does anybody know how to find somebody ?

[AR182]

there was a family who lived in a rental house that i own who skipped out without paying me the last month's rent, which didn't really bother me at first. but when i went to the house, i found it in shambles, which does bother me.

it's one thing to be on hard times, but they showed me lack of respect by doing major damage to the house.

i know people here who will track these people down, but am trying to hold off from spending additional money.

is there a way of finding out where they live, via the internet ?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[yyz]

I had this problem with some scumbag renters.

If you know someone in the post office, that is your best bet. This asshole has to live somewhere! If you don't know someone, you know someone who KNOWS someone! (You get my point, right?)

Otherwise, you should video tape the damage, call the police, and file a report. They will find the people.

 

[AR182]

yyz,

thanks for posting your thoughts here.

i have already done what you stated & rented the house again within 2 weeks of getting the house back in shape.

i have contacts in the phoenix area who can find anybody,in due time. but have to pay for this. i thought that if i could locate them via the net & then give the info to my contacts, it would save me money.

do you still own rentals ?

i wish i had known this while we were in vegas. i like to share info with others.

again thanks

 

[yyz]

No more rentals. I got sick of it.

Too many deadbeats, and I didn't need the worries.

 

[NySportsfan]

AR,
try whitepages.com, doubt they are in that though, or else I'd go to like US people search or background check but probably have to pay. I want to get involved in real estate, it's profitable in certain areas, but the rental things are the caliber of people you get to move in, usually scum who are low class and deadbeats. I was wondering your thoughts on buying fixer uppers, or even better, buying fxer uppers, and leaving room for a profit and selling the contract to a fellow investor, so you both win, you get your cut as a middle man and they make money by fixing it up with work and re-selling, what do you know or think about that tactic? Thanks, g luck finding these people

Mike

 

[ctownguy]

AR

Sympathize with your situation. Gave up all our rental property over 10 years ago, wow come to think of it, almost 12 yrs ago.

Here in CA the landlord might as well be a nazis, at least that's the way they treat them here. With all the renter's rights special interests groups, all the minority special interest groups, not to mention the eddie haskell aclu scumbags, a small time landlord might as well give the land to the state.

All they do is lobby for these lowlifes, not all are lowlifes, but in my dealings most were becoming that way, to not pay rent or if they can't don't worry about it they will keep them in the property by "legal means". Then they destroy the property and we get sued because it is unfit to live in and what it would take to fix it is not worth what the property can bring.

It was getting too be a real nightmare and that was 10 yrs ago. YOU COULDN'T GET ME BACK IN THE RENTAL PROPERTY BUSINESS

Hope it works out for you. As far as your finding these scumbags, it probably won't do you any good to spend the money as I'm sure you'll find they have nothing to get any compensation for their acts:shrug:

 

[ctownguy]

NYSportsfan

It's getting harder and hareder to do the fixer up thing, but then again I suppose it depends on what area of the country you live in.

With all the regulations and competition it is pretty hard to get a property turned around and the work done by a partner.

Not saying it can't be done but be very sure who you are dealing with as most reputable contractors don't need a partner or have the time to put out for a possible profit after a sale.

It is a rough way to make some profit, just be prepared to work you ass off and be dissapointed when people let you down, because they will not have a money stake in the deal.

 

[KMA]

I doubt you'll find them via any internet service, they tend to run 3-6 months behind IRL updating of records. It takes time to get info into databases. Try filing a claim with your insurance company, uou'll have a deductible, but the insurer might make an attempt to subrogate, possibly tracking these people down. Take pictures too, but you're probably stuck.

 

[NySportsfan]

ctownguy,

I didnt wanna fix the houses up myself or with a contractor, I wanted to find the deals, and sell the contracts to people who would want to fix them up, other investors or contractors who could take on that kind of project. The competition is so FIERCE in real estate though I bet, forget about getting my hands on foreclosures, repo's are tough everybody knows about everything, there are a million realm estate property companies and builders, It's just very saturated, I guess you just have to outwork everybody and hope you find a few good deals, But Id appreciate any advice you may have have on this stuff

Mike

 

[skulldog]

Ar, I feel for ya. Wife and I buy foreclosures and the former owner automatically becomes a tenant(go figure after all the notices) and we have to pat to maove them and pay for 3 months storage, I hate MA. In NH, their out in 14 days.
The sheriff told me if I needed to find the foemer owner to let him know, he'd go to the post office, but if they didn't leave a forwarding address, then it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

Mike, We just bought another foreclosure and received a phone call from an investor asking to buy my contract, he didn't want to pay enough. No matter what part of the country you live in there are opportunities, you have to decide what you want and figure a way to get it. We have a private lender who lends us the $$ so we don't have to go the bank. Find the deal and finding the contractor/investor is the easy part.

