MichaelC

Nice looking sticks-and-bricks, Steve. You'll move this baby in short order.

Yes, you would be the owner of record, with all rights and benefits of such ownership. The primary difference being the seller is your bank, as opposed to Bank of America. You could certainly refi if you wanted to if the numbers made sense to do so and if there is nothing in the seller financing that prohibits a refi. If you did a Rent To Own and your t/b chooses to exercise their option to purchase, then they go and obtain their own financing and pay off your underlying obligation to the seller.

Steve, best wishes with all of this and keep me posted.

By the way, how does this affect your new status as an Agent, or does it?

Yeah, it does suck and it's BS. It's nothing more than a greedy homeowner crying to a agency that likes to flex its muscles. Unfortunately, you're caught in the middle and this seems to be happening more often.

Shut down for what, exactly? Being an investor?

Given the choice as you described, either deal appears a good one for you, but I suggest you give strong consideration to his offer of seller financing. This gives you title and all the benefits of ownership. That said, if you were to tell me you decided to go with a 5 year sandwich lease, I wouldn't say you screwed up. That's also a good deal for you. Crunch the numbers, Mike, make your decision, and lock it up one way or another. Sounds like a good deal and opportunity.

Pros and cons to both approaches. For example, with seller financing I'm assuming the owner will want a sizeable chunk of cash down. Has this been discussed? With a lease option, the option consideration will be considerably less, or at least should be. Other factors come into play: the homeowner's tax situation and how a sale vs a lease affects this; what is it you prefer to do?; all of the numbers in the deal, etc.

Good info, Don. Thanks for sharing. It comes down to finding homeowners that need debt relief for one reason or another.

You are correct that the Performance Mortgage can be used to "secure the performance of the option with the seller". Problem is, getting a homeowner to agree to sign that document can prove to be quite difficult. Most won't understand what it is you are asking them to sign, and that means they get an attorney involved. Once that happens, the deal is dead.

Hello, Don, and welcome aboard! Great story. Thanks for sharing! Seems like you took the long, somewhat scenic route but you ultimately arrived at your destination: real estate. A $5K first check is a sweet intro to this business, and it sounds like you have a few more in the pipeline. Keep up the marketing, the deals will fall. Don't be shy about asking questions and sharing your experiences.

Have you tried a REIC? There are usually investor friendly mortgage brokers and lenders who are members. Might be a good source.

Steve, if I was starting as a new investor wannabe today, I think I would begin with getting my license. We are seeing more government oversight and regulations aimed at restricting the very essence of free enterprise. Several states have made life difficult for us investors. Assigning a deal is borderline fraud, in their eyes. So being licensed, or working the deal through someone who is, seems to be where this industry is headed. I think you're positioning yourself well, Steve. A knowledgeable, investor friendly Agent will always be in demand. Get the word out and market yourself! Real estate clubs, social media, word of mouth, etc. . .

Muy bien, Stephano. Now the issue is behind you and everyone can relax and move on with more important matters. . .like, when will the Panthers realize that Cam Newton ain't the answer? Go Big Blue!

I'd probably opt to meet with the tenant to defuse the issue(s) now, rather than have this linger. Nothing worse than an angry tenant who views you as the source of his anger. I'd rather grease the squeaky wheel than have it chirping in the background for weeks on end. Of course, this is all contingent on the tenant being reasonable with his demands and complaints, and being a good tenant, meaning timely rent payments and holding up his end of the terms.

I agree with Steve. Best to keep them as separate entities. Do the lease option on the house as usual. Write up a simple and concise agreement stating the terms for your purchase of the bike. I see no advantage for tying these two deals together.

Are both items necessarily connected? Couldn't you purchase the bike independent of the house?

Can it be done? Of course it can. It's a matter of agreeing on numbers and terms. Find the retail and wholesale values of the bike and make your offer. . .assuming this is even something you're interested in.

Excellent and spot-on reply, Chris.

Yeah, find another attorney. Pure BS, Nick, that what we do and how we do it is illegal. Did you ask the attorney for the specific citation that states this? If somehow this is illegal, then there are quite a few investors who need to be incarcerated. You now have two options: crawl into the fetal position and quit before you even start because of what this attorney said, or start marketing and get to work.

Agreed. There's no downside and the likelihood of deals is solid.

What happens in September has no bearing on what might happen in October. I say this, Tim, only because the number of deals we do can and will fluctuate, sometimes for factors that are beyond our control. That said, off the top of my head the answer to your question is between 0 and 5.

Tim, it's no different than doing a local deal. I approach these deals with a Cooperative Assignment in mind and explain what I do and my position in the deal from the very first contact. So my being out of the area is neither a surprise nor a detriment. Signs? That depends upon the homeowner and how motivated and cooperative they are. At the very least I insist on a lawn sign, and that's usually it. Thereafter, it's up to me via online marketing to generate interest.

I thought by "avoiding" you were implying that SE Florida is so much of a seller's market that deals are few and far between. Certainly not enough to live on by itself. "Avoiding" may be too strong a word. I'm certainly open to business locally, but way too many sellers are of the mindset that we are once again in a runaway market with stratospheric appreciation. It just isn't so. This market, and many others, are artificially strong right now. A Federal Reserve that won't stop printing money, economic numbers that are bogus, (interest rates, unemployment), and real estate sales being bolstered, once again, by cash buyers and speculators. First time home buyers are far and few between. And that's the hallmark of a strong real estate market. With that said, perception is reality. So if seller after seller tells me their house is worth 20% more than the sales data supports and that it will be worth 15% more in a year, it's wearisome trying to convince them otherwise. Hunting in greener pastures makes sense.

Haven't abandoned doing local deals, randian. But there isn't any reason for any of us to limit ourselves geographically, particularly when information on just about any property is but a few mouse clicks away. I wouldn't say distance deals require additional effort, but they do require a bit more caution. It isn't as easy to remain in control of the deal when we aren't at ground zero, so to speak. We are relying on someone else to handle things that we usually do and that always adds a layer or two to the mix. And, yes, depending upon where the deal is, the option consideration could be less. But as I have said on occasion, 50% of something is worth more than 100% of nothing.