All Forum Posts by: Spicer Matthews

Yeah that guys was not cool at all. I hate it when people do that to me. What really bothers me is when someone comes up and tries to make buddies with me I spend the entire time talking to the person and then at the very end I find out he was only trying to sell me something. I like it when people can be engaging while still letting you know quickly what they are selling so time is not wasted.

Now-a-days everyone is in FC, but many of them are going through loan modifications. Is there a good way to weed out the people in FC that are not currently trying to get a loan mod?

Some of our advances on FC properties we find out the borrower is activity trying to get a loan mod so putting together a sale is only plan B for them. Leaving a small window between when the loan mod gets turned down to the action date.

I agree with Morency the biggest red flag for us is the rental of appliances. If they have to rent stuff like that you know they are not good with money.

What we do to avoid getting bad tenants is have a high finders fee for current tenants to help fill the spot. Tenants always want their friends near by and if the referral comes from a great tenant it is a good sign the referral is a good tenant too. Something like good people hang with good people.

For some of our properties we also try to get tenants that have some bad things on their application. Sometimes people have twisted pasts but have gotten over them and are looking to start over. So if we give them a chance while every other landlord in town said no we often get tons of respect from the tenant and they work hard not to screw it up. Now this is a tough game to play but we have had really great results when have taken the risk. It all depends on what the red flags are that you would be over looking.

I guess I miss said that. Mortgage standards are a factor in home prices. Job growth, is a big part of it. I think wall street does drive real estate directions, while what is happening locally fine tunes the growth rates.

So Wall Street might "say" real estate is going to go up, down, or side ways based on their demand for Mortgage Back Securities, and the local economy might dictate by how much.

There are tons of factors, but the factor I think people don't always wrap their head around is the Wall Street factor. People generally know it affects it some how but do not know in details.

I know this post is a little old but thought I would add. I have used these guys http://privatecapitalpartners.net they are great!!

I guess my rant is not 100% about predicting the storm. I think is more about getting an idea of what makes the whole system tick. I see so many beginner real estate investors buying rental properties or fix and flips not understanding the whole picture. I guess at a very simple level I think that is just wrong.

The best example I can think of it a general contractor. Most general contractors understand all aspects of building a house. From the permits, to the roof, to the flooring, to the final inspection. I feel like many real estate investors do not dive deep into the mortgage industry.

The mortgage standards (what it takes to get a loan) is very much a function of how well the mortgage back securities are selling on wall street. Standards are going to be very low if the MBS market is very liquid. Home prices are a function of mortgage standards. Also, the rental market is a function of home prices.

Predicting a storm is just part of it. I should be able to look at the MBS market and use that data to help me figure out how much I can raise rents this year.

Ted, Thanks!!! Looking forward to sharing ideas on this site.

Hey Joshua,

Great work on the site. I am a computer geek as much as I am a Investor Guy so great web communities have great value to me. So Thanks!!

I do many multi unit residential projects (2 - 4 units). A few years ago we were doing a lot of just buy land and built. Now a days we are doing tear downs, that we can rent out for a year or so while we get our permits approved and then build when the time is right. We use to try to flip anything we built within 18 months but now we are building to hold for a few years and sell when we can, so the rental income is factoring in more.

We also hedge a lot of our Real Estate investing with different stock positions that we activity trade.

That is a little bit more about me/we (I have a few partners in my firm).

I have been on a recent rant lately about real estate books. As we all know there are many good ones out there and many bad ones. What most of them tell us is how to buys and sell and get super rich or whatever. If they even go into getting financing they typically stop at "Call your bank and they will give you a loan". They never describe what really happens to your loan, why banks are so willing to give you loans (or at least use to). This is very important information.

You might ask your self: "Why do I care, I either get a loan or I don't". The reason you care is not about your self, it is about who is going to buy your property and when you are going to sell it. Over 90% of real estate transactions have financing. If what is happening on wall street affects the ability for your buyer to get a loan there is going to be less demand, which will increase days on market, and lower property values.

I am all for reading every Real Estate book you can get your hands on but I also think it is very important for Real Estate investors to read about and study the markets the support the financing of Real Estate. Below is what I think is a must read. David Faber (a CNBC reporter) does a great job of talking about all aspects of how we went into a decline. He walks you through when you first purchase a loan all the way through to where you loan ends up. He walks you through the complex levels of what happens when you purchase property simply at each level.

And Then the Roof Caved In: How Wall Street Greed and Stupidity Brought Capitalism to Its Knees by David Faber

And Then The Roof Caved In

Hi All,

Sort of bummed out I have not found biggerpockets sooner. There does not seem to be very many good communities out there focused around real estate / real estate investing. Tons of get rich quick sites.

Anyway, I am an active investor in the Portland Oregon area, also have done a great deal of development / building. Given the market I am spending most of my time on long term holds right now.

Also, I am an active software developer. I own and operate Cloudmanic.com , a development company that builds software as a services applications.

Look forward to engaging.

~Spicer