All Forum Posts by: Amy E.

Hey, I'm in Houston County, just south of Macon.  Let me know of any deals you run across in my area.  Ditto on most of the posts being about ATL, which I have no desire to invest in.

@Peggy Kiker

Hi Peggy!  I'm from Bonaire, glad you are here!

@Tatiana R.

Also, what kind of camera do you use to take your house photos?

@Tatiana R., Where do you buy your materials?  Regular big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes?  Or can you get that type of stuff somewhere else?

Thanks for the FB pics!  That helped tremendously.

Thanks @Wendy Bykowicz, I had not thought of that.  That's a good option for me.

@George P.

I tried Sherwin Williams, they were pretty useless.  Would not tell me what matched or not, or if flooring coordinated with cabinets, etc.  Maybe I got a dud and should try a different branch.

Also, the things I like are not in style.  It would be useless to pick stuff I liked.

it is not that hard for YOU.  It is hard for me.

I have very bad design preferences.  I mean, my personal home has rooms that are red, yellow, blue, purple, etc.  And we're not talking pale shades here, I mean primary colors.  As you can imagine, it is probably not the most appealing design to buyers, but I like it!  When doing my own home, I went to several "design centers" and various material stores to try to find help but no dice.  They either didn't have a design person on staff, or they wanted to design it for me and do all the work (can't use my own contractors).

I'm trying to find someone I can pay to come and tell me what to do to a home to bring it up to date.  I am finding some good deals, and I can tell that the houses are "70s" and need to be updated.  I'm just not sure what to install and/change about layout or design features (like spindles on a railing, or the front facade of the house, etc.) to make them look more updated.  Color I can handle, I just go to the paint store and tell them to give me whatever there most popular color is....its usually some type of contractor beige.

I'm hoping that there is a service out there where I can take pictures and email them (or have somebody come to the house, but I'm somewhat rural and doubt they would exist locally) and tell me exactly what to put in.  

Anyone know of such a service?

I live in middle GA and have called about half a dozen local lenders and most of the big banks.  The bottom line is that all of the commercial products that have been offered to me ALL have a balloon payment of some type (most after 5 years).  That said, they all affirmed that while the possibility exists that would not allow a refinance when the balloon payment came due, they would have no reason to do so as long as the note was in good standing.  In other words, as long as I pay on time, they are going to let me refinance so that they can continue to make money off of me.  It's in their best interests to allow me to refinance.  

You need to call local community banks and ask about a commercial loan for your LLC. I keep a spreadsheet of who will lend to LLCs and here's who I'd recommend:

Servis1st Bank

CB&T

Sunmark

Colony Bank

Here's some more that I haven't gotten around to asking yet:

Heritage Bank of the South

American Pride

State Bank & Trust

MidSouth Federal CU

BB&T

Another option is to put the building in your personal name and get a conventional loan....but then you are opening yourself up to all kinds of personal liability (times 10 since there are 10 units).

You could also start asking about a regular business loan.  Even sites like LendingClub have a business division.  You probably will not like the rates but you may be able to get a longer term fixed rate product if you go for a straight up business loan.  Be sure they understand you'll be paying off the mortgage with it, since there are sometimes rules about trading secured for unsecured debt.

Drop me a private message if you refinance with someone within your LLC....I will update my spreadsheet of lenders in GA!

@Account Closed described.  The big issue is whether or not you are acting for the seller and what do you need, legally, to do that.  They are within their rights to slam the door in YOUR face, but probably not in the Seller's depending on how their lease is written.  If the Seller wants to show the house, she needs to abide by whatever terms the lease says to do so (mine says 24 hours written notice and that I do not have to wait for the tenant to be there, this is legal in my state, some states may have provisions about entering a tenants home without them there, not sure).

What does the lease say?  Mine has provisions for showing the property.