All Forum Posts by: Brian Callan

I am hoping someone has some experience with gaining a home inspector license.  We are getting slow at my work and I will have a lot of free time so I was thinking about getting licensed an doing some inspections here and there for extra cash for future investments.  

1) I think it will be great experience and education.  It will help with my ability to avoid money pits when doing future investments as well.

2)  This is a great way to build some extra cash fairly quickly to improve my portfolio.

So what are the steps I need to take?  From my research, I have found 3 major organizations that do the courses and preps for exams.  I am in Alabama so we do require a state exam.  Which organization is the most used and most reputable?  I can't find any reliable information online about it.  

Thanks in advance for your help!

Thank you guys for the help.  The articles do make sense and I do currently have an umbrella policy.  

One of my main concerns is the availability for credit if I wan't to continue purchasing rentals.  With the current mortgage on my rental, and my own personal home mortgage both on my credit, I am afraid lenders will eventually stop giving me mortgages.  Unfortunately they don't care if it has a tenant living in it.  

My wife and I moved out of our first home about 3 years ago and we decided to rent the property.  We now have a little bit of equity and very little cash flow.  We are basically paying the mortgage with the rent.   If I refinanced, it would give us a significant cash flow. 

My question is this:

What steps do o need to take to refinance this into an LLC. Right now we are liable personally and it's not set up as a business.

Will this remove the rental from my personal credit?

Will this begin a new credit history for a new business?

Thanks for any advice. 

Anyone dealt with either flipping or renting a home with asbestos materials in it?  

The reason I am asking is I found a duplex in my area with an EXTREMELY motivated seller. It has been on the market for 522 total days....which tells me something is wrong with it. If you look at the listing in MLS description it is limited but it says:

Roof: Asbestos

Im assuming it either means the roofing materials have it, and/or insulation has it.  

What are the costs with dealing with this stuff usually??  I'm sure it varies depending on the work to be done....

Geez I wish I had that mindset at your age.  You are going to be ten steps ahead of anyone you connect with at your age.  Just to reiterate what everyone has said, continue to invest in your education for the next two years.  Read books, forums, listen to podcasts etc....

Id suggest finding a niche you feel comfortable with and get excited about and dump your energy into that niche.  Stay focused, save your money for the next two years, and you can jump in the game with just a few thousand bucks more than what you have available to you.  Good luck!

@Jaren Woeppelit depends on your overall credit health really.  Im no expert on "how much" it affects your credit.  I would recommend speaking with a lender.  Once I made a years worth of payments on my new mortgage, my credit shot back up significantly.  I was worried at the beginning when it dropped and the lender ensured me it would return after I showed I could make consistent payments.  

In regards to the equity line, it acts as a secured credit card.  By using the home equity as a security, the higher the balance you carry, the more it will affect your score.  Obviously if you're using 100% of the credit line, it will negatively affect the score.  

Maurice,

You are eligible for another FHA loan once you have refinanced to a conventional loan. As far as a time line after refinancing, it all depends on when the refinance hits your credit history and lenders can see that you no longer hold another FHA loan. Keep in mind you'll be paying PMI on the new FHA loan. Also keep in mind, your credit will most likely take a big hit after purchasing the second home AND recently refinancing the FHA home.

I went through this with my first rental. Instead of refinancing the FHA mortgage, we kept the FHA loan and allowed the renter to pay rent that covered the full mortgage and PMI cost. We used a conventional loan to purchase the new home. I hope this helps!

Thanks,
Brian

Thank you Toi H. and Darron.

Darron,

I am looking in Mobile Co as well.  It sounds like you have plenty of experience.  Most of the properties I have found were unimproved land that looked impossible to ever build upon.  I'll keep looking though.  

Denise,

I became interested in these lien sales a few years back and did research but never invested.  I was able to research properties listed by the county that were already past the 3yr right of redemption and was owned by the state.  These were properties that were never sold at auction, some dated back to the 1980's.  Is it possible to purchase these directly from the state/county?  If so, what would I be purchasing?  A lien/deed/etc...?

Hi Guys,

I have a tenant that has an interest in purchasing my home that they are currently renting from me.  Their credit isn't up to par to get a traditional mortgage and wanted to know if I would owner finance them.  They have paid rent each month but do occasionally get it to us two or three days late for the previous year.  Every now and then they come up with an excuse to be late and we hold our ground and force their hand to pay us the rent.  They always end up paying as requested.   

We do want to sell the house.  I have a good bit of equity I plan on turning into a few more houses.  

What are my options with this tenant?  What are my risks/rewards to owner financing?  And should I consider a lease to purchase agreement instead?

Thanks for your time,

Brian