All Forum Posts by: Ronald Stark

Hi all

Once again thanks for some great suggestions. Maybe I do need to extend my field of search. 

Ron

Hi David,

Thanks for the good advice. I have actually listened to many of the podcasts which are also a big help.

Ron

Thanks for the  fast replies. I guess Austin is a hot market I will have to be a little more creative.

Ron

Hi All,

I live in Austin Texas. I am a first time buyer for buy and hold strategy. Currently I am pre-approved for my loan but I am having difficulty finding a property that meets the 1% rule or will even give a positive cash flow. My calculations factoring in taxes, mortgage, insurance, cap ex, maintenance and vacancy indicate the house cannot cost more than 130K assuming a rent of around $1200-$1300. I am willing to go for single family or even a multifamily but even the multi's are 200K plus. I am checking MLS on all the regular sites like Zillow, Redfin, realtor.com, realtoraustin even Craigslist but I am finding nothing.

Should I sign up with a realtor my guess is they will only find the same properties I find. Redfin even gives a 1% cash back to buyers but i don't want to be restricted to one realtor. I would prefer to be calling listing agents. I see lots of auction properties coming up but they all say 'as is', cannot view and cash only so I am ignoring those.

What am i doing wrong? Please advise.

Thanks,

Ron

Thanks guys. But don't you need a lawyer to search to see if you are a flood zone or check to see if there are any liens on the house etc etc.

Thanks,

ron

Hi All,

I have yet to make my first property purchase. If I find a property from one of the various web sites and I wish to make an offer on it which process should I follow. Just contact the selling realtor (assuming I don't have one representing me) or make sure a realtor is representing me on the buyer side. Maybe I should ask a lawyer to represent me? Since I found the property do I still need representation?

Thanks,

Ron

Thank you all for the feedback.

Much appreciated.

Ron

Hi All,

I am new to property investment and still need to make my first single family home purchase which I intend to rent out for positive cash flow in Austin, TX area.

I am assuming I should get pre-approval first then identify the property. If I buy a rehab I understand i can't get a traditional loan and will have to get a loan from hard money lender hence the need to get pre-approval with hard money lender first. My concern is what if I can't refinance to a regular 30 year after rehab. I am stuck and would have to sell property quickly. Even if I also get pre-approval from a regular lender I assume there is no guarantee they will finance the loan on the property I buy.

If I go the route of no rehab and no need for hard money then get pre-approval on a single family home at least if the bank says no to that house I am not stuck with  the property.

I would prefer to buy a single family for rehab but I am worried about not being able to refinance away from the hard money loan.

Your comments would be appreciated maybe I am worrying needlessly.

Thanks,

Ron

Excellent point.

Thank you.

Hi Steve,

I was told just use listing agent then they will get all the commission and will work quicker for you even though they represent the seller. However I do see your point maybe it is better to have somebody you know will represent the buyer side so maybe I should have my own agent.

Thanks for input.

Ron