All Forum Posts by: Sarah Robinson

Michael: I am looking for tenant screening, rent collection, basic maintenance, cleanup and lawn care between tenants, etc. 

Rich: The process was relatively quick. I would say it took about a month from start to finish. Basically, you give your 7 day pay or vacate notice, then file at the court. I received a court date within a week of that but the hearing was for a couple weeks out. We ended up not needing to go to court because the tenant left and so I filed to dismiss and we resolved it that way, but it was like 1 day before our court date so it ended up still being about a month timeline ultimately. 
 

Hello all,

I am in need of a property manager for a home in Hazel Park, but I am having a difficult time vetting the PM companies online. At first, I thought I might go with Evernest, but the reviews and previous forum discussions on here have dissuaded me from going with them for the moment. A bit of a shame since their sales pitch basically is everything I wanted.... but I digress. The home is currently vacant (recently evicted a tenant and the management is challenging for me because of the distance). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

So I've been looking into "subject to" deals because I actually have a friend who is in a position where he has to move across the country and can't seem to sell his house. I have two conventional rentals but I have never really looked into acquiring a property using a "subject to" clause. I have a few questions for those of you who have been involved in this before:

How does the seller make money on the deal? Is it common for the buyer of the property to pay the "asking price" for the house above the amount still owed on the mortgage? If that is the case (lets say a $40,000 difference), how would one "normally" go about compensating the seller (lump sum, payments, etc). I know that the original financing remains in place and you as the buyer assume the loan payments, but I guess I'm asking how the second part of that transaction looks (the seller making $40,000 in my example).

Also, with interest rates rising, how would you rate the likelihood of the original mortgage company "calling" the loan? I think this is my primary concern when looking at this kind of deal. I know it's always a risk, but I guess I'm looking to get feedback from people with more experience than myself at this. Has anyone had this happen, and if so what did you do? 

Thank you in advance for your help on this! 

@Jon Holdman Thank you very much for your honest input. I am hoping to get into this with eyes wide open, and I appreciate people pointing out fatal flaws before I get in too deep. It would be wonderful to partner up on my first deal with someone who has done a few flips, but I know I will need to bring more to the table than what I have right now in order to secure a partner. :) 

Ah, well, as much as that's disappointing, I understand that a reality check is in order here. Back to the drawing board haha... Thank you for the honest answers, everyone. :) I'm still learning, and there is quite the curve! I guess my next step is to start/keep saving like mad (already working on that!) and probably find some private money somewhere. Thanks again! 

Hello all,

Ok so I am looking into flipping a house, but I don't have the money so I am probably going to end up using a Hard money loan or a private investor if I can find someone in my area willing to finance. I have been researching and it appears that for HML's I will have to pay for everything up front, and then be reimbursed afterward for the work done on the property (with a fee associated with every draw I pull for reimbursement). How exactly am I supposed to do this if I literally do not have $20,000 sitting in a bank account to do construction projects? If I had the money, I wouldn't be using a hard money loan in the first place. Can someone please explain this to me, please? I'm super confused...

Derek, thank you so much for your reply. Yes pulling the trigger and making offers is the hardest thing for me right now but I know it’s the next step!! :) 

Perfect thanks! :) 

Thank you! Yes, I don't think I would qualify for the HML at this point either. I guess it's good that I'm already leaning in the direction of a private lender anyway. I'm not sure at this point that I know anyone personally who has the money to be able to finance that kind of a project. By the end of the year I expect that I would have enough money saved up to do a HML actually, so that may become a better option if I just hang on for a few months.

Also, did you have any advice on the "order of operations" as it were, with regard to when I should make offers/secure financing? Thank you for the input! 

I have a few questions. Please bear with me as this might not sound particularly sophisticated...

I want to make offers on houses! I have done a lot of research and analysis on *primarily* single-family homes with fix-and-flip potential. I am still in the process of saving some cash to put into the deal myself, but I would love some input on what "next steps" I should take. 

Do I approach a hard money lender before making an offer on a house? My understanding is that timing is key when it comes to making offers, but I can't really make an offer on a house without having funding already secured, or can I? I know this is a "chicken and the egg" kind of question. But seriously though, what do I do if I make an offer on a house, it is accepted, and then I can't find financing for the deal? Does the deal just fall through and I move on with my life to try and find something better? Can I walk away without tons of fees from something like that? So that is scenario 1... 

Scenario 2 is preferable to me in some ways. I would love to find a partner in my area that would be willing to have me do the footwork/they provide financing, and we split the deal profits 50/50. I know there are people who have the money but don't want to really put in the time and effort to go to the property regularly, oversee the work, etc. But of course, this does mean having to work with someone I barely know, in a more intimate way than a hard money lender would require. Is it wise to partner up with someone in this way, or will I need an attorney to do this safely? I am concerned about the implications of this... On the other hand, I would hope to find someone who was willing to do the financing for just the profits, instead of charging incredibly high interest rates like Hard Money would. Is that an unreasonable expectation? 

Pardon my barrage of questions, but if anyone is willing to tackle this, I would be extremely grateful. :)