bought a park - Posted by Kenneth Monteith
Posted by Kenneth Monteith on July 15, 2001 at 14:29:32:
I got into real estate investing via Carleton Sheets. My friend gave me the course. I bought a park an hour away. 80 lots, 65 homes. The owner wanted $35,000.00 cash and assume 3 mortgages for 12 years at $9,700, $1,800, and $1,300 monthly. The banker also wanted me to assume an improvement loan @ $720.00 monthly. My credit was bad, and I didn’t have 35 grand. I got the seller to agree to 20,000 cash, and I borrowed 13,000 of that from a friend in exchange for a large interest in the park. Oh, for the remaining 15 grand, I agreed to pay the sellers last years of taxes (about 10,000). The seller also agreed to stay on as cosigner for 3 years, and the banks have agreed that if I keep the payments current, I can assume the note by myself in 3 years. 7 grand and bad credit- I’ll own it in 11 years from now, and it appraises at about 1.5 million. The rents total about 23,000, but with vacancies, movers, non-payers, etc… I probably bring in about 19 to 20 grand a month. Since last year, I’ve rehabbed 2 homes and bought 4 more for about 25,000, including expenses (electric, moving, gas lines plumbing…)
I want to turn it into a tenant-owned 55plus park. Every single home is park-owned. Right now I am not making anything at all in the way of profit- just working my butt off fixing things and trying to pay the bills and make improvements where I can afford it. Still working full time at my other job. I want to put in a small laundromat in one of the smaller homes, and wood fences between the rows. The tenants are lower-class, good people, but rent collection is a headache. My partner (the seller) down in Florida (the park is in Tennessee) has concerns about trying to sell the homes to tenants, since the homes are mortgaged with the land. Any- and I mean ANY- opinions, suggestions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever, are welcomed. I’m new to this site- I love it.
Thanks, Kenny