is more secure,
with a higher return,
where U can determine exactly how much work U're going 2 put into it,
U determine what U're going to sell/rent/1031 it for,
U determine who U'll lease option it to & 4 what amount....

there really IS nothing else Like it!

Post: What was your biggest mistake investing?

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0

I agree w/Brent....

My ONLY regrets have been the "NON-Investments";
On MANY occasions I thought buyers/Borrowers had LOST THEIR MINDS
until the APPRAISAL came in....Gulp;
My bad :violin:

The thing about "investing" is You gotta DO it!
Otherwise U're just "watching" or doing "research"?
I've made a fortune on that which I actually stepped up to the plate & BOUGHT.....

All my "bad experiences" are related to "Eating Crow" :cry:
(& it tastes NOTHING like chicken) :violin:
& NOT having taken that swing...only 2 later find out that the property was worth 2x...< 2 years later?
dang....who'd a thunk it?

The actual BUYER(S) maybe?

Post: What would be your Dream Real Estate Deal??

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0

I actually PARTICIPATED in a transaction like this?

Borrower/buyer tied up a HUGE (170 Acres...9500ft waterfront) property priced @ $29M for $50k....for 90 days;

Then "assigned" his contract to a true developer for $31M?

He should have held & partnered up w/same...he'd have made LOTS more sticking around for the whole game (like 20-30M), however he turned $50k into $2M in < 60 days?

I was STUNNED when I saw his contract,
the buyer(of the assignment) could have cared less how much he was making...they KNEW they were going to make >$75M on top of their original investment?

Pretty savvy, huh?

He got me looking :pup: for big dirt transactions like a maniac! :D

Post: What causes irrational exuberance?

Michael PetersPosted
  • Commercial Lender
  • Crystal River, FL
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 0

I 41 think that
Will Rogers (albeit 50+ years ago) was WAY ahead of his time?

1-One of his favorite sayings was "Econmists have predicted 23 of the last 2 recessions & 5 of a the last 1 depressions?" Seems like some of the posters to this thread are more worried about the "bubble" than "reality"?

2-Another even more famous Will Rogers Quote: "Funny thing about Real Estate, I ain't met a man yet that could make more of it; & even if he could, where do Ya su'pose he'd PUT it?"(obviously he had great vision, just not enough to see the mountain tops moved into the valleys for shopping centers, condos, & Subdivisions, & the same here{FL} thru "mitigation"{read=where swamps R dredged 4 new W/F properties}
Punchline of his quote...Location/Location/Location(&how often Have You all had THAT 1 drilled into Your heads?)?

3-The "bubble" is based on What?
Percieved Value?
(or possibly more IMPORTANTLY Potential LOSS in other "investments"?)
IN Reality{the place I choose to live & work) the "bubble" is based on D-E-M-A-N-D
Here in Florida, that IS "off the chart". Many county's are actually REDUCING Millage rates, as property values have risen so drastically that their coffers are full beyond any previous records...Can You beleive Government NOT being "greedy"..they can't SPEND any more!
Why is demand so great in Florida?
EVERYBODY wants to live here!
Simple answer.
Complicated view...everybody moves INTO the state in South/Central Florida & pays an arm & a leg for a LITTLE Lot & a LITTLE House...then they get sick of all the nosey neighbors....& then they move 2 NORTH Florida.
IF there is a "bubble"(I hear the term used by stock portfolio managers more than anyone else....hmmm?) here in Florida, don't YOU think it would have "popped"
After:
Bonnie,
Charley,
Frances,
Jeanne,
Ivan,
a RECORD number of Shark Attacks (last year)
a RECORD number of Lightning Strikes (& Deaths) (last year)
a RECORD number of GATOR Attacks (& Deaths) (last year)
& a RECORD number of Tornado Deaths
all mixed in w/3 more tropical depressions, (last year)
& 1 hurricane, 2 Tropical Storms, & 2 Tropical Depressions ALL making a BEAD on Pensacola so far THIS Year?

Reality check....Property Values have gone UP 33%(median) State Wide LAST Year in the middle of ALL of that hullabelew?
Marion County (NO Waterfront Property, "horse country", & home of Ocala) the median was 43%?!?!?!
ALL W/F properties in FL are appreciating at a rate of 50%+ per year from Pensacola 2 JacKsonville(read=ANYTHING on the Gulf/Keys/Atlantic/ICW)...why do You suppose that is?
Because DEMAND drives prices;
I've watched & Participated in the marketplace here.
I practice what I preach.
Borrow $$ 4 2 things & 2 things ONLY;
A-Your primary residence, &
B-to make MORE money than the Interest on that which You borrow.

4-for the folks stuck in the "stinking thinking"(eg:how mich Bigger of a "schmuck" than me will the next guy have 2B?)mode....I have a thought 4U....

It(this thread) was/is titled "Investor Psychology".
You Are an "investor" by Participating
and an Observer otherise;

If You (anyone posting or reading this thread) isn't gettting at the VERY LEAST 18% ROI...U need 2 call me;

I've been borrowing $ @ 10-18% via private lenders 4 years & have made a small(well, maybe not so small) fortune IN This state investing in pre-development lots (which have appreciated as much as 250% in < 12 months), Commercial Property(s) which have appreciated 100% in < 12 months (w/a rehab loan), W/F properties(raw land) that appreciated 85% in < 1 year....
oh, & by the way....properties that DIDN'T appreciate sufficiently 2 cover my investment & % on the $$?
None

I've watched our own home here in N.Fla (1650sqftStick Built Frame 4b/2.5Ba rise since 1995 from $54k to now valued (appraisal last week for another re-fi) @ $298k on 5 acres; we've put on a new roof, upgraded A/C units, & done some BASIC landscaping...nothing more;

An adjacent 7.5 acres purchased same time...raw land...1.4K per acre...then, $14.5 k value now(at least, several comps locally exceed this figure...hmmmm?)

Folks, if You ARE investors & You feel like U aren't getting enough ROI....give me a call.
I can get You 10-18% if U want to be conservative & just do 1st mortgages, or You can make an absolute fortune...InVesTing in Dirt down here?

FYI, even during the "bust" in Houston in the '80's, Dallas in the '90's, & Calif. during the "dotcom bust", Those who HELD rather than Panicking...guess what...they made $$?

Can we say that about the stock market?
IRA's?
401K's?
Keoughs?
Mutual Funds?
IPO's?

If 4% is a satisfactory ROI, U haven't been to the gas pumps lately;
If anybody can name 1 of the other above investment avenues that is MORE Secure than R/E....please let me know which it is?

Nothing's been the same since 9/11/2001....
MOST folks know that Dirt & Gold/Platninum R the way to go.
Dirt in High demand locations....well, now U know the rest of the story?