All Forum Posts by: Priscilla Z.

Thanks for the replies.

My situation is that I am buying these vacant lots in my developing area for $100-200 each. With title insurance, they only cover what I pay for the property. So, if I get a title search, title insurance, and all that fun stuff, in the end I will only be covered what I pay for it.

This is where I see that the county I am working in has practically done the title search for me. There are title search documents online dated back to six months ago, that works for me, especially since these properties are going to tax deed auction.

Also, Steve mentioned that "unrecorded items" have no standing unless there is public record. On that note, isn't there a time frame for these liens? Can someone claim a lien for 20-30 years ago? Most of these properties are either inherited or were purchased way back then.

My partner and I are currently making offers on vacant lots and are going to be purchasing them at a GREAT discount. There are recorded lien searches on my county's official records page where it shows a title search. I then look up the owner's name (on the county's website) and see the liens on the vacant property, which are the same liens that come up on the title search.

My question: Can I do my own title & lien search through the county's website, or do I NEED to hire a title company to do this for me?

(Jon & Joshua, if my question is in the wrong forum please let me know where to post it!)

Great advertising Ted! :D

I did not know that before I bought into his program, I only learned of my our BP members after that. Fortunately for me though, the deals in my area that I am working with are small so that's a good thing.

Do you do short term private loans? Or, can you recommend anyone here on BP that do short term loans for 3-6 months? I'm looking for about $35K right now.....

Hi George,

I am doing the same with my system as I did with Cameron's. I still capture leads on buyers and I also implemented it to catch leads on vacant lots. My area is saturated with competition and most of the good deals are already taken by investors before they hit the market. I am currently concentrating on short sales (which take forever!) and vacant lots. My area is still developing and there are .24 acre lots available for $1K, some even less!

I will keep everyone updated as to when I get my $1K deposit back from Cameron, I know that's what everyone (including myself) is waiting for!

Happy Monday everyone!

Originally posted by George Bloom:

Lesson learned: never throw your hands up in defeat, simply alter your business plan and make it work.

On this same note, I just read a quote from my desk calendar (which happens to be The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) that states: "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Said by none other than Albert Einstein.

This thread is great....how is it that I've missed it all this time??? Thanks for replying and bumping it up Christie! :D

Hi Bobby!

I'm right down from you in Melbourne.... my partner and I get some deals from Orlando every now and then, so if you're interested in networking just let me know!

Welcome to Biggerpockets.....there's a lot of great info here and everyone is always willing to help......it's easy to spend hours here!

Hi Roger,

I no longer have the websites. The reason that I chose to cancel after my 3 month free trial period was because of the following reasons:

1. The bird dogs website was not working for us in our market. What we found was that we had bird dogs submitting properties, we would do our due diligence on them, and in the end, a lot of them were on the MLS, or in the middle of the final judgment in their foreclosure. And also, it was difficult getting a hold of the owner. There is a skip trace service that is offered, but of course, that costs more $.

2. I have some website knowledge, I'm not an expert, but I have found the way to make my own forms online to collect the information from my buyers. If you look up zoho creator on google you will see what I'm talking about.

With this said, I opted out of paying the $50 a month to hosts websites that I could run and manage myself.

I hope I've been helpful with this information. If you have any other questions, just ask!

My partner and I have actually been looking into this, especially since we are in an area that is still developing. Have you looked into your county's tax deed sales? That might be a good way for you to find some cheap abandoned lots.

Hi everyone.

Sorry I've been absent. I had a death in the family and have been trying to get things together, so real estate was put on hold for a while.

However, I now have the energy to return! Since I started this review I will continue it with all honesty.

After much consideration I canceled my bird dog account as well as my buyers accounts. Why? Well, I wasn't putting the time or they energy into them that they deserved. There's a lot of competition in my market, so, bird dogs or no bird dogs, the big investors with the big money are the ones getting to see the deals before they get on the MLS.

Someone mentioned this being illegal? I'm not a lawyer so I can't counsel on the legalities of things. But I can explain how they do it. The realtor sends the listing to their investors BEFORE it's posted on the MLS. That way, the investors have the opportunity to run their numbers and put an offer together. Yes, the listings probably do go on the MLS but offers are most likely already on the table.

I'm not a realtor, maybe someone wants to give their two cents?

Going back to Cameron's program, the deal that we almost closed was ready on Cameron's end. Their customer service team is GREAT. They guided us step by step, and Cameron even called the lawyer on our team and explained everything to him. The only reason the deal did not go through was, like I mentioned before, because the house was not foreclosed on properly and there was still a lien on it. It is currently being re-foreclosed on.

With that said, I still like Cameron's funding program. His 3% definitely works in my market, and I will hopefully be putting another deal together in the near future. My market great to invest in....and the prices seem to be getting better and better.

I do want to share one more thing, for those of you computer savy that want ways to do things yourself (like me). Go to google (or yahoo if you like it better) and search for Zoho Creator (yes, I have put this up in another forum post). There you can create a free database of your liking and put it on your website. You can capture buyers, sellers, whatever you choose to use it for. I use it on my website and absolutely LOVE it.

I hope I've been helpful with this update. Anymore questions, just ask....because....I'M BACK!!!

LD...the posts above have given some great answers, but I do have something to add....

One way to get around the earnest money deposit with REOs, which seems to be an obstacle for you (as it was/is) for me, is to do one of two things:

1. Specify in your contract that you will give the earnest money 3 days after your offer is accepted and contract is executed (which will give you time to find a buyer) and you won't feel like your money is tied up for no reason....

2. Specify that you will give your earnest money deposit AFTER your inspection period (usually 5-10 days). I speak from experience, I have done this successfully. Sometimes the bank will ask for half of the deposit when the offer is accepted, and the other half when your inspection period is done.

Again, I didn't get this from a book or a "how to"...I've done this myself and have been successful. Remember, you are the buyer, so you can negotiate your terms as well.

Good luck!