All Forum Posts by: Mark McGlothlin

Good for you! My kids both got interested at 16 and now own property at 19. It can be done!

If you're looking at a property sale with a capital gains issue, consider that two of the three current presidential candidates want to raise your capital gains tax rate quite a bit.

Danielle -

Good for you guys on saving cash for another investment. And life with the twins does get better, mine are 19 and investing in real estate on their own now.

Wendy's course is a good one, and she's been in the business a long time. Her book is also sound in my opinion. She's taken some credibility heat lately for her involvement with Justin Ryan and their preconstruction investing trips to Biloxi, but overall Wendy's materials on lease options and subject to investing is pretty good.

The bill was supposed to have come out of committee on Tuesday, and then on Thursday it was announced that "most of the bill" had been hammered out.

There's a growing backlash among everyday folks that the federal bailout will be a disaster - there were articles all over the press this week regarding the rising tide of consumer frustration and anger expressed at the bill and what it represents.

We all get frustrated with the political BS in Washington, but this is one issue that we had probably all better follow.....

Frank - I agree, a great book. I was just reading another post about a guy who had bad credit and wanted to quit his day job to then get started in REI - he needs to read this too.

A mentor suggested the book several months ago when it came out in February, and I've had both my kids (who both owned their first investment properties before age 20) read it too. The take home from the book is unquestionably what makes these people different - the key appears to be their attitude toward work.....

Creedog-

Ask a good question in an online forum these days and you'll get back an interesting array of responses. While the tone of some of the posts is a bit harsh, the advice is in my humble opinion right on track.

You're in a tight spot right now, and I wholeheartedly agree with those who suggest you'll have to work your way out of it. I've known people who have worked over 80 hours per week and still developed their real estate businesses on top of that - no one really wants to work that much - but it can be done.

It's hard to do , but you do need to carefully define your goals and the "why" behind them, and then own the attitude that says I'll do whatever it takes to get there. I think most importantly the process involves then defining the next step to take in the process and doing it, and then defining the next step, and so on.

Consider slimmatic's advice - offer to work for nothing for a successful investor - you have to bring something significant to the table to really engage with a mentor. You can get out of the hole you're in, though it won't happen overnight and it won't be easy.

I have a buddy who has a several parks and several long stay RV parks in South Texas. Your expense estimates seem to be within ballpark of what he has talked about, though All Cash has raised very important questions that must be answered. You will have to obtain and verify his expense data - I agree that's a pretty straightforward but potentially time consuming process.

You'd be lucky to obtain 90% LTV financing, but 85% is within reason - we've heard of 85% LTV with only 1.2 DSCR requirements, and apparently seller holds are pretty common with parks, and many funding agencies will allow that.

Keep us informed if you go look at this one.

Andy-

It can be intimidating to negotiate with an owner or owner's representative when they're clinging to their proforma. I'm sure there are lots of folks are there who might argue, but proformas are make believe - they are a very best case scenario that may or may not be attainable.

Commercial / multifamily deals have to judged upon their current numbers. Period. You should identify value plays as you analyze a project, but valuation is based on current ops. We're negotiating on a project right now that was bought on proforma and is now in foreclosure.

Your thoughts about finding a partner make good sense - have you tried presenting the project at a local REIA??? Having someone who is experienced on your team to help you evaluate a project like this can be invaluable.

Kudos Joshua -

One of my partners is a web designer / IT guy, and from hanging out with him it's clear you've hit a major milestone. Provide good information and people will come.