All Forum Posts by: Robert Mack

My goals to never finance or lease a car but to always pay cash. S

I hate debt and monthly payments for anything, so I try to keep that to a minimum. The only debt I ever want besides for my investing is in my personal residence and I hope to pay that off as quickly as possible also.

What if once or twice a week we had a 'moderator' - an experience investor available in the chat and people could come in and ask questions.

The moderator wouldn't be the only one allowed to speak and answer questions obviously, but it would be good to have at least one experience investor present, and we can schedule when someone would be available through here.
So for example, Rich would be available on Monday at 7pm and Bill would be signed into chat on Thurs at 8pm... but both can obviously be present during both chats...

Originally posted by Peter Giardini:

Having them carry general liability and workmans compensation insurance would be great.... and it protects you in many ways. Do most handymen have these... NOPE! Are there ways to address this issue? Yes

Can you address this issue for me? :D

J thanks for the advice.. wish you would of told me a couple weeks ago though lol
I had a handyman do some work for me at my first house I bought as a personal residence and it was paid per hour... I learned my lesson the hard way but now at least I know.

Thanks for the advice Peter

During a flip, what type of contracts do you use for handymen or do you use any?
What type of problems can you run into when using handymen and what to watch out for?

I just got off the phone with a park manager at a MH park by me. I explained to them what I am trying to do with owner financing and they said that to be a resident you need to be on title.

My question is when you sell the MH with owner financing are you holding onto the title until it's paid off or do you hand the title over and create a lien on it? The park manager said that title would have to be in their name and you (i) can create a lien on the MH, otherwise I can rent it if I want to hold onto title... I was a little confused and hadn't thought about this in advance when she asked me if I was going to hold title or not till it's paid off...

What are the advantages/disadvantages of holding title or creating a lien and handing over title while you owner finance?

Thanks!

I'm not sure about Fannie REO's but regarding the price, make sure it is a deal.

Even if you buy it for 100k and it doesn't need any work there are other costs associated with the purchase that might make 120k selling price not look so sweet.
From buying costs (inspection, title search etc) to holding costs while it sits on the market and then wait for it to close, and then the selling costs (commission, seller concession etc.)
Also, there is probably at least some work you will need to do that will add up. The inspection report could be a good guideline of what you need to fix because when you go to sell the house, the buyers are going to get one and then either ask for you to fix it or ask for a discount in price...
For a fair warning on my OPINIONS here, I am a newbie at this so take it for what it's worth.

Have you joined any REIA's by you. Maybe someone out there IS doing flips.

Also, if there's no flips going on around you because everything is so expensive, then what is your plan once you get familiar with flips?
Are you going to travel to do the flips or flip the more expensive properties...?

I'd try to find someone who is local to where you plan to do business, who can help you out.

People say real estate is local, and I think to a certain extent you can say the same thing about flips. There will be different challenges and ways of doing things in different parts of the country..

Originally posted by J Scott:

So, go find an agent that is accustomed to making offers on REOs, and ask that agent to represent you. He or she can walk you through the house and then write up your offer for you if you're interested in submitting one.

I agree with J Scott about finding an agent who is knowledgeable with REO's and investors to represent you. A good way to find one is through networking at your REIA, and through BP. I found my agent here through BP, and he has provided me with a wealth of knowledge on how to make offers, what's happening in the market, who the players and wannabes are etc...
I've gotten two deals under contract so far with him and none have been his own listings. I believe J Scott also has an agent on his team so he doesn't use the listing agent to make offers on either... the key is finding a competent and knowledgeable agent to be on your team.