Realty411 Magazine A Spotlight on Charles and Lena Sells | Page 48
In all of these there can be an element of surprise
that may require a hold back of reserves, but as you go
down the list, that element gets smaller and smaller. For
tax lien investors, we intentionally use a bit of a scare
tactic and say if an investor plans to invest $100k in tax
liens, they better hold back $100k in reserves for
foreclosure. Advanced tax lien investors know this is a
bit of an overkill, but that is by design. Almost
everything a novice interested in investing in tax liens
reads, is about how easy it is and “what a little known
secret it is, that other investors don’t want you to hear
about.” The fact is, tax liens require a lot of time,
experience and finesse to be successful. About 80% of
our administrative costs are consumed by tax lien
management, while they only account for about 30% of
our overall service provisions.
If you are an investor investing in fix and flips,
reserves are obviously much more easily predictable. I
know if I buy a foreclosure at an auction for $60k, I am
going to put $30k into it and offload the investment for
about $130k. If I buy for $90k, I am probably going to
put $45k into it and so on. General rule of thumb is that
my repair costs are going to be roughly 50% of my
acquisition cost.
Q. Are these a good fit for a selfdirected IRA or 401k?
YES…..with one caveat! Although SDIRA funds
represent about 50% of all the funds we place on behalf
of our clients, I am not a big fan of clients using SDIRA
funds for investments in tax liens. As I mentioned earlier,
the holdback in reserves is an unknown variable and the
last thing we want to do, is look for funding for a
foreclosure in an account that is
heavy invested in tax liens that have
yet to redeem. For the other 4
opportunities I listed earlier, SDIRA
funds are prime opportunity for tax
deferred investing.
Got HOPE? PIP Group’s HOPE
program offers a path to
homeownership for many home
buyers who may have thought it
impossible. It achieves this with a
unique blend of owner financing and
credit optimization, while generating
attractive returns for investors.
Q. Your HOPE program sounds
great. What types of properties do
you acquire for this program?
Really anything we acquire can qualify for HOPE. We
invest in what I call “Recession Proof Property.” 99% of
what we buy are homes that are going to qualify for first
time home buyer benefits, VA, FHA and other programs.
They are homes that 99% of Americans can actually
afford and qualify for. No granite, no custom cabinets, no
fancy fixtures. We call them Recession Proof, because if
selling homes becomes difficult as they did in the last
recession, the cash flow returns through HOPE, or even
just as a rental will remain.
Q. What level of rehab or remodel are done to HOPE
properties?
There’s obviously a secret sauce to every aspect of
what we do. From the markets we choose to buy in, to the
forecast of the type of buyers the future may bring, to the
paint colors we use in all the properties. Level of rehab in
HOPE, or any acquisition under our supervision is
MOVEIN READY. That said, there are different grants
and incentive opportunities in different cities we buy. If
we are trying to qualify a particular property for specific
incentives, we will take extra steps to make that a reality
(ADA ramps, EcoFriendly, etc.)
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