Verification Of Mortgage (Updated)

I got an email from my mortgage broker last night regarding the refi of Rental #1. He said the current mortgage for Rental #1 does not show up on my credit report, so he would need me to fill out a Verification Of Mortgage form.There are two reasons the loan doesn't show up on my credit report: 1) It's in the name of my LLC, not me personally. 2) I have not reported any payments to any credit agencies. If you recall, this is a mortgage from one of...

Property Management Blues (Updated)

Rental #1 is the first rental I've had that I've used a property management company for and I must say, I am not happy so far. I've had several occasions to contact them about various issues and their response has not been good. Whenever I call, I am unable to get the person I need to speak with on the phone the first time I call. I have never had a phone message returned and I only manage to talk to someone on my second or third attempt at calling....

Slow Week

Not much progress will be made this week on the purchase on Rental #2 or the refi of Rental #1. The mortgage broker I am using for both is on vacation. I did mail back the paperwork on Monday, and he said his assistant would be working on it, but it's been my experience that the paperwork just sits around until the main person gets back from vacation.I did get a call from the escrow agent asking for a payoff amount on the mortgage for Rental #1....

Foreclosures Skyrocket In Phoenix Area

The Arizona Republic is reporting that foreclosures in the Phoenix area have increased ten times over last year's number. Delinquencies are also at a four year high, so the problem may get even worse.The reader's comments after the story are interesting. Several people say they will be picking up deals as they become availab...

Zillow Ordered To Cease Estimates In Arizona

Zillow.com, the real estate value website that has been the talk of the town for the last year or so, was ordered by the Arizona Board Of Appraisals to stop providing "zestimates" of property values in Arizona. They claim the company needs an appraiser license to do this. The full story can be found at the Arizona Republic website.This could be a huge blow to Zillow, especially if other states start following suit. On the other hand, I can't believe...

Loan Doc Errors

Last night, I got the loan docs for the refi of Rental #1 and the purchase of Rental #2. There were errors galore:In both packages, the last digit of my wife's social security number was wrong.In both packages, the Rate Lock Agreement does not list a lock-in start or expiration date.In the package for Rental #2, my wife's last name is spelled incorrectly on every page. (Since she has the same last name as me, I don't see how mine could be right and...

Louisiana Update

I got another update on the Louisiana project. As of my last report, it was decided that a second mortgage would be placed on the property and the money from that would be used to make payments to the first mortgage holders, while the payments on the second would be delayed. I'm pleased to say that now all the players have agreed to the terms and the deal is now in escrow. We expect to have our payments be resumed before the end of the mon...

Things Are Progressing

Things are moving forward on both the purchase of Rental #2 and refinance of Rental #1. I got the good faith estimates from the mortgage broker and, as some had suggested, the interest rates were a tad higher than I planned. The rate on the loan for Rental #2 is 7.25%, not the 6% I had used in my projections. I'm not too concerned with this however. Based on the existing $439 a month rent, the higher interest rate drops my ROI down to 10.9%. However,...

Rental #2 Purchase Moving Forward

I had a nice, long discussion with my property manager this afternoon and was impressed with what I heard. I first confirmed that she had spoken with the tenants in Rental #1 and told them they now need to send payments to them. She said she both sent them a letter and spoke with them in person. They were still processing the rents checks for this month, so she couldn't tell me if they had paid yet or not, but I think they probably have.I mentioned...

Another Rental Property Purchased

I picked up another rental property over the weekend, again in Tulsa. Here are the details: 3 bed / 1 bath, 908 square feet with a carport. The tenant is a Section 8 renter with the rent 100% paid by the state of Oklahoma. The lease is up in July and I'm investigating if the state will pay a higher rent at that time. An older appraisal valued the place at $48,000. I'm getting it for $40,000. I've got a 60 day escrow on this one and will be putting...