All Forum Posts by: Tim Winter

As Adam mentions, for my notes that don't perform I prefer either doing a lease option on it and technically renting it out, or if rental market doesn't justify the landlording headache, doing a light rehab and selling. In the current market I've had one that we just cashed out and moved the money into another note. 

Another option is finding a partner like myself that does like property management and having them do the landlording. JV or option to the PM and then you relieve yourself of the property. Or sell them a partial, or partial with a balloon.

The fun thing with notes, is your only limited by your creativity. If you're looking for ideas, I'd recommend looking into Tom Henderson's advanced note seminars or talks.

@Justine C. you didn't mention what part of Bay Area market you are in, so can not comment to what you are experiencing. But yes if your market is like most right now, it's a challenge to find any deal, not just your first deal in a low inventory market, but not impossible. 

To compete with multiple or all cash offers, you have to find the properties where others are not looking. You can find "Don't wanters" on the MLS, but another good source is off-market properties as well. If you have more time than money, driving for dolllars or other low cost marketing is a great way to start. if you have more money than time, then finding someone else that finds off-market properties for you is another path to success.

You have to keep at it, and find the diamond in the rough or a property that others have over looked. I'd recommend finding an investor savvy agent/broker in your area to help narrow down your search and go over acquisition options. 

@Jonathan Sachetti you could wait until it goes to auction, but then it will open things up to other investors. Depending on your market this could drive up the price. 

If you are the only one negotiating with the seller, and they are obviously motivated to sell, there are options to staying or delaying the foreclosure. There should be contact information for the auction on who the trustee is, and if you can get an executed contract with the seller, this is usually enough to delay the auction. A hard money loan would be best if the auction is only 10 days away, if you don't have the cash on hand.

Another option that is a bit more of a "nuke it from orbit" option, is for the seller to start the paperwork for bankruptcy. This puts an automatic stay on the auction and gives the seller time to complete paper and title work to get to closing, and then the seller can dismiss the bankruptcy. For this tactic, I would talk with your title representative for details that work in your market. 

Great find BTW; my recommendation is to not let it go to someone else and act quickly. If you feel in over your head, find a money partner that has more experience in your area. 

You can always request the previous inspection, but as others have mentioned it should not stop a buyer from getting a new inspection. 

The main reason being that the inspector that did the previous inspection has no obligation to discuss, disclose or warrant anything in the previous inspection with a new buyer as they did not contract with them. That reason alone you should get a new inspection. 

Additionally, you don't know how good that inspector was unless you've worked with them before. What if they missed something? Fiduciary duty alone you should advocate getting a new inspection.

I always request the previous inspection for myself and for clients, but let them know they should consider that report as an addendum to the seller disclosure. If nothing else it gives you more data points for your negotiations, and as every inspector is different, you double your chances something doesn't get missed. 

Happy hunting!

As mentioned before, it really depends on CC&Rs, rules and regs, and how well the HOA is run. If there is a high rental to owner ratio, then lenders will stop lending and some HOAs will put restrictions on any new units being able to rent to keep below their specific ratio.

That said, it's a great way to start. My first purchase and live in flip was a HUD condo and it worked out very well.

Rich, it's typically the county that assesses and collects the taxes, and if the owners are not paying, then they sell them to investors at tax lien sale. If the treasurer is telling you they're not collecting on it, that would be very odd or an error. You might try your local favorite title company to help you chase down the existing owner, and if there are any liens against it. Someone should be last name on title, and that would be the person or entity to deal with, if the county hasn't put a tax lien against it yet.

I would say from bookings that I've seen that 75% from Arizona is about right to the Prescott area. You'd think it would be alot lower, but seems locals know about the area more than out of towners.  

I've used PenFed for HELOCs on rental properties before, and also FirstBank for HELOC or non-recourse loans out of SDIRA. They'll go higher on LTV with more experience or size of portfolio.

Depending on the size of your portfolio, you might get turned down at the bigger banks. The number keeps shifting but after 3-4 you'll start to get resistance, so I'd try hunting local so you don't have to change lenders down the road if you continue to grow.

It sounds like you need an estate planner roadmap for holding.

It really all depends on your financial situation and equity positions in each, and your risk aversion. For myself I prefer keeping leverage on my properties for asset protection, and growing the portfolio by working and reworking the equity every year, but you maybe in a different point in your real estate journey that you are looking for protection and cash flow rather than growth.

There are estate planners that can walk you through what entity structures best fit your financial and business situation. I've seen some mind blowing maps to protect multi million dollar estates, and also easy two entity structures that were enough protection.  

As stated before, I'll just reiterate that HOAs are usually the biggest challenge. There have been some cases like in Jerome that the city has tried fighting STRs in their neighborhoods, but most of those challenges have been put down. 

I'd also second the order of preference: Prescott, Sedona, then Flagstaff. We find that Flagstaff has more challenges in the winter, and vendors are difficult to get in all 3, but Prescott seems to be the mast favorable of the areas. And also plenty of events throughout the year to bring in tourism traffic when local traffic isn't enough.

Hunting for SFR personally as well as for clients in the Prescott/Cottonwood/Sedona areas and it has been challenging this year so far, but has been getting better recently.