All Forum Posts by: Bryan Casteel

Jim,

www.publicdata.com looks like it may be a good resource. I could only play with the demo though. Do you know which states it is good for? The demo site lists all states plus DC:

Alabama , Alaska , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , District of Columbia , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , Virginia , Washington , West Virginia , Wisconsin , Wyoming

What are some of the stranger problems you have run into when inspecting or fixing or just owning a property?

The strangest one I have run into yet was finding a 10' x 10' x 2' pool of human waste under the dining room floor. It was disgusting. The "spill" had been there for years and had rotted the floor joists completely out. When we opened up the floor and figured out what it was, we freaked. In the end it turned out OK ($5,000 later), but there was a lot of sweat poured over what we were going to have to do.

In my area there are no vacation type rentals such as you would find on the beach. Around Cincinnati you would spend 8% to 12% of gross monthly rents on managment. Some companies would also charge a full months rent for every new tenant brought into the unit. This is much different types of management than what you are talking about with a vacation condo in Hawaii. 50% does seem pretty steep though.

From beginning to end, this was my favorite project last year. This house was a disaster, but when it was done it was so sweet. House was under contract in 2 days and closed in 45 days at $3K over asking price (I did pay some closing costs). The normal days on market in the area is around 60 to 90 days.

I have personally found the program at www.GetTheDeed.com to be outstanding. It provides everything you need to do Subject To deals.

Due on Sale is a huge concern that I have never seen actually enforced. I have heard only one story around my area where it was threatened (the lender was CountryWide in that case). The program I mentioned above talks about it at length and shows you how to prepare your deal so that you minimize the risk of due on sale.

This is not the easiest assignment amiga. There are people who charge thousands of dollars for weekend long seminars to answer just this exact question. Maybe your boss should pony up for a trip to a real estate marketing seminar.

My best advice to you is to try to be bold and different and to speak directly to the problem. Try to think about what these people are feeling and speak to them on those terms. Don't just run at them with "I will buy your house" or "Stop Foreclosure Now". They will see a ton of those types of letters. These people are frightened, nervous and don't really know what is going on. Solve their problem by speaking to their needs.

This is the beauty of the real estate game. A good deal to one person is a bad deal to another. In my opinion, both all cash and TheEdge are correct in their analysis. all cash is looking at cash-on-cash return while Asif is looking at long-term equity.

My personal preference is to purchase so that I get good cash flow and any cash that I put into the deal is returned to me within 6 months.

The lenders only get back what is owed to them. If they loaned you $100K and the outstanding balance on your account (the outstanding principal) is $98K when you sell, the title company will give them the first $98K of your proceeds and you will keep the rest.

As an example:
- Buy a house for $120K and put $20K down. The lender is giving you a $100K mortgage on the property.
- Fixup the house (total of $10K in work) and sell it for $150K (no Realtor fees on this one) only 3 months later
- Lender will get their $100K back and you get the remaining $50K.

After you pay yourself back for the $20K you put into the deal and the $10K for fixups, your profit is $20K.

Does that clear it up? If not, just ask your next question.

I don't really know the best answer to your question, but maybe you should poke around mrlandlord.com and see if there is anything there on this subject.

When you give a lease to someone, you are giving them the right to enjoy and occupy the property. Since you are basically subletting a room at a time, I am not sure how a lease gets modified to only allow the right to enjoy and occupy that room and common areas.

Welcome Detchu, I think you will find that these forums will give you back as much as you put in. Stay active and ad your two cents when you can. Keep everyone up on successes and troubles you have with your new properties.