All Forum Posts by: Tom McGiveron

ryan, great posts. funny too.

alex,

alot of it depends on what function you're going to serve in the company or investment strategy(ies).

if you're going to be involved in every aspect, well then i think ryan's tips are great, along with what others have posted.

if you're not going to be hammering nails and the like, or estimating rehab costs, leaving that to others, than don't waste your time reading about rehab techniques. just make sure whoever is going to be in chare of this, understands it!

if you're that into business, you will be miles ahead of most people that enter these forums. if you plan to build a BUSINESS that involves some kind of quality product or service, your rei'ing future will be solid.

most people do not have any background in business or investing. certainly, rei is not the same as investing in mutual funds or a useless 401k where you answer 5 questions and "pick" your investment "preferences"...i love those - moderate aggressive...aggressive...super aggressive...conservative...lol what a joke.

well keep us posted. what books did you decide on getting?

what is the deal with this pinnacle thing?

i have no idea if it is a scam or not. probably not. but it probably will refer you to buy material from them.

i looked into the whole free money gov't grant thing - it's overwhelming.

i'm sure you can learn a thing or two if you make it your focus...in life lol

but seriously, for me, i just basically got overwhelmed with the amount of information on gov't grants. they certainly do give lots away for all sorts of projects and studies. if you learn anything or come into good quality information or leads for obtaining free money - let me know.

i know one "technique" they may discuss is calling several times to the same office. each time you'll get someone different and you'll increase your chances of obtaining better information. the average person calls on something one time and then gives up and never calls again! that's just a bad policy in general.

but this "technique" is complete COMMON SENSE. many of the "techniques" talked about in all these types of grant books, seminars on rei and business etc, are dressed up good ole common sense stuff. but of course, what is "common sense"? it requires some form of commonality with a topic. most people don't have that commonality with business, real estate or finance. hence, all the seminars and "techniques".

i hate that word. but, it's making people money - that's capitalism!

oh boy.

how much did you pay for this seminar?

Peyton,

the basics of what you described include YOU or your company actually having a contractual agreement to BUY the property for X. But you or your company purchase the property "as assignor".

you or your company, then have the right to find another buyer who, upon closing, pays X for the property and pays you a fee for having contracted the property and "assign" them as buyer.

"wholesalers" - who implement this investment strategy use the terminology, "We have contracted to purchase this property...so it's a good deal, or we wouldn't have contracted to buy it in the first place..." to comfort the actual buyer who will be taking title to the property. basically, you as the "wholesaler" are putting your money where your mouth is, but you're reeeeaaalllllyyyy want to find someone else to actually buy the property. you just want somone to pay you for the contract and the discounted price you obtained.

in a nutshell, that is the basics of the process.

consult a rei attorney for details and make sure where ever you implement this strategy that is is legal in the respective state.

ryan,

absolutely. thanks for the FB. long distance because current market is HIGH in price and not selling at all. sellers have still not caught onto the fact that it is becoming a buyers market. prices are falling, but still haven't caught up to what buyers will pay. average holding time i'd say is around 8 months. but that's a best guess.

the strategy for the long distance projects would be simply to rehab and sell. i know this presents some inflexible options as we are not looking to rent, at all, long distance. partner (who's not really a partner yet) living in the area has not fully committed but said he would check out properties that accept offer. he's an estimator for a stucko company. when he becomes partner - our exit strat options might expand.

i may have written the numbers wrong - yes - offer price would use the 70% ARV rule - i put the 5k down as "padding", but you're definitely right - possibly we should bump that to 12 to 15k. i wrote 5 because that's about the type of rehab we want - carpets, rugs, "splurge" items like updated appliance, ceiling fans and a cheap/nice tile in Baths.

what about the reo situation - your thoughts (or anyone elses) on offering well below their list prices?

[side note - we saw a house, in nice area, with the backyard falling into a ravine (soil clay) - the house is in a bad situation, as it is a foreclosure and no one has bit on it in over 180 days at 92k - comped at 129k. quick thought - offer 65k sub2 civil engineer inspection/estimate - may reduce it another 25 to 30k for constructing barrier walls and filling in...maybe about 150 yards of soil? - just me thinking outloud]. it's a beautiful home...that is going to fall into the ravine within 6 months to a year.

don't invest unless you KNOW whether there's cashflow there or not.

well my partners and i are ready. we've been going about our investment strategy very conservatively and a recent meeting just had us saying, "let's do something different."

we're excited about it. i want some opinions on it.

this is it:

10 - 20 offers a month on houses site unseen except for pics online.
some foreclosures (on market over 3 months)
all 20 - 30% below asking + a 5k pad
all in zips that show pleasing comps
all sub2 inspection, buyers inspection and partner approval
all submitted with $200 earnest
all in a different state (i used to live there) - best friend lives there - will check out any that accept (buyers inspection)

through our realtor who we're going to work to the bone. if he is not into it, we'll find another one.

questions? holes? recommendations? "what are you freakin crazy?" comments all accepted. :D

i know this isn't a novel idea, but for us, it is a new investment strategy.

:D

see sunstyles.com that's exactly what they do, only like 60% below market.

we're going to do try this out on a bunch of foreclosures and regular properties that have been on the market for over 6 months.

like 10 properties we have not seen.

all about 30% below the asking prices and minus a little 5k padding.

we'll see.

10 each month until we get one. then 20 a month!!!!

:D

all sub2 inspection and any repair credits if foreclosure. my gut tells me it won't fly with the reo's, but we'll see. i'm going to work our realtor to death!

first, yes, take the money and invest it wisely. talk to a real estate attorney and get a good CPA.

now, what you want to do, is use whatever money you make from real estate, and you want to pay down the mortgage on your personal property. period. pay down all of your personal debts at an accelerated rate.

ever listen to Suzie Orman/Ormon? (can't spell her name) she talks about paying down debt and keeping it down. that's so important.

business debt and personal debt are two different things. i love how the average home owner thinks of their personal home as an asset and they all talk about the "interest" they "write off" at the end of the year. wow. that whole tax "incentive" is just the US gov't collaborating with bankers to brainwash the masses into thinking that debt is good!!!!!

anyhoot, definitely use the money wisely. good luck. keep us informed! that's sweet - 65k. nice.