Wrong Questions?

Comments(10)

• 
  sKauGhTiEe26th October, 2003

  So you are saying you are in for the long haul... I believe most of the members here are... I am actually new to this as well, so I am in the stage right now of studying and taking small steps to build credibility. I dont believe anyone here doesnt enjoy REI or they wouldnt be here. I have a true passion for real estate and like you said, to provide for my family... That is part of investing, Holding on to some and flipping for others... You take some and you lose some... I know I shouldnt be talking because I am the newbie here, but just cause you have this love and passion for houses doesnt mean you have to hold on to all of them...

• 
  nebulousd26th October, 2003

  Ron Legrand teaches, "Take care of todays cash flow needs and worry about building wealth later." It's not that people on here don't love what they do, some are just getting started and need to take care of today's problems fast...ie bad debt.

• 
  dlynn26th October, 2003

  Foreclosures is all I do.....well not all but it is my main focus...by choice. There are forums on this site that only deal with Foreclosures and Pre's. Look under the MY TCI and select the forum you want to learn about.
  I understand your frustrations and I have been caught in the trap also. Branch out and find your nitch....it's all right here on this site. There is NO wrong question as long as it is asked. We are all here to help each other to succeed.

• 
  DaveT26th October, 2003

  Quote:I seem to be asking the wrong questions. I looked at your last ten postings, and I only found two where you asked a question. One about a fireplace in the Rehabbers forum seemed to receive adequate response. Another requesting financing (that did not receive any responses) was posted in a forum for people who purchase mortgage notes, but are unlikely to originate loans. That question may have been better placed in the Beginner Forum.
  
  Quote:I am trying to find out who invest in Eastern NC. It seems that noone on this site likes to invest in foreclosures but they are all about L/O and short sales. Do you have a specific question about strategy or technique? If so, then post a specific question in the appropriate forum. I personally have been invested in foreclosures since 1986. Nearly all the properties in my rental portfolio were foreclosure acquisitions. I just don't invest in eastern NC -- a bit out of my market area.
  
  If you are looking for buyers for your property, advertise locally. Call the I BUY HOUSES ads in your local paper and ask what types of property those investors look for. If you are hoping to find a retail buyer on this site, then you are addressing the wrong audience.
  
  Sure, there is a lot of interest in Lease Option and Short Sale techniques right now. The real estate conventions, workshops, and bootcamps all seem to concentrate on these approaches. How much glamor do you see in a bootcamp called "Landlording, Building Wealth Slowly"? Maybe that's why no one is putting one on.
  
  I look at the Short Sale as a specialized niche within foreclosure investing, though still foreclosure investing. Lease Options in my investment context are more suited as an exit strategy for the foreclosure property I just acquired. Even foreclosure investors need an exit plan.
  
  [ Edited by DaveT on Date 10/26/2003 ]

• 
  killenjw26th October, 2003

  Dave.
  
  I must thank you,
  I suppose I may be going about it the wrong way. I have been just a little frustrated trying to aquire my first property. There aren't any "We buy houses" in this area and finding investors here is also like pulling teeth. I really am trying but there are a lot of dead ends around the starting point if you know what I mean. I haven't found this site as helpful as everyone else has because a lot of the situations are different then my own. I am solely interested in rehabbing. I have really looked into wholesaling and just bird dogging but I think rehabbing is the way I want to go. The fireplace is a problem with the house I am trying to purchase and I have never had experience with a fireplace. The financing part is a desperate attempt to find someone to help me because the property goes off the market on the 29th of this month and will not return until January. I may deploy again quite soon and I would like to get my first house completed before then. That way I have a leg to stand on when I get back. The lender tab at the top is an absolute joke also. They really ought to prescreen those individuals. Thank you again for your time and consideration Dave I appreciate it.
  
  Jim

• 
  jackman26th October, 2003

  killenjw,
  
  trust me man, i hear u completely. the lender's tab SHOULD be prescreened, but it wont' be because it's probably revenue for the site to have them advertise. but not only have i not gotten a loan from them, i haven't gotten a REPLY! haha.
  
  i'd consider putting in a bid on the place you want and trying to get one accepted to tie up the place, then call on someone with a deal in hand! hell, you may find you won't need a lender at all.
  
  when i finally got dialogue from a hard lender this past week, that's what they told me. everyone says "the easy part is getting the money" ... yeah right! but that's my *advice* (and i use that term very loosely) to you. take care and keep your nose to the grindstone!

