All Forum Posts by: Neil Goradia

Mainly developers I would think. We bought 22 acres in Indianapolis and developed a subdivision on it. It is a highly risky and political process that I'd only recommend getting into if you have the right team of experience in place. You can make some decent money doing it but home sales are never a sure thing and it could take a long time to pay off construction loans if homes don't sell as planned. I would not recommend buying land as a speculative investment if you are guessing the land will increase in value for one reason or another.

Take the address and search on the county treasurer's website. Pull up their tax bill and it will show where the tax bill is being sent to - usually an address different than the subject property. Then write them a letter or try to search online for their phone number. Good luck.

If he invests with you, make sure he understands that its not all rainbows and butterflies. Go through the expectations and the risks with him up front. Does he want a lower fixed and guaranteed rate of return or is he alright being an equity partner where he could potentially make more but also lose more depending on performance? 

Instead of him just writing you a check (which I know is tempting since he is your father), I'd set up a separate LLC that will own the homes you buy with him. Make sure to open a new bank account in the name of the new LLC and that is where the check gets deposited.

If fixed loan agreement, create a loan agreement with terms. If equity partner agreement, write an operating agreement that explains exactly what each persons responsibilities, contributions, and % profit/loss are. Makes things a lot cleaner for taxes and also in case things don't work out in the future. One thing I've learned is that nothing lasts forever, so better to plan for all possibilities. Good luck, we've had these work out alright in the past.

Good tips Ryan. I accidentally glossed over the 1099 income part. Good luck!

What is preventing you from buying more? Is it that you can't find deals or other factors?

I spent a year learning about investing at my local real estate investment association and got so frustrated after a while that I wasn't doing any deals. Eventually I bought something even though it was a bit over my price range. I learned A LOT from that first property - lots of problems and I didn't know what I was doing. I guess I don't have a concrete answer to your question but understand the frustration. At some point you gotta make the leap. Try to do it with a partner to reduce risk if things don't go according to plan.

Do you have any local Real Estate Investment Associations (REIA's) in your area? You can usually find them on facebook or on meetup.com.

I'd network like crazy and try to speak with existing landlords about where the best places are to invest in your area.

Have you tried listsource.com? I haven't gotten a tax delinquent list from them so I can't vouch for it, but I've seen that as an option.

What is the interest rate on these student loans? Assuming it's relatively low (4-7%), I'd just pay the minimum on them and save for the down payment of a rental property. You're gonna make way more than 7% on a rental property if you pick the right deal.

That's tough to get through once a bank owns it. I've never had luck doing it personally.

I usually just move to the next house. Are you already using the county assessors website and county treasurer's websites to track down owner information? Most of the ones I see haven't usually gotten foreclosed on yet and are just in a state of disrepair.

I'm from Indianapolis so I'm not in your area, but I can try to answer your questions. A lot of the same principles apply regardless of geography. Just let me know about any specific questions. I have about 10 years experience in being a landlord, rehabbing, flipping, and land development. Good luck!