All Forum Posts by: Michael Rohland

@Fritz Chatelier RealtyTrac has done it's job for me as far as finding leads to then search the county site with. As mentioned in my original post, I don't have a way to search the county site unless I know the specific property I want to search. RealtyTrac let's me find those foreclosures, then I use the county site to get exact details such as outstanding loan balance, case status, etc. I then mail to the ones I am interested in. 

Here's my stats so far: sent about 750 letters, received about 9 leads. Pursuing 3 strong leads currently. No deals yet. The biggest challenge has been working the deal with the owners once they call. So far all but 2 owners are set on staying in the home. This has been a sticking point thus far. As you might guess, people who find themselves in foreclosure in the first place often don't think the most intelligently. I truly care about these people and am trying to make win win deals, but I have had most owners procrastinate until the foreclosure actually happens.

RealyTrac is certainly doing its job for me though. It's helping me find the leads. I need to work on my end to close the leads.

Currently using Realtytrac for finding homes in default (preforeclosures) and then going to the county website to complete the factual research. If the properties meet certain criteria (location and amount owed) I add it to a direct mail list. Just started this a few weeks ago but the system seems legit. Will have to just be patient and see how it works out once I've sent significant mailers out. Sent about 100 so far so not many yet. 

Note about realtytrac. People keep complaining about info being outdated. That may be somewhat true, which is why I go to the county site as soon as I find leads from the site. But in my county, there is no way to search all preforeclosures on a general basis. Realtytrac fills that gap. Then I can use the case number from realtytrac to search the county site.

Anyone else have experience with this?

Here's a question.. I have a rental property, just purchased about 3 months ago. I am still in college (was able to purchase the rental due to income from co-op and stock market luck). Anyway, with that SFR rental I have a debt coverage of about 1.7 and cash flow at about 500-600 a month. It is a college rental so it demands higher rents than typical.

So when I graduate in a year from now, I will be looking to purchase a duplex/triplex to live in and rent. At this time, what should my main considerations be? DTI, debt coverage, about of time I've owned the rental? I figure since my first home purchase was a rental, a bank would be more willing to lend to me for a place I would actually live in as well as rent. When I graduate and start looking to purchase, I will have owned the rental for about 18 months. I am not sure what my debt/income ratio will be but I wonder if I will be able to use the rental income for it or if I'll have to wait for another 6 months or so..

Also, does age matter at all? I am 22, so not sure how willing banks will be to lend to a 23-24 year old on a second property. Thanks for any advice!