• 
  DaveT27th October, 2003

  Quote:I suppose I may be going about it the wrong way. I have been just a little frustrated trying to aquire my first property. ... I may deploy again quite soon and I would like to get my first house completed before then. That way I have a leg to stand on when I get back.Jim,
  
  Are you looking for property, or are you looking for motivated sellers? You say you may deploy again soon. Does this mean that you are in an area near a large military installation (perhaps Jacksonville, NC)?
  
  Military transfers may present a ripe opportunity, but you may need to alter your strategy. It a service member purchased a property with a VA loan but now has orders to transfer, then the service member may be under some pressure to sell the house.
  
  Consider learning about the Subject To technique. Properties with VA loans almost always have very little equity. This makes the property a little harder to sell conventionally with a real estate agent because there is no equity to pay the sales commission. The service member is often willing to just walk away from the property if someone will just take over the loan payments.
  
  You be that someone. Take over the loan payments by buying Subject To the seller's mortgage. You now need an exit strategy. A few come to mindTurn the property into a rental for a couple of years to build appreciation while you collect a positive cash flow, or,
  Sell the property on a lease option at a higher price than you paid, and with a higher rent than your mortgage payment, or,
  Sell the property on a contract for deed at a 10% higher price and 2% higher interest rate than your underlying loan, with an adequate down payment -- all on a two-year balloon. See John Locke's "Subject To, That's All I Do" book for specific details
  
  [ Edited by DaveT on Date 10/27/2003 ]

• 
  Lufos27th October, 2003

  Dave's advice is correct to the extreme.
  
  My first really profitable deal was when I was stationed at Moses Lake Washington. Just as the Korean war broke out. I set up and built 300 houses, all sold to first three graders. $100 down with the guarantee to repurchase and return the $100 if they got transfered.
  
  The war started everybody left. I had the houses payments of $35 a mo or so. The next bunch of troops came in I rented to the officers at $125 or so a month and I was there. Too bad I bugged the Commanding Officer of the Base for his rent, cause thats how I got to visit Korea. Soon I was looking down on the Yalu and gorging on Kimchi. But I sold all those houses while I was in Korea, paid no income tax until my return and my life in the service was great. Why cause I had money.
  
  If you can line up on the base, perhaps you too can live on the golden river and flip flop on each deployment. So even the roughest of times can have a silver lining. In the service there is a continuing need for off base housing for families. They will over pay if the payments are within their means. The price of the house is secondary........
  
  Go for it. Lucius

• 
  saniche27th October, 2003

  I would like to jump in here.
  
  Between 93-97 I was stationed in Jax, Nc right outside of Camp Lejeune, Nc and bought 2 properties while living there.
  
  After a few years I was barely able to get them out from under me. Granted, I know today what I didn't know then. There was an investor there at Century 21 right outside the main gate of Lejeune that literally had entire neighborhoods that he was in control of. He may be a great person to network with. Unfortunately, I can not remember his name only that the location I mention is where I last knew he was at.
  
  Also, someone please let me know if I am way off on this but during times of deployment aren't service members "protected" from creditors which also includes landlords? So say for an example a property was taken over subject to the existing financing and the property later lease optioned to someone. If this person were to be deployed for 4-6 months. What would happen if he weren't making his payments? I have heard stories but not sure how much truth there is to them that it is almost impossible to get those funds as they are protected during times of deployment.
  
  my .02
  CS

• 
  killenjw27th October, 2003

  I suppose I should read the subject to book. I want to focus on rehabbing so I don't get lost on too many roads. You brought up a very good point on the VA, Dave.
  I am in Jacksonville and I know the Century 21 you are talking about. I will definitly look into the subject to seeing as how I am about to loose the property I have put the past month into because it goes off the market Wednesday. Thank you all for the points of view.
  The korean war? Wasn't that about 600 years ago?
  
  Thanks again,
  Jim