All Forum Posts by: Nolan M.

Yesterday I closed on my 8th rental unit. Its a 900 ft 2/1 that I bought for 54k, it's probably worth 70k as is. Terms were 5k down, and $450 principal-only payments till its paid off, so a little over 9 years. The first payment is due in October. It will rent for $800 a month and will require another $1500 to get it rent ready. The seller has put on a new roof, water heater, and water pipes the last few years so hopefully there won't be any major cap-ex.

I found this deal by putting an "I buy houses" post on the Facebook social network page of the small town I invest it, didn't cost me a cent. The owner had been renting it out to one deadbeat after another and was exhausted. I met him in person and I offered principal-only payments and he said he was okay with it, he was just tired of dealing with tenants. 

@Mark Belenky I tell my tenants the rent is late after the 5th. My tenants who occasionally pay it late know to send me a text letting me know when it will be in my account and they also know to include the late fee. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

@Sara Ratliff the good thing about small towns is that there is often limited housing and it can be very competitive for tenants to find a good place. If this guy can show strong employment, history of paying his rent, no evictions and no recent arrests then I say go for it!

@Rey Lopez offer the seller 5k down and monthly payments. I’ve recently done two deals and have another closing soon where I am paying off the house with principal only payments after putting 5k down. I never thought sellers would go for principal only but I’ve been lucky enough to find three in the small town I invest in the last 8 months! Even if you pay some interest seller financing is great!

@Benny Morfas Don’t you know that Bigger Pockets was born because josh dorkin bought some 4plexes in a crumby neighborhood a couple thousand miles away and lost lots of $$$? He decided to make this website so investors could share knowledge and not make the same mistakes he did, and aren’t we all better off for it!!

A few months ago I bought a house for 18k and put 2k into it to get it rent ready. The seller was motivated, I paid 5k down and $400 a month principle only till it’s paid off. It’s rented for $600 a month.

Two months ago I bought a house and a double wide next to each other for 25k, once again the terms were 5k down and $400 principle only. They need about 16k in work and together will rent for 1450 a month.

So far I’m doing well with these properties, they are an hour away and I manage them myself. I prefer to have them paid off in a couple years rather than carry financing on them.

@Michael Bettencourt have you tried navy federal? I used them on my personal residence and they had great rates. But I’m not sure if they will lend on an investment property.

Hi Dallin, Welcome to the RE game! I invest in Globe/Miami. I've done a flip and I own a few rentals. My advice to you is to find your own deals. I recently bought 3 rental properties owner financed at 0% interest. I also got a smoking deal on my flip last year because I solved the seller's problem. You need to get face to face with the seller and be the solution to their problem. Another thing, the nice thing about operating in a small town is that there is less/no competition. In Globe there is no one else in town hanging "I buy houses" bandit signs, I'm the only one! I'll bet Safford is similar. 

I had a seemingly nice young lady apply for one of my rentals. I did a little background check on her and her boyfriend, he had a few misdemeanors a couple years ago but nothing serious. He has a decent job and makes enough to cover the bills. The first little red flag was when she told me she was moving because her current landlord won't fix a gas leak and back up sewer line in her house. I thought it was odd, but maybe she's telling the truth. I asked for her to text me pics of her and boyfriend's licenses and paystubs and she sent them right over. I then asked for her current landlord's name and number, nothing. I call and text the next day, nothing. 

She had given me her current address so Iooked up the owner on the county records and checked out the house on Google street view just for the heck of it. As luck would have it the 7 year old Google pic had a for rent sign in the front yard with a phone number. I called and left a message yesterday. I know it was the right number because his voicemail says "hi this is Dallin from ******* mortgage company, leave a message."

 Finally today she responds, tells me she was in the hospital with her sick kid, second red flag. I ask if she still wants the house and she says she does. I tell her again I need her landlord's number and she sends it over, of course it's different from the one I had found. I called and talked to the fakest landlord of all time. It was comical! He said they always pay on time, great tenants, the house is having problems, bla bla bla. Then I tell him I'm interested in getting a mortgage with him because I know he works at ****** mortgage company! He told me he work's there "sometimes" and he's not in the office right now and he'll have to get back with me on that, yeah sure. 

I called the real landlord back and luckily he happened to pick up. We had a nice chat, turns out he owns the 4plex down the road from one of my properties. The tenants in question are two months behind on rent, imagine that! They do complain about the house but never call to schedule the landlord's contractors like he asks them to. 

Score: Trashy tenants: 0       Me: 1

Its a small victory but I'll take it :) 

Ok, I know this deal is tiny but it was a victory for me nonetheless. A little background on the seller. She got some sort of settlement a couple years ago and bought this little house for 26k cash. Now her money is all gone, she's broke and her truck had been taken by the title loan company. The truck was to be auctioned off next week unless she came up with $3600. I offered to buy it for 18k, a 5k downpayment and $400 month principal only payments and she took it. She'll be able to get her truck out and have a steady cash flow for a couple years and I get a little house I will have no problem renting out for $650 a month. Like a said, its a small victory but it got me one step closer to enough cash flow to retire from my day job.