All Forum Posts by: Roy Schauer

hi April!

Are the washer/dryer gas or electric? For the common door, you can get the self locking knobs or put a locking door on the laundry room. One key per apartment setup. Or even switch to a keypad lock on the door for the laundry room. Typically up here we see about $1.25-1.75 for washer, and .75-1.25 for dryer. Congrats on the four plex!

I've had people tell me that approach is predatory. I ask them, how much equity will they get if the bank forecloses? Will they still have to move? Will they still have to pay out of their own pocket to move as well as pay all the costs associated with getting a new home? And what kind of hit to their credit will having a foreclosure on it do for them? It's interesting to see the look on their face as they process the information. Would you rather have some of your equity saved or lose it all? Of course the perception comes down to the delivery of the message. Are you coming across as a shark smelling the blood in the water, or do you really want to help these people and make some money in the process. The people in default are extremely sensitive and will view your actions through glasses of negativity, so treat them the way you would want to be treated if you were in their situation.

welcome to the club!

Here in Alaska, they have an early occupancy agreement. You make the offer to purchase, set the monthly payment, and structure the term to finalize closing in 6 months with the ability to extend for 3 months or something like that. Lease option works too but as a renter, if the landlord can show you "broke" the lease, they do not have to honor the option to purchase. Or possibly a land purchase where title is held in escrow until paid off so it doesn't change into your name until your ready to purchase it.

hi Dev,

What Bill Gulley says is important. I know the seminars make it seem so easy and within 30-60 days you could be make thousands of dollars. It gets you excited and ready to say "put me in coach." Think of it like boxing, you might be in great shape, you might have incredible talent but if you haven't actually stepped into the ring before and your against a seasoned boxer, you can guess the outcome. The good point is you'll learn you don't know enough and you'll heal. If you make a misstep in real estate, you can not only lose the money in a deal, you can be sued or a variety of other things that will give you a whole new perspective on life. We aren't saying don't do it, we are saying be smart about it. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

To give you a perspective, I'm just starting to get rolling, handled 5 deals since April of this year with another 1 or 2 in the works. But it's taken me two years to build the contacts, get the knowledge, get my documents in order, and be protected while I do deals. You might be able to do it faster. I'm in my early 40's. Network, talk to people in the industry, get a job that gives you some inside perspective (like escrow agent assistant at a title company), find a mentor doing deals in a manner you feel is ethical and allows you to look at yourself in the mirror with pride. And most importantly, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Anything is possible with the right knowledge and frame of mind.

There are several methods to handle property without using banks. The biggest drawback in Anchorage is that everything is so expensive. And of its an investment you need 20-25% down. If you buy at the courthouse steps, it has to be cash in hand. And since you can't even hardly touch a 2 bedroom condo for less than $80k, its hard to step into that arena. Look up owner financing, lease options, subjects to's, and joint ventures. Those are the typical ways to handle property with less money down and creative terms.

First off, welcome back to Anchorage Kerry! If you look up meetup.com and search for "REI Alaska", you can join there. We meet about once a month, unless we do an informal get together for lunch or whatever. We had taken the past couple months off but now that there seems to be more interest I'll set the next meeting. Also there is a local REX (real estate exchange) meeting the third Tuesday of each month at the Petroluem Club at 3301 C st, bring $20 and you get a meal with that. Feel free to network with local. We as individuals are at a disadvantage up here unless we get more organized.

Hi Jason, Cristina can clarify but might be because of a couple things. Realtors here are trained to believe that no one else can handle property besides a Realtor for the most part. I have found a few of them tell me what I do is illegal. However out company has been brought before the Real Estate Commission and they deemed I was operating within state guidelines. Have also been in court where our business was brought into question and the judge not only invalidated the other party but actually confirmed our ability to handle the property on behalf of the wife by awarding a clerks deed. Granted there are some questionable practices but we try to act with the highest values possible to eliminate more issues like those stated.

Hi Polly!

Welcome to the information hub. Are you talking about the Tax Lien seminar at the Sheraton recently or some other one? I like Homer, a quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem, lol! Have learned not to camp on the spit, gets darn cold about 3am. Wish you and your husband luck and feel free to share thoughts and ideas.

Good points Gary, there are a lot of restrictions, just make sure you understand them and work within the the guidelines. We personally don't do Subject To's unless we have the ability to completely pay off the loan to the bank because its a possibility that could happen, but mainly because even though its legal to do Subject To's, where we are anyways, they really give the impression of a scam, especially if something goes sideways in the deal.

Hi Mark,

We do something very similar for preforeclosures. We don't just blanket direct mail. We "pre-qualify" houses first to narrow the list, reduces cost and time wasted on property that you can't really do anything with. Then, even though its a little more work, we tape our "mailing" to the front door instead of using the mailbox. Our response rate has been in the 15-25% range. But people move slow and take time to chew on things. Don't expect an immediate response, give it a week. By doing it this way, if someone is calling in regards to one of our mailing, we are 90% sure we can help them and we already have some basic info on file about their house so we seem like we are more professional and serious. Put yourself in their position, whether its their fault is irrelevant, in their opinion they are running out of options and are "hyper" sensitive. If the numbers work, from that point on worry less about making lots of money and more about how to reduce their stress and find a creative solution. I've had several people tell me in the past that they've had "sharks" offer them lowball offers on their property. At that stage their dignity is about all they have left. People work more with us because we care, not because we are taking advantage of their situation.

Sorry for the long response. But like most of the experienced investors will tell you, this is a problem solving and a high people contact business. If you don't feel comfortable working with highly stressed people and making them feel comfortable enough to trust you to help them, then there are other ways to handle real estate that require less human contact.

Btw, I put peanuts in my envelope along with a postcard they can put on their fridge that says "you'd be nuts not to let us help" on one side and our information on the other. The nuts are a gimmick but it entices them to open the envelope because they wonder what the heck it is. Getting the homeowner to look at your contact is the biggest step. Think outside the box. Break them out of their funk and maybe even put a smile on their face. It could be the difference between a call or not. Hope this helps.