All Forum Posts by: Andy J.

Clearnow.com is a company that can do that, they also report to a credit bureau after a few months which can improve your tenant's credit. It's a nominal monthly fee.

If you're using an ACH account to debit, expect to pay a certain percentage plus additional fees. I think mine charges 1.5% plus a couple bucks transaction fee. firstach.com

MikeOH, setting up an automatic payment should not give a tenant the ability to access your account. Did you experience this problem firsthand?

If you're mailing to non-owner occs, be mindful of who/where you're mailing to. I find that non-owner occ's that live in the same city as their property, or within an hour drive are less motivated than those further away. In addition, you may come across a lot of non-owner occ's whose mailing address is in California. It has been my experience that people in CA aren't nearly as likely to be motivated enough to do business.

My point is, work on your list as much as possible if your budget is tight. Quality vs. quantity.

If you do not wish (or can't without license) to represent yourself as a property manager, you can be represented as a principal (preferred anyhow). My lease agreement with the sub-tenant includes the following

"THIS PROPERTY IS OWNED, LEASED OR SUBLEASED BY *your co. name here*, REPRESENTING ITS INTEREST AS LANDLORD."

Herbster, you bring up a good point. A poor wording on my behalf, apologies. Depending on your state laws you can "represent" the owner as a property manager without license for the lease portion, for the option portion you are acting on your own behalf as it should state that your tenant/buyer's option is with you and not the owner. As a principle in the option transaction there is no representation.

Brandon's spot on here. I have never had a tenant/buyer ask who actually owned the property but I do disclose up front that I represent the homeowner. I use a disclosure that my tenant/buyer signs which specifically states I'm not the owner and their recourse is limited in such a situation.

You don't need a document that specifically states "sub-lease" just put those words in a standard lease document or say something along the lines of "as manager or agent for the owner".

Bandit signs elicit a wildly varying response rate. I usually put out 100 a weekend, and some weeks I don't get any calls, other weeks I get 15 calls. It appears to be completely random. However, the deals that do come from them more than pay for your time, effort, and money.

Bandit signs aren't something you just do once, you have to continuously keep putting them out to see fruitful results. I have always questioned the effectiveness myself, but every 2 months or so we pull a great deal from them.

Mine say:
We Buy Houses
Phone Number

Leave the area code out if it's appropriate for your location, don't make them press any more numbers than necessary or remember extra digits. Also, if you can get a vanity #, it should help as well. Something like 555-Sell or 388-CASH.

In a couple instances I know for a fact that I have mailed people 2-3 times and received no response, then one day they decide to call a bandit sign and we end up doing business.

Think of it more as a marathon than a race. And yes, there are people that don't like bandit signs and will vandalize them, no way around it, don't let it get to you.

Another vote for Nassim Taleb's books. They are quite excellent and give you a different perspective to look through that I believe is invaluable when dealing with risk.

It is absolutely reasonable, but always do the comps yourself. It's good to have someone double check, but it's your butt on the line. If you make offers through them and are able to pass on leads that are better suited to Realtors from time to time you can create a mutually beneficial relationship that will save you time and money.

Bill, I should have been more specific. What I meant to say is that I'm willing to pay more for a property with owner financing 'than I otherwise would without it'. Meaning if I normally paid 70% ARV, with owner financing I might pay 80% ARV. It depends entirely on the terms of course.

The terms can affect this wildly as well. If for example I negotiated a principal only payment for the first 2 years, or an interest only payment, both of these would obviously sweeten the deal. I'm sure we've all heard the "you name the price I'll name the terms" slogan. It really depends on what you are trying to do with the property. On a rehab for example, if owner financing gives you a better profit margin than using a hard money lender, you should absolutely be willing to pay a higher % of ARV than you would with a hard money lender.

I'm willing to pay more for a property if I can get owner financing with good terms. Many people are just tired of being landlords, if you can give them a monthly payment but save them a headache you may be their knight in shining armor.

Also, it is rare, but if they have owned the property for close to 27.5 years, they will soon lose the ability to deduct for depreciation on their taxes, being able to get into a house where they can claim more tax writeoffs may soon become very important to them.