GL

 

[NySportsfan]

Thanks skulldog..................How would you go about finding a reliable private lender aka "Hard Money" Lender? I was thinking of looking into probates and divorces, I jusr am worried about being stuck with payments on a property, I have to still work on my list of buyers/investors who would purchase my property from me and allow me a profit..........How quickly does your private funding become available if you need to close a deal quickly? I know the collateral is the property you're buying. Also, how would you approach approach a good real estate agent, and ask that they refer investors/fixer-upper buyers to you, and you can give them a referral deal, The hard part to me seems to be buying a property and allowing enough room for their repairs, both of your profits, and paying the 12% loan back, Thanks a lot for your help, dont know if im supposed to post this, but email me, mplevy2@yahoo.com or reply here, Id love to have your email address if you dont mind to bounce things off of you, Thanks a lot

Mike

 

[AR182]

thanks for your replies, guys.


i agree with the notion that it depends where you buy the rentals that is important.

years ago when i was still living & working in nyc i had many opportunities to buy rental properties. but because, like calif. & mass., it's tenant friendly i passed on the opportunities.

however, arizona, believe it or not is landlord friendly so i went ahead & bought single family residences. also the houses are alot cheaper than ny, calif., & mass.

nysportsfan,

i don't know much about buying forclosure house, so i can't help you with that. but skulldog seems like the man to talk to about that.

people out here are making "mucho dinero" buying fixer-ups. but in my talks with these investors, the people who buy these type of houses are doing the work themselves, of course with helpers. and they have turned around & sold the houses at different stages of the process.

one of the first houses i bought was a house that was 30 years old. and believe it or not, that is considered old out here. since the houses are built with completely different specifics (no winter conditions) than back east or in the midwest, the house kept needing repairs. so i decided to sell & lucked out because i sold it at top dollar(buyer intended to use the house as a senior home).

now all i buy is brand new semi-customed houses. there is a usually a great mark-up in home values when the house is completely built. i take care of the building & outside part with the builder & my wife handles the interior aspects of the house. our thought process is that we want the house to be in such an attractive condition as to want to live there ourselves. prospective tenants actually are in abundance willing to rent the house once they see the house. i also keep telling the applicants that i'm always willing to sell them the house. last year i sold the house after the tenant lived there for the first year & made about 150% profit on my initial investment.

the screening process is very important. you need to do background, employment, criminal, & credit checks on these people. there are many companies, across the nation that do this. and of course these applicants pay for all fees.

keep investigating the different ways to buy investments & you will find something that suits you.


good luck & you can e-mail me with questions any time.

 

[NySportsfan]

AR, I'll get your email address from Jack if you dont mind, Thanks........I wanted to wholesale properties to people who would fix them up, I dont have the time or money to wait on repairs for that long of a period,. I'd rather secure a good purchase contract and sell it off to another investor who in turn can fix it up..........As far as being a landlord, thats one thing I havent thought about, I guess im skeptical, and Im always worried about the positive cash flow.....But, if you put money down and have a good positve cash flow, you can probably get your down payment back in a few years and then produce income thereafter, thanks guys

Mike

 

[AR182]

mike,

one of the first thing i did when i decided on getting into investment properties was buy carlton sheets books, just for info purposes only. but 1 thing he did mention was it was still worth investing in property, even if you have a negative cash flow. he believes the appreciation on these houses will constantly grow.


you can e-mail me anytime that you wish, but i only know what i'm doing. you need to befriend a real estate person that you trust, to work with. skulldog knows a hell of a lot more than me & maybe he can refer you to a ny realtor. however if you decide in nj real estate, i have 2 cousins who are real estate people there.


good luck

 

[NySportsfan]

Ar,
Im actually relocating to Florida in the near future and Im going to do real estate investing on the side down there assuming I can get going, I figure I need to find an attorney, accountant, good realtor, and lender, all of whom to network with and whom can help me find deals in return for me finding them business. The hard part is finding a good, fast hard money private lender, and the people to buy fixer uppers, plus minimizing closing costs. Real estate in NY/NJ just isnt worth it anymore IMO, its too expensive, and even fixer uppers are expensive, you need very deep pockets to work in those markets, Im not great on knowledge about landlord things, but I have been reading more about selling purchase contracts to other investors who in turn rehab and sell the properties, Thanks for the advice

Mike

 

[Stang]

Try using a collection agenct in AZ. Only if they do it on contingency basis, this way if they don't collect there is no charge to you. Unlike some agencies they will charge you up front.

Stang

 

[skulldog]

Mike, you've got mail

 

[NySportsfan]

skulldog,
thanks a lot, I havent read your mail yet but I will later and keep your address on file, much appreciated for the continuous help, real estate I think is my calling, and you seem to be doing well and enjoying it, esp. with the fantastic and thriving boston and mass.market as a whole, so I will get back to you later, thanks again

Mike