All Forum Posts by: Zane McLaughlin

craitgslist has to be the best website for a private owner to list their home for sale. I believe they can also list there house on Zillow.com if they are able to make an account.

Other than that I'm not sure where else they could go.

Hope this helps

I have posted some adds on craigslist to get a feel for what people would respond to, but as far as finding a happy medium rent rate for an area, I look at Zillow. you can look up the address for your rental on their website, and then check around that area for similar homes, and what their going rate is. I then advertise just a little over that number (who knows, maybe you will get lucky), and then if that number doesn't take, I'll bring it down some and repost again. Typically you wont be able to get above your comparables, but it can be good place to start getting a feel for the area.

Hope this helps 

Hey there.

I wouldn't say that I am extremely experienced, but I have don't a few deals, and since you are only looking for the first deal, I think I can shed enough light for you.

From the time I decided that I was going to be a REI, to the time I was signing a contract with a seller was about 4-5 months. Most of that time was spent educating myself by reading books, talking to other investors, and watching youtube videos. I then found a seller through word of mouth. The process from the initial contact to signing was about 2 months. I currently live in Germany, and my seller was in North Carolina. A deal was struck up soon after the initial contact, but the time difference added more time to getting the contracts arranged properly, sending and receiving, to the final signature.

Everyone is different in how they do things. My business partner had a deal within 2 weeks of deciding to be a REI, and learned on the fly, whereas I am the type to read, ask questions, and ease into it by knowing everything I possibly can first. The biggest thing though is like what the BiggerPockets community says a lot: "just pull the trigger." I learned more from that first deal, than all the reading I had done previously.

Hope this helps

Wow that sounds like a tricky situation. I don't know much about wrap-around mortgages (though if others were to shed some light I would definitely read those comments), but if this were me in the situation, I would offer the seller a "subject-to" deal. 

This will keep the mortgage in his name, but you would pay his mortgage every month by putting tenants in it. This is going to be the easiest way for him to be out from under the treachers of landlording, and this would be the easiest way for you to essentially assume his loan, and have control of the house. 

This solution can only work if the seller is motivated to get rid of the place and is willing to do whatever it takes. If he doesn't want to have the mortgage in his name any more, this kind of deal can be problematic. 

It's not the best solution for everyone, but it can work for a few. 

Hope this helps

I'd just like to say, great job in getting a prospective tenant in your view. Some may not know how much work this can take to do.

Now talking about the dog; that is entirely up to you and what you are willing to deal with.

We just accepted a tenant with a dog, but charged a $150 non-refundable deposite. Pets tend to use the facilities wherever, so carpet replacement, re-seeding the lawn, and scratch marks are some of the damages you can expect when you let a dog into the property. If the damages go further than the $150 can cover, than you can dip into the initial deposite to help cover yourself as well. 

Like I said before, it's up to what you are willing to deal with. 

On another side, you may find it worth it to let in a dog to ensure you get that golden tenant that every landlord dreams of (you know the ones that pay on time, are easy to work with and take care of the property). If you have other applicants wanting to rent, and they are either better, or just as good, you may choose to select them over the person with the dog. 

These are just my thoughts. 

I hope this helps

Hey Ryan,

Good to hear you're hustling and working at making a better future for yourself.

I am looking at doing some deals with some wholesalers in NC, and I would love to be added to your buyers list.

Mark,

Glad to hear you are being smart about getting into a home.

As far as the house hacking goes, it depends on your state, and what is considered to be a "single family home"

I am looking at doing the same thing in the near future, and through my research, my state (North Carolina) considers a Tri-plex to be a single family home. Of which can pull out a home loan on the house, and its not considered to be a commercial property until the property has 4 units or more. So I wouldn't be paying commercial real estate interest rates.

Perhaps that is what she is referring to. I found the classification at the city hall's website. Most states and cities have a website with all of the zoning regulations and classification there.

Hope this helps.

Hey welcome to BiggerPockets!

You can do the leg work yourself by going to the courthouse website and digging through the public records, or your can buy a list from listsource.com. They allow you to fine-tune what you're looking for, and give you the addresses of the places going through foreclosure. They can be a bit pricey, so make sure you limit your searches to a specific zip codes instead of entire cities, or states. It can make the difference between $50 and $5,000 for a single list.

The $40 from vistaprint.com was including the stamps. You can buy a list from them (absentee owner list and so on), or you can upload your own list, customize your cards and they'll send them out for you.

I have heard about the yellow letters. That's one thing that me and my partners are looking into. Something to do with yellow catching attention better or something. Thanks for the tip Kevin!