All Forum Posts by: Seth Williams

Does anybody know of any good Loan Amortization software solutions out there?

I've been using Loan Amortizer Enterprise (loanamortizer.com) on my PC for several years. It's a pretty decent program and it gets the job done most of the time, but it's also a pretty old piece of software and it doesn't seem to work on a Mac - which is a little problematic.

I know there are dozens of smart phone apps that can do the basic amortization calculations these days (mostly - generating amortization schedules and calculating loan payments) and I'm sure there are probably dozens of other highly sophisticated loan management software solutions out there (I know even Microsoft Excel has a standard amortization template), but I just need something that can do the following:

- Generate a full amortization schedule based on loan amount, interest rate, number of payments, balloon payments, additional monthly fees, etc. 

- Generate payment coupons and/or reminders that can be mailed/emailed to the borrower each month.

- Track loan payments and determine past due amounts and late payment fees, if needed. 

- Generate year end interest paid statements.

I'm not a big loan servicing outfit, so it doesn't need to to be overly complex and have ALL the bells and whistles. I'm just a one-man shop trying to manage a small handful of seller financed properties in-house. 

If anybody knows of a good software solution that might be a good fit for someone in my situation, I'd love to hear about it!

I can totally empathize with what you're seeing in the MLS @Bryan Blancke - I think most of Michigan is that way right now (very unlike it was 3 years ago). I know it's hard to switch gears and change strategies when the market shifts, but I wouldn't expect to find any solid "pennies on the dollar" opportunities on the MLS in the near future - it's just a different world now (for the time being, at least).

I think you're probably on the right track with pursuing direct mail (whether you wanted to go for land, or your original type of multi family property). If you're getting the right list from the right place and sorting it thoroughly - there's no reason you can't fill up your pipeline with a solid list of prospects within the next couple of weeks.

@Kyle Conrad - I've done it both ways. Depending on the dollar amount being exchanged, and how the seller feels about it, they may or may not be willing to handle this process through the mail. With the ultra-cheap properties (in the $100 - $500 range), I've found that a lot of sellers are okay with it (if they really cared that much, why would they be selling for such a low price in the first place?). 

With the more moderately priced properties ($1,000 - $10,000), you'll probably start seeing more resistance to this - which is certainly understandable.

When sellers start saying no, there are a few ways it can be handled:

1. Get a title company or attorney involved (this is the most expensive, but safest option).

2. Meet with the seller in-person (make sure you're meeting in a public place, in close proximity to where you are at). The seller should have their documents signed and notarized before they meet with you to do the exchange - so send them whatever documents need signing ahead of time and tell them to come with everything completed.

3. Hire a mobile notary to get the seller's documents signed and notarized AND deliver the check once they are complete (in many cases, this can be a good combination of ease and cost-effectiveness). There are several companies out there who offer this service - like this one, for example.

Whichever way you choose, just make sure you're not giving them the funds until you've got what you need.

I'm with @Jason Pachomski on this. If it's any help, you can also check out this overview on how I close cash deals in-house.

I know this is unconventional advice - but like Jason said (and as you're probably seeing from your own perspective), there are times when the closing costs can be a deal-killer in themselves. If you're willing to go slow, learn the process and carefully execute the closing process yourself (ideally, only on deals that are very cheap and uncomplicated), there's no reason it can't be done.

@Richard Dunlop is right on - and I've had similar experiences in Michigan.

- Forfeiture basically means nothing in Michigan. It's a stronger way of saying "You're REALLY delinquent on your taxes now!" but it doesn't actually have any consequence other than tacking on extra fees to the property tax bill. The property is still fully redeemable if the owner pays off their property taxes before the ACTUAL foreclosure deadline.

- The Property Transfer Affidavit is a key document that notifies the city/township of the change in ownership. Sometimes this happens when the deed is recorded, but the transfer affidavit is the correct way to ensure it gets done (and you're technically required to do it within 45 days of the transfer).

In my opinion, it could definitely be worthwhile to send direct mail to folks who are that far behind on their taxes. I've done it many times and found there to be some extremely good deals in this range. Granted, their tax balances are usually getting pretty high at this point - so that extra cost is another issue to consider.

I would just make sure they haven't officially gone past the "point of no return" (two full years of delinquent taxes, not including the current year). Even if the county has dropped the ball and failed to foreclose on the properties that have gone past this time frame, I wouldn't count on them to not do their job right. Just stick in the range where you know they'll still be redeemable, and you should be okay.

Hi @Phil Bastnagel - I can probably point you in the right direction, but I'm not sure what your specific questions are. If you need help with any particular issues, feel free to post them here or get a hold of me separately if you'd prefer.

