All Forum Posts by: Anne S.

Hello Jordan Lives,

Will Barnard is definitely right. It's nearly impossible to place a single rule to fit everything since there are so many variables and rules change depending on markets. That's what makes REI fun and challenging though! A great place to start is the BP Free Beginner's Guide which has links to articles on some of the rules. Here is a chapter on the 50% and 2% rules that I found helpful:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing/find-property

There are also many different files in the BP FilePlace which contain Excel spreadsheets for doing calculations. Check them out too!

Hello all-

Sorry for the delay, I was out of town for the weekend. I have pictures of the driveway and the cracked bricks. Any tips on how to post these? Haven't quite mastered this whole forum posting bit yet!

Mike G. I will work on getting a couple pictures posted soon. The driveway is still decent- there's just a portion of it that shines a spotlight on some of the structural issues the home has had in the past. I would just replace that section but the concrete companies have indicated that going over the first part of the driveway with the heavy equipment could possibly cause more damage.

Dell Schlabach I anticipate selling the home for $100-115k. You bring up a good point. Perhaps I will leave the concrete decision until later in the project and see how much wiggle room I have in the budget after taking care of other things.

David Niles I haven't given much attention to blacktop mainly because most of the homes in the neighborhood have concrete. Is blacktop typically less expensive?

Hello BP-

I'm getting ready to close on a HUD house with some settlement issues. Cracks under both front windows and front corner of house. Original owner had piers installed, and most recent owners didn't maintain the home- downspout emptying directly to front corner foundation.

I've had several foundation companies come out and it seems like I should be okay to re-route the water and patch the cracks. My dilemma is that there are big saw marks in the driveway and uneven slabs from when the piers were installed. My budget for the whole renovation is $15k and replacing the 60ft driveway will cost ~$3,300 based on bids. Is it worth it???

Thanks!

David Beard- Great to meet another central Kentuckian! I appreciate the advice. Would you mind elaborating a bit on the 2-year "experience clock?"

To answer your questions, yes I'm able to get conventional financing but the bank I've been talking with (thanks to James Vermillion for a great referral!) quoted me around 5.85% because of my investor status I'd guess. That was with a flip in mind so does that mean I would likely get closer to 4% for a B&H property in my own name then?

Property is 5br/1.5ba ~1400sqft. Monthly rent is $905 and she provided me a list of repairs completed. The investor and I haven't hashed out a selling price (PVA= 98K) but I hoping to arrange a meeting at the property to discuss details further. The reason I wanted to have the property in the LLC name was mainly so that the rent check would be to the LLC as opposed to my personal name for privacy and business distinction purposes.

Again, thank you for the interest and support!

**UPDATE**

I believe my initial judge of character was correct on the investor looking to sell the house. She doesn't seem to want to swindle me into a bad deal, just looking to get a bit of her equity out in order to update another property that needs it as well as the fact that it is 30 minutes from where she lives now. She openly provided me with the details you all wisely suggested that I request from her. She indicated that she will put it on the market in 2014 but has a tenant in there now who will be renewing his lease in April.

Although I still need some additional information and will need to look into the deal more, I think it might be a good opportunity. I have an LLC set up and I wonder if it makes sense to purchase the house in the LLC and potentially use it down the road as leverage for purchasing other houses?? My business plan starting out has been to do several flips in order to generate capital before acquiring a buy and hold. Any thoughts on going about that plan backwards and any problems from doing it that way?

Happy March!

I agree with Brandon Turner and Allan Landfried!

In my very humble opinion, #1 sounds more personal and approachable- especially if you do the photo like you originally suggested.

If I was a distressed seller, I think it would appeal to me to feel like I was going directly to a person instead of a cookie cutter home buyer.

Whatever your name choice ends up being I hope it is a successful marketing campaign!

Rob K Thank you for the sound advice. It's easy to get caught up in something that sounds too good to be true. I have planned a drive by for this evening to pass through the neighborhood and have requested the financial information from the investor in addition to asking why she's wanting to unload it in the first place. I do know that she's looking to make updates to her larger apartment complexes so perhaps she's looking for the cash to make that happen, but we'll see!

James Vermillion Thank you and great to hear feedback from a fellow Bluegrass resident! :) You brought up some really great points. I was afraid of "unloading on a newbie" and leery of the situation as well so you confirmed my initial worries. I've met her twice now and she seems straightforward but your advice to do due diligence is always important and really the only way of protecting myself. The list of things to request from her that you suggested is greatly helpful and when I follow up with her today I will certainly dig deeper.

Frank Gallinelli I appreciate your detailed response. Your statement that "no property exists in a vacuum" rings terrifically true and I will make sure to take the steps you suggested to double check the investor's motives and analyze the deal systematically.

Kyle Sparks and Bill Gulley Your input is appreciated as well. Part of me feels like screening for my own tenants in a different rental would be less nerve-wracking than having to go into an already occupied situation and have to back track to make sure all of my bases are covered!

I will heed all of your words and proceed with caution!

Good morning BP community!

I have been studying REI for about a year now and am ready to move from analysis paralysis to making my first deal happen in 2013. I attended my second local REIA meeting last night and was approached by a more experienced investor who indicated that she owns a house I might be interested in.

I searched the house online for some basic information, but was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestions of what financial specifics I should request from her in order to determine if the property is worth looking into further. The cautious side of me questions why someone would sell a so-called "cash cow" to another investor. Transitioning her portfolio?? She owns several large apartment complexes and approximately 30 SFH.

Any insight is much appreciated.

Cheers!