Ask Matt Larson A Question

I just wanted to say hello and I am so glad to see you back. You mentioned to me that you teach conventional loan buyers how to turn into cash buyers....could you explain how you teach them to do this?
Thanks Matt!

hi matt,

my name is cynthia. i live in upstate ny. i would love to experience
what ur experiencing. all my roadblocks r in my head and if u can help me
get passed them, it would be a magnificent miracle. i confess i feel intimidated and confidence has left the building LOL. here goes...
Q: what can be done w/ props that r listed w/agents?
Q: what do u do with REO's?
Q: what strategy/ path did ur youth pastor student take to
create the purchase of 10 houses in 4 mo. w/over $2500 cashflow?
i'd like to duplicate that.
i truly do have an excitement and eagerness and positive expectation
about rei inside that's pounding to come out. so thank u for this.

with much appreciation
cynthia

It is nice to see you back on here. You have been very inspiring to me. Can you share any of the deals you are doing now? I'd like to hear what tactics you are currently using. Thanks.

Jeremy

It is great to have you on-line. I know you must be working 25 hours a day! Thanks for making yourself available for questions. If you have any other techinques or tips you have been using recently that you could share we would love to hear them. I hope all is well and your getting more of those great midwestern deals! Continued success. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Matt,

I know you were in the process of writing a book. Has the book been released? If so where can we get it. If not, what date will it be released and where can we get it? You are an inspiration to all of us working folks and we can't wait for the day to be 100% into real estate. Thanks for blazing the trail so we can learn and follow! Continued success and best wishes. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I would like to know a little bit about how I(if possible) can make money from a Short Sales after all contracts have been signed and agreed upon by all parties without me having to assign my contract to someone else. I mean like I read in profit from real estae right now where David had done so on his first home without using a dime of his own money. Any help on the subject would be really great.

When I teach a person to become a cash buyer I just look at what they have available. Many times someone has a 401k that has not been performing well or one that has lost significant value. I teach them that they can borrow from that 401k (without cashing it out for a loss) tax free and use the money to invest in real estate. All of a sudden they are a cash buyer. Then I teach them how to find a bank and do a refi, cash out, pay back the mutual fund, and then repeat the process. You can expand your wealth very quickly using this technique. Hope that helps.

When I teach a person to become a cash buyer I just look at what they have available. Many times someone has a 401k that has not been performing well or one that has lost significant value. I teach them that they can borrow from that 401k (without cashing it out for a loss) tax free and use the money to invest in real estate. All of a sudden they are a cash buyer. Then I teach them how to find a bank and do a refi, cash out, pay back the mutual fund, and then repeat the process. You can expand your wealth very quickly using this technique. Hope that helps.

Is it true you have to have Proof OF Funds in the state of Texas before a lender will consider any offer from a investor? This would obviously limit the opportinities of assigning deals. I am putting my contact list of buyers/investors and would appreciate any help on the subject.

Thanks.

Ok for starters everything I teach you will fail if your mind only sees fear. Stop watching the news and reduce your TV time. Cut out time spent with people that have a negative attitude. Start reading positive books. And switch radio time in the car with listening to positive audios. Next. The properties listed with agents are ones I target all the time. If you don't have a proof of funds letter then borrow one from someone who does or get one from coastal funding. I that doesn't work for you then don't pursue them. Pursue FSBO properties then you won't need a proof of funds letter. Once you make that decision then resume with my 25:1 system. Next. Foreclosures are also on my radar. I pursue them constantly. You can too if you get a proof of funds letter. There are massive discounts available with REO props. They are very hard to assign. If you want to assign them then buy them in and LLC that you reserve and then sell the LLC. Next. The youth pastor was able to lock properties up at half price using my 25:1 system. Once he did that he put the word out and private money started chasing him down. He created a partnership where he locked up the properties at a major discount and his partner put up the cash. Hope this helps.

My strategies right now are. FLIPPING! The market is hot and I am selling properties when they go vacant. I am also still assigning contracts. I am also still doing some buy and hold. I have also sold a house on a lease option. When I make money and just take that money and re invest it back into real estate. I am buying in Texas, Illinois, and Michigan right now. Florida may go on my list within the next few months. Turn and Burn baby!!!

Yes I am doing a ton of deals. Flips and assignments. Some buy and hold. I am spreading out to more and more states. My book is on hold. It is too relevant to todays market and by the time it hits the bookstores it will be too late. I will still produce a book though. It is just going to be a little different then I first thought. Thanks. And awesome job on all the deals you have been cranking out.

Short sales are not my strong suit. They take too long for me. I like a fast paced sprint. I did close on a short sale recently. And I locked it up with and/or assigns so I could have assigned it which is really rare to accomplish. I just don't like short sales so I don't focus on them. For me, REO's are easies and faster. Just my opinion, sorry I can't help you more.

Glad to see your still around Matt.

Yes most reo's do require a proof of funds letter regardless of what state you are in. The important thing to remember is your exit strategy. If you are planning to assign contracts then you would not want to pursue REO's anyway. They are nearly impossible to assign. They are also very hard to "double close". The only way I know how to flip them to another investor is to lock them up using an LLC that you reserve with the state and then sell the LLC to your new investor. If you need a proof of funds letter to get you that far then try to use the Costal Funding letter. I know a few people on this sight have had success going that route. Another thing you can do is borrow a proof of funds letter from someone that has the funds. Have them get a letter from their bank and use that letter to submit offers. I did that when I was desparate. Hope that helps.

