All Forum Posts by: Sam Bagwell

Gainesville is a great place, with good access to Forsyth County as well.  My office is in Gainesville, so any time you want to stop by and say hello, just let me know.

I have never used an auction site such as auction.com.  I've come across two properties in my target area, but am hesitant to pull the trigger.  For those who use these sites, do you submit your bids directly or use a real estate agent?  Do you normally have the opportunity to walk through the property prior to submitting a bid?  Does the auction process provide for inspection contingencies?

The short answer is no.  An individual (whether a person or a company) does not need to be a broker to manage their own properties. A company does this through an in-house member, employee, etc...

I play both sides of the tax lien game in Georgia, both as an investor, and also as an attorney who handles the foreclosure of right of redemption as well as pursues the quiet title action after that.  A good chunk of my attorneys fees are made re-doing (or un-doing) the work of out of state turnkey providers.  Many of these companies treat a Georgia tax lien the same as a California or Texas tax purchase, and the processes are not the same.  Since I also do my own foreclosures of the right to redeem and quiet title actions, I do not incur separate attorney fees on those.  That said, if your purchase/winning bid price is too low, and the property is redeemed, the 20% you made may not cover your attorney's fees, so people can get burned.  Plan on the following in Georgia, when doing tax liens.  1.  your money is going to be tied up for almost 2 years to get clear, marketable title (most title insurers will not write a property that has only had the right of redemption foreclosed; you need the quiet title).  Much of the timeline on the quiet title is driven by a Superior Court Judge in the County where the property is, and they tend to move slow.  2.  You will also be paying at least one additional year of taxes on the property.  3.  plan on incurring $3k-$5k in foreclosure and quiet title costs.  If a government agency (State Department of Revenuem for example) has any lien against the property, plan on a little extra.  Overall, I love tax deeds.  That's why I buy them, and that's why I have this as a practice area.  Inexperienced investors, or out-of-state investors, though, can run into trouble if they don't know what to expect.

I'm not in California, and not in Michigan, but in Georgia, a property owner can have a property manager/broker manage their property for them, but they can also designate a trusted family member or friend to do that through a specific power of attorney for that purpose.  While I haven't specifically worked with anyone who does this, I know who a few are.  Most of them are working toward finishing the brokerage/licensing, so there will eventually be no question of their legitimacy, but most of them also have a very small inventory of properties in the meantime, so their exposure is relatively low.  It seems like one of those squishy "gray areas" in Georgia, much like wholesaling, where compulsive and complete disclosure and explanation seem to be how they cover themselves.  Everyone must know and acknowledge everything in writing ahead of time; nothing stays in the dark, and the client cannot, for any reason, believe that they are working with a real estate agent, "property manager," or broker.

Not all owners would be comfortable with this, so it will need to be someone who trusts you a lot, for sure.

Rather than operating as a broker, assuming that you're only working with people who know and trust you, have you considered operating under a specific power of attorney to fill the gap until you finalize your license and open up to a larger market?

I live in Cumming as well; have my whole life.  Forsyth County is a great place for real estate!  Good luck!

Can't go wrong in Forsyth.  Depending on your funds, anything south of GA-20 and within a few miles of 400 is gold.  Nothing much stays on the market very long in that area.  Good luck!

@Gary A. I didn't see that you were going to be doing multiple transactions per year.  In those circumstances, you'll have to do the qualifying underwriting and otherwise be in compliance with DF.   That being said, you were probably on the right track contracting with an MLO, but unfortunately, I don't know any who do that type of work.  I'll keep following this thread to see if any chime in with their advice.  Good luck! 

You may not need to deal with an MLO.  Depending on how many properties you are owner financing, whether they are/were your primary residence, etc..., you may not be facing Dodd Frank issues  after all.  Even if you are, it's not note compliance that will concern you, it's lending/licensing requirements that will be your biggest hurdle.  Talk to a good real estate attorney in your area, preferably a real estate attorney who has also handled at least some litigation.  Any closing attorney can draft a note/deed/settlement statement, but unless they've had to argue in court to defend or oppose these documents in court, they may not have enough perspective.