All Forum Posts by: Michael Woodward

@Mark Nelson  Thanks Mark!  What I've seen so far from their website looks good. I really appreciate your input!!

Anyone else have a favorite?

@Estelle Lee  Unfortunately, the thing that initially appeared to be a big positive (roadside visibility) is probably the biggest problem. 25k cars per day is great if you're selling something but most renters don't want to live that close to that much traffic.  I agree with the other posts that price will determine whether it's rented or not but you might have to get so cheap that it doesn't make financial sense to keep it.  I'm sorry you're in that situation.  Hopefully you will find a solution.

Is it an option to convert it to store-front and look for a commercial tenant?

@Paul Padilla Get your "Master's Degree" (education) first!!  Read everything you can BEFORE you spend any money.  Read "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller and many hours of BiggerPockets.  Listen to all the Podcasts.  Don't short-cut your education!  You'll regret it if you do!!

I'm looking for referrals for hard money lenders from people that used them and were happy with their experience.  If you have more than one, please rank them in order of preference. Thanks!  

@Dan Liptak  All you need is a title company.  They have their own lawyers that do the title searches and will assemble all the necessary documentation to close the sale.  I've never used an attorney outside of my title company.  I can't imagine any scenario that would require a separate real estate attorney.  Title companies will even provide sales contracts with all the correct verbiage.

Using the seller's title company will have no negative effect on you at all.  They will almost always throw in free title insurance if you use their title company because they know and trust the company they want to use.  Title insurance companies are bound by the same strict laws as any other professional business so the idea that they would conspire to sell you a bad deed is unwarranted. I use them all the time.

@Austin Carroll  I don't know about MD but you don't need a license in TN.  Homeowners are allowed to pull permits and hire anyone they want without a GC.  It gets a little more complicated though if you're doing a lot of houses.  If you "look" and "act" like a business, they will treat you like a business and you'll have to follow those rules but if you're only doing a couple houses per year they pretty much leave you alone.  Hopefully someone that knows the specifics in MD will chime in.

@Shannon Garces  Before you jump into a deal you really need to make sure you understand the process and potential pitfalls.  The approach your taking by finding a deal and then asking what to do next is a common way to start out in this business but most people don't realize that this approach is INCREDIBLY risky.  Read J. Scotts book on flipping houses here on BP and read "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller.  Reading books written by experience investors is the best way to get the right information.  Once you've spent enough time on your education, you'll know what to do next.  I often compare this business to learning to fly.  In your case, you've taxied out to the runway and are asking how to take off.  Don't do it!  Your chances of failure are very high without the right education.  

One thing I'll throw in about short sales is that sometimes they're fairly quick (1 or 2 months) and sometimes it can take over a year to get it closed.  Good luck!

@Daryl Williams  The short answer is to ask your managing broker.  He or she will know the laws well enough to steer you in the right direction.  The last thing they want to do is let one of their agents get outside the law so they will be highly motivated to make sure you're in compliance.  As an agent, I wouldn't do anything without my broker's explicit consent. If they lead you down the wrong path, they'll be held liable for it which should take (some) heat off you.  They obviously don't want anything like that to happen so they're going to make sure you're doing it right.

@John Gallagher  Ultimately, what's required will depend on the individual investor's preference. The most common terms I've seen are 1 to 5 points and 8% to 16% annualized interest (depending on experience, assets, etc).  I personally wouldn't play around with something complicated or risky like guaranteed returns outside of typical interest.

To secure the note, the private lender will likely have to take a second position to the bank.  You can do that with a simultaneous closing where the bank takes first position and then a few minutes later you close second position with the private lender.  If the private lender is putting money up for the down payment the timing can get tricky so you'll need to find a title company that's willing to do a simultaneous closing.  It's best that everyone knows what's going on to stay out of trouble.  I'm not a CPA or attorney so take this as my two cents.  Good luck!

@Lummie Spann It's definitely worth a try. Many REIA groups are geared toward newbies so you might find it a goldmine of information and local assistance. Hopefully they don't have a ridiculous fee to join. Most REIS groups I've heard about don't charge anything or very little but my local group charges something crazy like $500 or $800 per year (I don't remember the exact amount). I think they look at it as tuition for teaching the group. Give it a try and see what happens. Good luck!