Looking for direction

[justin0419]

Michael,
Thanks!  I will admit I have not attended RE bootcamps, but have attended other seminars or sales pitches of a similar nature (Amway anyone??).  Even if you get in the door for free, they're still going to try and hook you for something by the time you leave.  Their job is to motivate you, tell you  that yes - you too can do this, and tell you to take the next step for $XXXX. 
We learned this the old fashioned way by using common sense and having a little luck too.  It definitely gets easier, but it was a lot of learning and work up front establishing everything. 
I've noticed a lot of new people here lately too.  That's great!  It's really good to have some new blood, new questions, new experiences. 

For the people watching the game from the sidelines, it's a mental hurdle that you're either going to overcome or you'll stay where you are.  It cracks me up to see shows like "My First Place" on HGTV where there's SO much drama about these houses and the purchase. 
It truly gets to where it's not a big deal at all and we just realize we're adding to our income and inventory when we pick up more houses.  Your views will also change as you develop as an investor.  I used to think I needed to over-rehab so we had the best units.  Now we do what's necessary to make it pretty decent on the inside and then it's time to move on to the next one.  I wanted to keep doing more, but my wife helped me realize that we were going to spend money on things that weren't absolutely necessary which would take more time to complete.  Therefore longer vacancy and less rent.
We don't do as many deals as Michael because they're different types of deals.  I couldn't imagine acquiring 200 houses a year for rentals...

[JJ Blayde]

Lol i must be a pro then if that seven book saying is true. But im taking your advice and gonna quit reading books as soon as i finish up with the last two i bought (i bought them before you recommended i stop) dont want my money to go to waste. But im not buying any more rei books. I deffinitly agree with michael that at some point you have to just do and if you fail, just fail forward.

[lwright87]

ok just wanted to give an update and write back to the posts
plus over 400 views is amazing thanks everyone

Dennis: thank you, i find today that without goals in mind, life is somewhat tough as an understatement. since your suggestion, i have looked more into the wholsaling, its a little confusing, but maybe im not understanding some of it. i will continue to look into it. i did go to your website and put my email into the system.

JohnSchroeder: i do undterstand that there is much involved with being a landlord and am also informing myself on how to be one. i was a tenant while away at school and do know the downfalls of what potential renters can cause. im not terribly worried about renovations cost as i have some friends of the family, scouts, that can/know how, are in construction. plus my friend who will go in on the deal and i both know how to do many things related to handyman projects, much of it we learned in scouting (both eagle scouts), and jobs we have worked on together. so much of the renovations will be done at a greatly reduced price as well as done ourselves. thank you for the heads up though.

cacoca: as an investor/owner occupant, i will of course be present for most if not all of the renovations. i have been looking to goto a REI meeting and am willing to drive up to an hour away, but most are held during my hours at work. two jobs keeps me busy with 55-60 hours at 6 days a week.  fridays i have off and do many errands and appointments that i cannot do during the week.  i spend my nights after work doing research which i would consider as an investment.

Justin: i see we are on the same page trying to fit in as much as we can when we can. ive also done amway. and was the upline for many people at my college, but it only goes so far with broke college students. 300 a month is a lot for someone to spend before you have 5-6 people on your downline. thanks for taking the time to post.

Michael: i very much enjoy any and all of your posts. you have great insight into many things in this business and i trust your wisdom on much of what you write. 200?!? kudos to you. thank you

JJBlayde: im also going to read less and try to do much more ive learned so much and want to put it to action, so that i can move onto the next step.

thanks everyone for the posts.