Best of luck to you!

Dude, @Jack Butala - that actually sounds like a pretty brilliant approach! I can tell you've been doing this longer than most. :) Your expertise is quite evident.

One point to clarify though (just to make sure I'm understanding you right), in your second point above, when you said:

"2) Get a tax sale list directly from the county. Only APNs are needed."

Do you actually mean the delinquent tax roll (i.e. - per my definition in the post above)? It seems like you'd want a list of the properties that are still owned directly by their private owners, rather than the ones that have already been seized by the county in tax foreclosure (i.e. - tax sale list). Would you agree, or did I misunderstand somehow?

Also, just out of curiosity - when you say to get the list data from CoreLogic... I think ListSource pulls all of its data from CoreLogic - doesn't it? Assuming so, do you think this would be an easier way to get the data rather than working through a title company? Seems like it would be easier to control the process with a hands-on service rather than relying on a third party to plug in the right list parameters. What do you think?

I think I'm hearing references to two different things in this thread, and it's important to recognize the differences between each one. In most states, there is a very distinct difference between the "Delinquent Tax Roll" and the "Tax Sale List" - which I think @Jeff Zamora was alluding to above.

Delinquent Tax Roll: This list contains all the properties in a given county that have missed at least one tax payment (as per @Sean OToole's outline), but these properties have not yet been seized by the county in tax foreclosure (i.e. - in California, I believe property taxes can go delinquent for up to 5 years before they're taken by the county). 

Tax Sale List: This list contains all the properties that have gone through the entire waiting period and have been seized in tax foreclosure. These properties are now being held by the county, awaiting the next tax sale / auction date, at which point the county will sell these tax deeds (or in some states, a tax lien) to recoup their lost tax revenue.

With the Delinquent Tax Roll (IF you're able to get your hands on the county's list), you can contact the private owners and in many cases, you can structure offers to buy these properties directly from them at a massive discount. This is possible because these individual owners still hold the deed and can control their property.

With a Tax Sale List, the only way to buy these properties is at the county tax sale. There are good deals to be found at the county tax sale too, but at this point in the process, there is a much higher likelihood that you'll have the added burden of more competitors in the market, which could potentially kill any deals you could have gotten ahead of time, if you had just bought these properties directly from their respective owners. 

The county's annual tax sale is a very public, commonly known event, and it tends to draw in a lot of eyeballs and competition. As a result, most people are very familiar with the Tax Sale List, because this is what most people are thinking about when they talk about tax lien and tax deed investing. 

The county's delinquent tax roll on the other hand, is not a very well known source of information, because most people don't know about it and/or how it can be used to find deals (I've found that most county workers don't even know how to generate it, which is part of why it's challenging to obtain this list in some  areas).

All things considered, I've always felt that the Delinquent Tax Roll is definitely the list you want to get. It contains the properties that are still controlled by their respective owners, which allows you to get in and start making offers before the whole world knows about the opportunity. It's a great way to fly "under the radar", because it basically eliminates all of the competitors you would be fighting with at the tax sale. If you can get to these people while they still own their property, you'll have much more time and flexibility in terms of what kinds of offers can be made, and what they'll be willing to accept.

Hi @Michael E. - unfortunately, the deal referenced above didn't end up working out. In hindsight though, while it would have been painful to cough up several thousand dollars to fix this issue, it also would have been a serious cash cow over the long haul. Definitely worth the one-time cost of getting these units metered separately. If the opportunity came up again today at the same price, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

You raise a good point about the age of the property though (the one I was looking at was of a similar age). I don't think I'd lose sleep worrying about this, but you're right, it could be an issue - and it's probably worth setting aside a few extra dollars in the unlikely event that it does come up.

Hey Gerardo! Good question. I think they're both fine places to get a list - it just depends on what kind of list you're looking for.

When I'm looking for a list of motivated sellers (i.e. - tax delinquent property owners), I'll get them directly from the county, or in some cases - from a source like AgentPro247 (simply because AgentPro is well organized, easy to work with and relatively inexpensive). 

On the other hand, if I'm looking for a list of recent cash buyers in my area (for the purpose of building a buyers list), I would go with a service like ListSource, because their system seems to be optimized a bit better for this particular kind of list. I believe AgentPro247 is capable of generating these lists too, but it requires a Gold subscription (which is a bit more pricey) - whereas ListSource is pay-as-you-go. 

Honestly, I think either one is fine to use (don't take my videos as a conclusive indication of which one is better) - but depending on the size and purpose of your list, they may not come out to the same price, even if you're dealing with identical scenarios across both platforms. You just have to figure out which one you're most comfortable with, and if the price is right, you should be all set.

Does that make sense?