All Forum Posts by: Scott Williams

Thanks for the replies! Will focus on finding deals where the specific numbers would work for me, close to home if possible, I like to do lite rehabs and will flip or refi & rent.

Good morning all! Looking for thoughts on holding SFH rentals in SW MI vs NW IN. MI seems to have higher property tax and less landlord friendly laws, is property insurance higher as well? Are there other factors that even out the markets? Have been looking at MLS in several markets trying to figure out where cashflow is better in general; living in SW MI but can look at properties within 3-4 hours pretty easily, and will not be self managing so properties within easy driving distance are all good.

Thanks!

Thanks! You are exactly right. I was thinking notes from reading a bunch of posts from people buying notes for a return over time or to get the property attached to the note, but after looking at it more I realize its basically the same as refinancing just with a lower loan to value. Maybe I will try posting in the looking for financing area.

I went through a huge fiasco at the end of 2008 refinancing my last home, it was a mess and very frustrating. It will be a long time before I walk into a bank again with the intention of getting a mortgage or refinancing a home!

Thanks, Scott

My understanding of note buying and selling is very vague.

I would like help in understanding if a note could be a vehicle for us to get some cash out of a house without selling or refinancing it.

I understand a note is basically a mortgage or land contract that someone is making payments on, and is bought at a discount for the value of the payments or the property.

We do not have a note to sell as such but do have a property with no lein holders on it.

Here is my situation. My girlfriend and I decided we wanted to go to school and do something different, and we were going to fix up and sell this house to help pay for our career change.

The problem is we got 90% done and we really like the house and neighborhood, and decided not to sell it.

We are both in school full time and not working now, so there is no way we can get a mortgage on the house. Our credit is not great either, so conventional financing will not work for us.

We don't owe any money on the house, and taxes and insurance are up to date. The property is worth around 50k, houses are pretty cheap in this area(Michigan).

We would like to get 10-15k and have the payments spread out over 10 years.

Is there a way we can make this happen(or should I get busy looking for a part time job :lol:)

Thanks, Scott

I am in much the same position. It does seem slow but here are a couple things that have been important to me:

Its very nice to be able to keep it simple. Pay cash for everything, do the work on your schedule. No emergencies, problems with the bank, problems with contractors.

When I look at the costs of financing a flip it just doesn't seem worth it..Hard money lender/bank/contractors just suck all the profit right out of it. If you have "private money" at decent terms available wonderful..otherwise its not a rosy picture.

Won't be running a business, or making as much as possible, but if you buy right there really is no way not to come out ahead, and gradually build up assets.

Sounds like a good deal. The real problem is there are alot of good deals out there and not alot of places to get money to buy them from.

I can tell you from my limited experience realtors have tons of people wanting to see forclosures, who are not cash or pre-approved buyers. 99% of the time it is just a waste of their time and gas, no offense intended.

Can you scrounge up cash by selling something or from savings etc, or have money available through family or friends? If not even if you find financing its likely that it will be very expensive and pretty much suck all the profit out of your deal.

We were in pretty much the same position you are..wanted to flip houses with little money.

Decided to scrounge up what we could and buy the best house we could afford to complete on what we had. So far so good, and its very nice not making payments to anyone.

If Thats not realistic because of prices in your market I would try to find a fixer on a land contract. Normally they are pretty overpriced but in this market I bet you could flip one for a profit if you are a good shopper.

Thanks much for the advice! Will see what I can come up with.

Having a professional collect it is a good idea..been a pretty rocky road collecting in the past.

I am thinking about selling a house to a family member using a promissory note with buyer getting the deed instead of using a land contract.

Not familiar with how to do it..since I own the house free and clear can I just add them to the deed, quit claim myself off and have them sign a promissory note with the terms written on it?

This is exactly what it looks like in my area.

I would add to try and keep track of how the different banks seem to handle their listings. Some lower the price right along until it sells, others seem to let it sit until it hits a breaking point of some sort then just dump it.

Is it on the edge of your mls area?

In my local mls there are alot of small towns that are sort of on mls borders, just depends on which mls the listing broker belongs to.