Chris unless there is land you can sell with this property or a way to change it's use I don't like this deal at all.Also the hard money lender saying they will mentor you etc. sounds great but you have to watch out for people that will separate you from all the cash you have.I think you would be better sticking with apartment buildings and line up permanent financing while rates are low.

What you will need to do is ask your seller to put the property into a LAND TRUST and list you as the beneficiary of the trust.

I am coming at this as a land owner.

Besides determining if the seller has a "saleable" interest in the property and identifying any liens, the title search also identifies any restrictions or easements on the property.In a property that I purchased recently, the title search turned up a parking easement that allowed the next door neighbors to park on a 12 foot strip of land between the properties.

Glenn I forgot to mention that being built in 1955 you most likely will have issues with lead abatement with the new EPA certified rules which will increase your rehab cost.I don't know why everyone gets worked up on a house being close to a commercial property or highway.The value of the land the house sits on is often worth way more for development than the value of the house that sits on it.You can still have someone pay you to haul off the house or gut it for parts and make some money that way.I love land next to commercial and know exactly who to market it to an dhow to sell it.Now if you are in a big subdivision with track homes on small lots that backs up to a junkie commercial business that is another story.The reality is you are probably not going to assemble all the homes for a commercial project because the front piece is the most valuable and everyone will want to much for their house making the project total cost unfeasable.

Raymond, No i havent - many tell me to stay away.. but im thinking a low ball offer to see what will happen.. maybe with cash.. but still havent determined what to offer.. the repairs for me to move in would probably be 80-90k

Go look at a dozen houses each week and write offers on as many of them as you're in the ball park.

After the lease was signed, I emailed them the lease for the reference and have asked them to send me an email acknowledging the receipt of the lease.At one of the local REIAs meeting this week, we have a real estate attorney coming who will be discussing the general land lording issues and I will ask the attorney at the meeting what are the pros and cons of having a lease signed on an iPad.I will keep BP updated with what the attorney says.

Im thinking of putting maybe half of it in stocks and other half in real estate.In bangkok, a newly built mid-end condo, with modern facilities, carparks,for a 1 bed, 40 sqm in good location, fairly near sky train and fully furnished is maybe around 3m-4m baht. agency says i cud get around 22k-25k baht a month but im guessing its prob more like 15k-20k baht. most Thai wages will not be able to afford the rent, but its ideal for expats working in bkk. so the return is maybe around 6% before all costs, vacancy periods and appreciation/depreciation.ive been reading a lot of negative and pessimistic views about condo as a buy-to-let especially in bkk. there r so many condos in bkk and many being built as land is not scarce yet cos old buildings can be cleared and new projects started easy. and other factors i dont know. also traffic is a nightmare and the condos that are centrally located (and most expensive) have one of the worst traffics (altho it wud prob be near sky train or underground which would be ok for expats.keep in mind that i ll be paying in lump sum, wouldnt mind to gain some real estate exposure (im fairly interested in the industry),do you think its worth it to buy a condo in bkk as a buy-to-let?

Land development and/or self storage...