Ask tommy2 about Real Estate

[tommy2]

There are so many other ways to get into RE than flipping. Honestly, I think this is one of the most dangerous RE plays out there. Even guys who are professional General Contractors lose more often than they win at this game. If I were just starting out, I'd go the syndication route. Get 10-20 people together who have 10-20K each and buy a small retail or light industrial building through an LLC. Keep your leverage reasonable (less than 75%) and you can make a ton of money if you are cautious and patient. Give your partners back small checks on a regular basis and maintain your integrity at all times. Others will flock to you to repeat.

[quadzilla]

I see you are in Chicago. I bought a condo in logan square 3 1/2 years ago. My wife and would like to buy a single family in the city hopefully in the same neighborhood. Would you go now or hold of until next year? Or even longer?

Thanks for any input.

[tommy2]

There is about to be a glut of condo in Chicago. Things are better now than they will be next year for selling. Do you have a decent amount of equity built up? If so, I'd sell now and buy a SFR.

[quadzilla]

I will have between $60-80K + $40K in liquid funds. The only issue I have is that the houses (at least in my neighborhood) really seem inflated in the last 2 years. My only worry is I don't want to be the one who buys too high. Don't you think the rates will push the prices down? I would be fine with losing some on the condo next year especially if SFR's look like they may drop.

[tommy2]

SFRs are still overpriced, but the gap between asking price and closing price is larger than most people realize. It is also growing. Don't be afraid to fire out some lowball offers.

You are trading dollars to some extent on your exchange, but condos are going to cool off faster than SFRs. One option--sell the condo, rent for 6 months and buy a SFR in 2007.

[GME]

[ QUOTE ]
SFRs are still overpriced, but the gap between asking price and closing price is larger than most people realize. It is also growing. Don't be afraid to fire out some lowball offers.

[/ QUOTE ]

What qualifies as a lowball offer these days as a percentage of the asking price? Specifically in markets that are definitely buyer's markets?

[tommy2]

15-18% below asking. Much lower than that will like be ignored.

[anduril]

I'm looking for a duplex/condex or 3 family house in the Worcester, MA area to invest in and rent out. Are there any specific things I should look out for during this venture?

[Pretzel]

I am looking to buy my first home in Portland, OR. There is approx a 30% chance that I will want to leave Portland in 2 years. 70% chance I will be there long term (5+ years). Do you think buying right now would be too much risk given my chance of leaving in 2 years?
Also, where can I find good info on the details of the local market and unbiased opinions about where the market is heading? Everything I see is put out by realtors who have an obvious incentive to paint a very rosy picture of the market.

Thanks.

[GGrey]

[ QUOTE ]
Housing has cooled off as you all know. That being said, most of the cooling is on the coasts. Baby boomers are driving up desirable lakefront properties all over the Midwest, but it isn't overnight. If you need $ now, the market isn't terrible for this kind of product. Get a broker who specializes in this to run some pricing models for your mom (be careful of the hard sell by the broker, though).

RE cycles vary, but we are clearly heading into a cooling period. Interest rates should increase or stay stable for at least the next 12 months.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the response. How can she go about finding someone who specializes in lakefront properties? She's reaching the point where it's either sell ASAP or succumb to foreclosure. She's fine financially otherwise, (this may not make sense...but..) but we'd really like to liquidate the property as soon as possible. Any advice?