Escrow Has Closed!

I am now the owner of a rental property in Tul...

Rental #1: Docs Signed, Money Wired

I've signed all the documents for Rental #1 today, had them notarized, and mailed them off to the escrow company this morning. I've also wired the funds. We're all set to close on Monday, a couple days ear...

Phone Excise Tax Refund Not Being Claimed

One of the huge advantages of investing in real estate is the special tax breaks you can take advantage of. Many people invest in real estate solely for those reasons and yet, they fail to take advantage of even the simplest tax saving strategies. For example, msnbc.com is carrying an Associated Press story about how roughly one-third of the early tax returns filed so far (over 10 million of 31.8 million) have failed to claim the telephone excise...

Rental #1 Closing On Monday

I got the HUD for my Tulsa property today and, surprisingly, I didn't find any errors on it! I think that's a first! Assuming it's okay with the seller, we're going to move the closing up to Monday instead of the 28th. On another note, another one of my arbitrage plays paid off today. Picked up 20 shares of HQSM back in December for 21 cents a share, got reverse split down to 1 share, received my 99 round up shares today to bring me to 100 shares,...

Rental #1: Insurance For Tulsa Lined Up

Since I plan on getting another rental property this year, I figure I better start numbering the properties. This will be Rental #1. (Houses I will be rehabbing are numbered House #x.) I'll also start using labels for my posts for easier searching.I called the insurance agent that the current owner uses for this property to get insurance for when I own it. The quote given me was a pleasant surprise: $388 per year. If I want to add water damage protection...

Bad Loans Being Returned

MSNBC has an interesting article today about how large banks are forcing mortgage originators to buy back their bad loans. The story says that some banks have a contractual right to force the mortgage originators to buy back bad loans - loans that default early in their life or have mistakes, such as flawed property appraisals.We all know the increase in interest rates has caused an increase in foreclosures. This is the first I've heard that the...

Title Issues On Oklahoma House

I spoke with our escrow officer today and she told me about two title issues on the property. Back in 2003, the then owners had a mortgage that was assigned to another company and then reassigned to a second company. Two of the recordings of those assignments were found to be defective. In both cases, the appropriate person in the mortgage company did not sign the documents. (Oklahoma law stipulates that only specific corporate officers are able...

Trouble With Louisiana Project

My hard money lending investment in Louisiana has hit a bit of a snag. There has been a big shake up in the structure of the LLC that is handling the renovation of these office buildings. The guy who was in charge has been bought out by another investor. The old manager just wasn't getting things done and seemed to have a very hands-off approach, resulting in delays. The new manager and the remaining principles are hands-on, micro-manager types,...

Lots Of Action Today

I saw lots of action today with my reverse split arbitrage stocks and a bit more progress in my Oklahoma house purchase.Although I said back on January 29 that my PAQN reverse arbitrage play was completed, this turned out to be a bit premature. I made this play using two brokerages - Scottrade and Schwab. Scottrade got my round up shares on the 29th and I sold them. I had assumed that Schwab would get them shortly thereafter. Turns out, it took over...

More Income From REIT Stock

This morning, I wrung a bit more income out of one of my stocks by selling covered calls. If you've ever played Cashflow 202, you probably have bought options - calls and puts. A call gives you the right to buy a stock at a certain price by a certain time. When you sell a covered call, you are selling someone the right to buy the stock from you for a certain price by a certain time. Covered means you actually own the stock that you might have to...

OK Property Taxes Will Be Higher Than Expected

I did some more research today on property taxes for the Tulsa property I am buying. My original estimate for taxes was $371 per year, which is what the current owner is paying. Turns out, that figure is because the owner was able to buy the house so cheap. From what I can see on the Tulsa County Assessor's website, property taxes are calculated based on the purchase price (for new home owners) and the school district the property is located in....

Details Of OK Purchase

Per Doug O's request, here are some of the more pertinent details of the purchase. This is a three bedroom, single family house that is currently leased through November 1, 2007 at $750 per month. It's 1,815 square feet and has been recently remodeled. Purchase price is $77,000. Comps are as high as $89,000. Taxes are around $375 per year and insurance is around $465 per year. Based on my calculations, I think I can cashflow near $200 per month with...