All Forum Posts by: Samarn Derrick Vichitnand

What percent of market value does every one typically go on their bid?  I noticed that most times counties have market value assigned,  are those typically accurate or to be taken with a grain of salt?

I'm in lake jackson.   Want to buy in Harris County (Houston).  So they have to pay the 25% on bid amount and reimburse for all costs of improvement? 

I live in WA technically.  I am down working in Texas on a job and am looking to eventually move my family down from WA and invest down here.  I have read that tax deed sales are more favorable in texas than a lot of other states.  As far as getting land and building, I was thinking of doing that only in affluent areas where land comprises a larger portion of the total property value.  If the home isn't move in ready, you think it's better to take the chance fixing it up to rent, or better to lose potential revenue during the time period the owner has to redeem?  Is it very likely they will redeem?  If they do redeem after improvements have been made can you write ir off as a loss on taxes at least?

I'm curious what investment strategies people have used with Texas tax deed sales that have worked.  I've never done it before but I anticipate that property with houses on them are bid on with more fervor and therefore end up closer to their market value.  What about raw or developed land for a steep discount that could be used to build on for a rental?  If I were to buy a deed for a home that is move in ready, can I move renters in right away?  If so, what happens if the owner pays within their allotted timeframe?  Does that void the lease or does it stay in effect until it's expiration but need to be turned over to the owner?  Any tips on places that are good resources for researching leins and their order of succession?  Thanks all!

Hi, welcome.  I just started on bp recently as well.  I've found that the podcasts are interesting and the community is pretty open and helpful.  One thing I like about this site are tools that they have.  You can try them out for fee a couple of times.  I've found the rental property calculator pretty enlightening so far.  Good luck!

From what I've read about it residential family units are the way to go until you get more experienced.  There's supposed to be more consumer protections and such.  Residential is all the way up to 4 unit properties, if you're self managing, 4 tenants is more than enough tenants to learn the ins and outs of being a landlord.

Are there lenders out there that specialize in issuing home equity loans on an existing investment property for the purpose of them also financing the purchase of another investment property in another state?  The one I own is in Louisiana and when I find my next investment it most likely will be in Washington State in Snohomish County.  I'd like to keep all of the lending internalized within one lending organization if possible, to cut down on conflicts and logistics.  Maybe it's some kind of an all in one loan package?  The last podcast I listened to has me motivated and the biggerpockets community is awesome. I'm ready to make some moves and deals :)

After I purchased my duplex and moved in I planned on managing it myself. I did that for around 6 years.  What a pain the rear... Tenants constantly moving out or taking advantage.  Unless you know how to proceed legally I would recommend against self management because they will walk all over you.  Also, you're going to have to work with people, but not appear weak in doing so, everyone has a sob story as to why they can't pay rent, I can't tell you how many times I came out of pocket to cover their obligations.  Also make sure to have an airtight lease agreement otherwise you'll have people putting couches in your front yard to lounge in.  What the heck?  Anyway, another good idea is to charge them for trash and pay it yourself, otherwise inevitably you Erik have tenants that store it in the garage until they move, then you get to pay to get rid of it.  If you don't want smokers sinking up your investment DO NOT TRUST THEM when they promise they will only smoke outside.  They are lying to you.  Once I switched to a property manager it was one of the best decisions I could have made.  I have made more money with much less disruption since I've had them.  I'm cheap but 10% is worth having someone else deal with it all.  And like I said, even after the management fee I'm making quite a bit more money that before having them.

From what I've read the line of credit is like a variable rate credit card that is based on the prime rate, subject to change in rate and payment amount, as well as being able to be closed at any point by the lender.  The home equity loan is a fixed rate and paymen backed by the equity in your home, but you have to withdraw the balance in a lump sum.  The house I was looking at pulling equity out of had a balance of around $180k and until an appraisal, an assumed market value of $240-$250k.

I'll definitely be careful about it, that is why I'm looking specifically at the possibility with a home equity loan and not a home equity line of credit.  I'm just curious about the possibility of that process working and if anyone had done it, any advice on increasing effectiveness of the process, as well as any surefire pitfalls.