All Forum Posts by: Raul R.

Jason,

I was in your shoes a few years ago. After looking in our local market for close to a year I decided to focus my energy elsewhere and became an out of State Investor.

Your target will be determine by your goals. Memphis is probably one of the hottest markets now, but the cat is out of the bag we all know how hot the market is in Memphis I'm sure there's a lot of competition from what I hear. You need to determine do you want to throw your hat in the ring in a hot market or look for the next future hot Market, there are pros and cons in either option.  

If you have a full time job here in NYC and planning to invest Part-time I highly recommend finding a Property Manager, even with only 1 Property. Don't be surprise if it will take you several tries before finding the right PM. My PM charges 8% of my monthly rent, I negotiated 50% of month rent as finder fee for finding tenants.

I picked 3 markets when I started, after doing hours of research and visited all 3 markets I picked one. There are so many markets that are more affordable compare to ours that you need to focus your time and energy on only a few and then execute..

Good luck...

Liz C. Yes it’s normal. My applicants are hesitant to give any type of information over the phone or email until seeing property. As other posted I typically let applicants know what are the minimum requirement so they are aware. I recalled asking for credit score and job info and applicant was hesitant in providing info before seeing, his reason was because he was concern about identity theft..

I might make my first Off Market Deal in early 2018. All Properties I have purchased have been thru MLS w my Real Estate Agent, an off market deal would be new for me.

I purchased a SFH in Sept. Soon after Purchase a neighbor contacted my agent to get in contact with me. After talking to her and informing me about some basic rules so I could inform my tenant she invited me to her home.

I visited her home and we hit it off, she's an elderly woman and pretty much wants to fulfill her dream of living next to the beach and is just about ready to sell her home and ask me if I was interested. She doesn't want to go thru the hassle to have an agent show her home and she is savvy enough that she knows if she finds a buyer directly she can save 6%. Her home is across the street from my most recent Purchase so it would be ideal.

Her home is in excellent shape, has no mortgage is even in better shape than the home I recently purchase. Its also pretty much identical to home I purchase for $155k. 

She is elderly and I have no intentions in taking advantage of her, I want to make a deal that works for her and I so she can go forward with her dream to live next to the beach. After spending some time with her and hearing her story she has earned that right. The way I see it if I can make a deal w her that she's happy with she can tell her elderly friends in similar situations and who knows maybe that will be my niche to find off market deals.

I believe her home is worth $155K, she wants simplicity. So the deal I will give her will include her closing Costs. Her Closing cost including I was planning to offer $140k. Her home is move in ready and I can get $1500 rent.

I would like some feedback, would that be a fair offer? Im in a very competitive market would be my first deal without competing with multiple buyers so I'm looking forward to it. What % of saving do investors expect to get when making off market deals? 

Some PM charge 100% first month rent for finder fees All I can say is everything is negotiable but you need to negotiate before you sign PM contract. I was able to negotiate to 50% first month rent. If I find the tenant myself and all they do is background and credit check I don’t get charge a finders fee. The more Units you have the more bargaining power you have. If all you have is 1 Unit very unlikely they will change their standards

Research, research and research that’s how you get the pulse for a new market. Before I decided to invest in NC I looked all over my local market in Tri-State área and was disappointed not to be able to find properties that fit my criteria. After about a year going nowhere in my REI career I decided to focus Out of State. I picked 3 markets after doing tons of research visited all 3 and landed in NC. I don’t look back very happy w my decision investing Out of State. Feel free to PM me I can provide more details in what I look for entering a new market.

@Frank Chin

The NYC detail for R5 Zoning was surprisingly more detailed compared to Charlottes. I'll spend more time on Planning website to get more familiar.. At some point in my REI career I wan to buy land and develop, before I even start I want to make sure I understand Zoning codes.

You do have a good plan, what’s important is to execute when the time comes. Many people have a Plan but sometimes life gets in the way. Just remember you don’t need to be 100% debt free to start investing although it does help.

I did various Googles searches to learn more about Zoning,  just so can I can get more familiar and better understand what different codes mean. Didn't find a helpful site, more questions than answers..

Can someone recommend a good website or book?

I found a abandoned Property in Charlotte that designated as R5 zoning. I want to better understand what that means..

Thanks

As Jay mentioned increasing Due Diligence or EM makes you stand out. Just remember you might lose it if deals falls thru.

Another tactic I've seen in hot markets is make an "As is offer"

All options are a bit of a gamble for a buyer but all are common in a hot market..

I’ve used Personal Line of Credit. TD Banks offers up to 50k. I believe Wells Fargo also has Personal line of Credit, I plan to look into it early next year. At some point I plan to open a Business Line of Credit. I was reminded by my bank rep that my biz needs to be establish for minimally 2 years before applying. Not sure if all banks have this same requirement..