In this business it is survival of the fittest. 8)

I'm asking if anyone here makes loans that are Deeds of Trust, in other words they are written up that way...as Deeds of Trust....recorded at the county as such.In my mind when you are loaning private money in small amounts....the only way you can be protected from being in the second position (and ultimately thrown out if foreclosure occurs) to the 1st mortgage holder is to write it up as a Deed of Trust.

Add on taxes, insurance (this is hurricane territory, remember, and certainly in a flood zone, too), maintenance (they may have built roads and houses but this is ultimately a swamp), and property management (typically 10%, plus more everytime you have a vacancy), and you're certainly looking at close to two grand a month.

Much could be lost in translation which ultimately may lead to the loan process getting messed up.

I want start in multi -- affordable, in particular -- become an expert and move on to the next asset class, with development as my ultimate goal.

The beautiful thing about the rental business is that it's survival of the fittest.

Get a degree that can actually land you a job if you need one.I also seriously suggest a foreign language.You don't need a degree to do real esate if your ultimate goal is to wear jeans with holes in the knees and hang out with small time contractors as you do small deals.That fix and flip stuff gets mighty old when you are old enough that your knees hurt and your back is screaming by the end of the day.If you expect to get up to bigger things and swim with the big fish in real estate, lacking education puts you at a real disadvantage.

Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't be better served if we just went with a survival of the fittest concept.Yes there are some fast talkers out there that swindled people into bad loans, etc, but in the end, the borrower signed the documents.

Here in Ohio, the idiots in the state legislature are working on a bill that would allow leases to survive a foreclosure (provided the tenants keep paying rent).

I guide the investor/student....all decisions are left ultimately up to the student.