[lwright87]

ok so the house my friend and i are looking at is a 7bdrm/4bath, has 3 kitchens, a washer and dryer hookup
in november it was listed at 148,900, it has gone down to 84,900 as of yesterday. a 64,000 drop in price.
it is in foreclosure/REO (same thing i believe)
it does need a good amount of work. im pretty sure 20,000 will cover materials, labor, and 3-4 mortage payments
(as the help from family, friends, personal contacts, and the work im capable of doing)
the house estimate as per zillow.com is worth 287,000. but this i assume is an estimate from when it doesnt need to be renovated
with a 100,000 loan at 6% (600 monthly mortage) it is completely feasible for two people to live in this house and make the payments
the only thing that concerns me is that the annual taxes are just over 13,000

since the house needs work, shouldnt the taxes be much less, since the house in theory is worth much less in its current conditon?
thoughts, comments, or suggestions??

thank you

[justin0419]

It's a funny thing about tax assessments...
You'll want to get it reassessed to lower the tax amount, but you'll also be improving the place.  One of our houses was 9.1k to purchase, but assessed at 38k.  I couldn't even try to get it reassessed until after Jan. 1 of this year, but we've also completely rehabbed it too.  So I'd be stupid to think the assessor would come out and drop the assessed value a bunch after we've improved the property. 
Hope you can get something worked out because that's a huge amount for taxes. 

[lwright87]

i completely agree
is it possible to have it reassed to lower it, then fix it up and not have it reassed?
or would i be hearing from the IRS in a few years for tax fraud?

[justin0419]

You can request a reassessment, but I think most places also have sceduled reassessments every few years or so.  I've heard of "drive-by" assessments where they just look at the outside. 
I don't think there would be any tax fraud here because you obviously can't tell them what to assess the property for.  That's considerably different than cheating on your personal tax return by omitting income.

[lwright87]

sounds good thanks for the suggestions

[lwright87]

Hello all,

Happy Easter!!!

I just wanted to give a status update and ask for advice...

The house I described in earlier posts, has now gone from 84,900 to 65,000.
I have called and written several e-mails to the listing agent, but have had no responses.
It is an REO, so I'm wondering if there are many offers on the table,
even though  the price has steadily dropped since mid January.

Any comments, questions, or suggestions would be great.

Thanks,
Lwright87

Happy investing

[redhawk]

Obviously there are no offers or it would have been sold. If you really have to have this property this is what I would do. I would go to the city assessors office and try to get it reassessed contingent on you buying the house for your residence. Then I would go to the bank that owns this property and find the person in charge that can say yes or no. It will take some doing ,but worth it. I would show that person your business plan for that house. I would try to negotiate a cheap price and a mortgage with no money down. Remember that the bank is paying more than a 1000 dollars a month as long as it is on the books. I would close on the house and follow your business plan. Then go back to the bank and ask if they have more of those deals.
Redhawk

[furnishedowner]

lwwright87,

My daughter and fiance just bought a foreclosure house.  It had been sitting there for months and months.  The Realtor helping them with the deal was amazingly persistent, and finally got through to the listing agent.

I'm sure every other Realtor had given up by then.  That's what it might take--persistence.

If you need a mentor, why not PM (personal email message) msneachta, a new member.  He/She has been doing student rentals for 15 years and knows exactly how to do it.  Look for the "Student Rental" thread on this site.

Good luck with your plan--I think it's great to specialize in something you know--students and their housing needs.

Furnishedowner

[lwright87]

Thank you to redhawk and furnishedowner

I'm very thankful for both of your suggestions and will start them both this week.

Thanks again and happy investing!!!!

Lwright87

[ShortSaleArtisan]

lwwright87,

My daughter and fiance just bought a foreclosure house.  It had been sitting there for months and months.  The Realtor helping them with the deal was amazingly persistent, and finally got through to the listing agent.

I'm sure every other Realtor had given up by then.  That's what it might take--persistence.

If you need a mentor, why not PM (personal email message) msneachta, a new member.  He/She has been doing student rentals for 15 years and knows exactly how to do it.  Look for the "Student Rental" thread on this site.

Good luck with your plan--I think it's great to specialize in something you know--students and their housing needs.

Furnishedowner

Good luck!

[lwright87]

Thanks for the encouragement and luck!!!