Hi, I just recently got both of Dean's books last Friday (in mail). I'm looking at putting an offer (after preliminary walk-thru) in on a REO property; their asking $9900 for it. Recent comps for area:
$5,500
$11,520
$13,125
$15,000

all comps are 3/1 except for the subject property. How should I approach this deal? Should I offer them their asking price, come in lower than that or walk away? How can I get the lender to pay for full closing costs (if offer is accepted) if I choose to follow-thru with this deal with the little available equity in the property? I'm paying cash so the property will be for me and my son.

I would like to know if there is anything that can be done to keep a house from going to Auction once an Auction notice has been posted? I don't know when the Auction is (in another city), but the note was posted on the property yesterday evening.

Hello everybody,
cbrpower you are an icon on this site!It is good to see you back...Matt.

Hey matt you a big inspiration to me and my question is
Do you its a good idea to get my deal with an fha loan or should i use a different type of loan. im in california and some how i havent been able to find a good mortage broker or lender..also ben having bad luck with real estate agents

Hello everybody,
I made a reply;About matt.This is ask a question too Matt.I do not have a question,But i will back up what cbrpower said to Cynthia(not word for word)...Focus on the target,Breath-eat-#2 your passion!!!

My first thought is WOW those are some cheap houses! I hope the area is a safe area. What is your exit stategy? Are you going to try to flip it or rent it? How much work needs done to the property? What will it rent for? How much will it be worth if it is fixed up and rented out? Answer those questions and I will help you from there. Matt

I would call the auction company and ask them if they would accept an offer before the auction date. Chances are they won't but, if they do then you will be in luck. Everyone else will be waiting for the auction so you won't have any competition. Good luck.

Call one of the smallest real estate companies in your area and ask to speak to the top producing real estate agent on staff. Then when you speak to that agent ask him/her if they work with investors. If so then just explain to them that you just starting our but, you are very serious and you should have a chance. If they don't work with investors then ask them to recommend an agent that does work with investors and then talk to that person. Either way the key is speaking to someone that has a lot of success because people that are successful will only recommend others that are successful. Also, when you are talking to a successful agent ask them which mortgage broker they recommend. I have a saying "if you show me a successful real estate agent, I will guarantee they have a list of creative banks they work with". Every successful agent has to jump thru hoops to get people qualified for loans and because of that they know which banks are the best at that time. Repeat this process until you find the real estate agent and the bank that best fits you. Good luck.

great to be able to learn from you!! can you please touch on the 401 k tax free what is the proper way to take it out for investment? r there no penalties? cant seem to find any banks to refinance seasoning!

hi matt
thanks for the reply...it's going to be nice when i figure this out.
thanks for the tips on mindset, i have all that in check. i practice
everything u suggested. thank goodness.
Q: i seem to feel drawn to what greg murphy's testimonial describes...
a) have you done lease-option owner finance?
b)how is it different from IEE?
c) is it still applicable for today's market?

you have taken on quite a job by offering to answer our q's...
thank u a million times.

w/ appreciation
cynthia

Hey Matt,

I am greatfull to have the chance to pick your mind. I have had the chance to talk to several FSBO and ones that don't have a mortgage on them. I am trying to proceed with owner fiancing and running into a lot of resistance. I believe this would be a great way to start and am looking at them as rentals, and as a investments with little to no money down. Any advice as to how to help the sellers see that this is a great opportunity for the them to make more money and ease their apprehentions?

Thank your for your thoughts,
hillvalley

About the 401k. Talk to your Investment company that administers your 401k or talk to the HR at your company as to how to take the loan against your 401k. Each company has different rules. There are no tax liabilities because it is a loan to yourself. The penalty is interest (around 5%) which is cheap. The other thing is you will be paying back the loan with after tax dollars. But is you leverage that loan and it produces a big return than that is a non issue.

As far as refinancing a loan. Just keep calling small banks. You will find one.

Those facts I don't know; whether it needs any repairs, whether it's located in a safe area (not to be sarcastic, but no area is truly safe in ATL, when thieves or criminals decide to target you for the hell of it or you make yourself a target, I'm just being truthful with spree of crimes, around the metro, in recent months). I haven't done a preliminary walk-thru or tour of property yet. As far as my plans were for it; like I had mention in my previous post, I'd move in providing all systems are in working order & in a year's time turn around and rent it out for FMR with the recent sales being so low I don't pay on immediately trying to flip it. Zillow is valuating it at $85,340 - $133,030. Assessor appraised it for:

Year 2009
Appraised Land $17,900
Appraised Building $57,100
Total Appraised Value $75,000
Assessed Land $7,160
Assessed Building $22,840
Assessed Total $30,000

I also don't know if there are any other offers on it already. I will find all this out when I talk to my REA tomorrow morning. Any other thoughts with the information I've provided.

I haven't even bought a house using a lease option but I have sold houses using a lease option. It is totally different then the IEE. The IEE was created to be able to get paid when assigning the property wasn't feasible. I have never done an IEE. I figured out how to assign and that was just easier for me. In some states creating a line item expense on a HUD1 statement as a way to get paid for "consulting" is not legal. In other states it is perfectly fine. I am not an expert on the IEE, I like doing assignements of contract. They are very easy to do if you follow the formula I have laid out in Deans book.