All Forum Posts by: Scott Steffek

Robert,

Todd is right on the money. Everything he said is correct. I would definitely have the house inspected prior to purchasing it. Put a clause in the contract that states you have "X" amount of days to inspect the property. Also add that if the inspection shows the amount of work to be over "X" amount of dollars, you can cancel the contract, without losing your EMD. That can save you a lot of heartache down the road.I close properties all the time in Indiana and our investors and sellers rarely pay more than $1500 for all of the fees and closing costs. So check around with various title companies and see what their rates are. Depending on who's paying for what, we do closes for as little as $800 for one side of the transaction. Pro rating the taxes is a different story, so keep that in mind. As Todd said, taxes are paid in the rears. Best of luck to you.

Nir,

I think everyone has given you excellent advice. I would strongly suggest you follow it, for your own benefit. You cannot trust many tenants and if you do, you can get burned even worse. He should have an eviction on his record. He didn't pay you! I've seen too many cases where investors have self managed properties and they "feel bad" for the tenants, only to get burned time and time again. But you can do it your way if you'd like. Good luck with that!

Jim,

If your Crown Point duplex is below market value, I'd be interested in talking to you about purchasing it.

Kasey,

Andy is right in more ways than one. Be careful who you buy from. There are way too many crooks out there and they'll take you for a long ride off a short cliff, if you let them. Make sure you complete your own due diligence. Don't believe what they tell you on rehab costs and arv's.  Check it for yourself. Andy is one of the few wholesalers out there that is reputable and can find you a good deal. Just make sure you do all of your homework, before you buy! Best of luck to you.

Matthew,

I might be able to help with a quality PM, but I need to know where the properties are located.

Andrew, 

What area of Indiana are you looking to invest? I work out of the Northwest area. We're about 30 minutes from Chicago. I can help you with that area, if you need it.  Best of luck to you.

Douglas,

Take a hard look at Northwest, Indiana. NW Indiana is NOT Indianapolis. It's basically suburbs of Chicago. Generally speaking, the commute time to downtown Chicago is about 30 minutes. There are a tremendous amount of people that have moved from Illinois, over to NW Indiana. Why? Because the taxes are much lower, cost of living is lower, quality of life is great and home acquisition prices are lower than Illinois. However, the rental rates aren't much lower than Illinois. So your cash on cash return is very good. Plus the area is growing, due to the exodus out of Illinois. That can only help home prices rise. Take a look at cities such as: Crown Point, Merrillville, Hobart, Griffith, Highland, Hammond and many others. Crown Point is mostly for flipping, but can also be a great rental area. It's mostly upper income. The other cities are good for rentals and some are also good for flips as well. Best of luck to you. 

Prashant,

I close a lot of deals in Indiana and I rarely use an attorney. But if you're unsure about a contract or other legal issues, I would suggest you retain one. My title company is owned by an attorney, so when I close deals with him, he'll represent me for free. So you might want to look for a title company that has an attorney on staff and will assist you with the legal "stuff." Best of luck to you. 

Mike,

I agree to a point. But there are quite a few cities that are well worth investing in. We sell investors sfr's in a southern suburb of Chicago.  Taxes are reasonable, rents are very high and there's a high demand for rental properties. We also do business in Northwest, Indiana. I don't know of one city in Indiana that can match the cash on cash return we get our investors in Illinois. We get them 12% and as high as 15.5%. That Includes costs like maintenance, taxes, vacancy etc. So all of Illinois isn't a "dud." You just have to know where to look. 

April,

I've been wholesaling for a long time. Everyone thinks doing it is easy. It's one of the most difficult jobs you'll ever have! However, if you stick to it, the rewards are definitely there. It's very frustrating and expensive sending out mailers, putting up signs etc. It's a lot of work. But let's be positive for a second. What you need to know, is that all it takes is one good hit. That's it. But that one good hit might take 100 phone calls from the signs and/or sending out 1000 mailers.  Don't give up. Andy is right. You need to figure out your target area and what kind of homeowners you're targeting. Then focus on that group. This business is about repetition. But targeting your audience will definitely improve your chances of hitting. I'm currently mentoring a newbie. One thing I told him when we first hooked up was: " If you don't have buyers, you don't have a business." You said you have plenty of buyers. That's an excellent start. You're already way ahead of other newbies.  Just don't give up! The market is tight and great deals are tough to find right now. But they're out there. You just have to dig deep. Best of luck to you. If I can help you, feel free to PM me.