All Forum Posts by: Owen Dashner

 Thanks @Sanat Bhandari. I am an owner of a hard money business in Omaha, NE. What a lot of our borrowers do is check the box of "cash", but write in "hard money" on their contract either in parentheses beside it or in an addendum. As long as you obtain a POF (proof of funds) letter from the HML, most sellers will give your offer similar weight to a cash offer. You can also select or write in "Other Financing" with further explanation on your contract, obviously still including a POF. Also, clearly state in the contract that there are no financing contingencies - this normally satisfies most seller objections.

On your question about appraisals, my company does not require an appraisal in most cases for hard money loans, we use in-house comps and/or BPO's. There are other HML's out there with similar underwriting guidelines, you just have to find them.

Nice work! Where was that one located?  

How close of a friend is this person? Picture yourself never talking to this person again. If it would be really upsetting to not have them in your life anymore, I would not do it. If they are kind of a 3rd tier friend that you don't really spend much time with or have history with, then I would consider it, after a check-in with your broker and everything put in writing.

The odds that your friendship will get stronger after being in business together is almost zero.  The odds that one or both of you is unhappy with things along the way is almost 100%. Just look at all of the posts of people complaining about their PM on BP. It's a thankless job. 

As Nicholas stated above, it might be a better idea to just act as a sounding board for your friend and/or recommend a reputable PM for them to work with.  After all, what's the upside for you here? A whopping 5% margin with a high risk of losing a friend?

Join your local Facebook meetup groups and REIA. That's the quickest way to find active investors who buy cash. Also attend the local meetups regularly and get to know people personally. Don't skip this step - you need to know who is buying the kind of properties you are looking to get under contract. Have an idea who your buyers are before you start trying to get properties under contract.

Never convince a seller to trust you to buy their house without clear communication on what your plan is.  It's the quickest way to get a bad reputation.

I agree, you reviewed their screening criteria and hired the PM to do this for you, so let them do their job.  You had not been involved in the showing/screening process up until that part, so why insert yourself at the very end when you only see part of the equation?  I totally understand wanting to ensure having quality residents in your property, but I'd let them handle it until they give you good reasons not to.

Keep them and offer to provide them upon move-in for prospective applicants for an additional $50/month. You will have about 50% say yes.  I have done this multiple times. If they don't want them, store them for the next property and do the same thing. Just have an appliance repair company or 2 handy if they eventually need repairs. They more than pay for themselves and any repairs or replacements over time.

You can still find 1% in and around the Omaha, NE and Des Moines, IA, but it takes work to find them.

Andrew Worthington with Frankel Zacharia is a really popular choice with lots of Omaha investors.  Jim Tichota at Lutz and Co. is also good.  I have had returns and K1's done from both places.

I have 2 small banks in Omaha that I work with a lot that do cash out refi's at 85% LTV (commercial loans), so I would imagine KC has to have some smaller banks like that. Small banks and credit unions are going to be your best bet.

Ask around with other experienced investors on who their favorite contractors are.  Then offer to pay the contractor to walk through houses with you so that you can listen to their feedback on what does/doesn't need repaired and a ballpark idea of what the costs will be.  Look at it as an investment in your education.  Also read J Scott's books.

You could also partner with an experienced investor to learn from them.  Offer equity in a deal in exchange for them sharing knowledge on how they evaluate projected expenses.

You will get more comfortable with this part the more experience you get.  So get out there and start networking and walking houses.