US Invest Good Company Or Bad?

One of the reason flipper or wholesalers use LLC is to circumvent the deed restrictions that certain gov agencies put on their REO properties.

Lawys scenario is simply a thief setting up a scam….

True. I assumed all US Wholesalers were licenced. It was who they passed the sales onto that have been my main bugbear. I didn’t realise it all started (potentially) at the very bottom…. hmmmm.

Pun excused:)

to clarify… investor buys with LLC… does not transfer title however just sells LLC interest. thats a non recorded transaction and will circumvent the flipping deed restrictions. Title remains the same does not transfer.

The incident that Lawys talks about is just flat out felonious activity… Investor buys a share of LLC, LLC is suppose to own asset A howeever does not…. and investor has bought into a shell with no assets.

With luck, we may get something done on that. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to screw up that much, but you have enough monkeys and typewriters and look what can happen!

If they are telling you that you can go from private funding…build a credit rating and then move to a national bank….. they are wrong, wrong, wrong.

Texas Cash Cow is correct on the lending side.  Private money does not get reported to any type of credit bureau.  There would be no history for a conventional lender to look at.

LAWSJS:  So you had a painting quote marked up over 600%?  I've seen a lot of shady things in my career but I can't say I've ever seen a markup like that unless it was a tangible trading ripoff or selloff. 

Bottom line is that there are thousands and thousands of licensees and wholesalers in the U.S.  It is your choice as an international investor to come here and make friends.  I am on the ground and consider myself a very innovative thinker and strategist.  That said, it took me almost 5 years to create what I consider my perfect team for my business.  Again, I am local, and I still went through 10 property managers before sticking with the same one since 2007.  My lender for U.S properties resides in California!  He lends FL and NJ, both my marketplaces.  Hands down he is better then anyone I have worked with in my backyard.  My partner?  He's a foul mouthed, frugal, arrogant, punky, pretentious jerk…but he allows me to make the decisions and has a very creative mind in the real estate business.  The team is what makes me money personally and professionally. 

LAWSJS and all those looking.  Why don't you just look for licensed brokers who are also wholesalers?  They exist.  Not many, but they do.  I love giving investors the peace of mind knowing that I have their backs in a sale.  I have to or I lose my license.  If I lose my license, I lose my business.  If I lose my business I lose my houses and money…And if I lose my money, then girls won't like me anymore!  So see??  I have more to lose then those without licenses.  We value that and honor our responsibilities.  Well, at least most of us do

LAWSJS:  Things to watch out for:

• Unlicensed wholesalers
• wholesalers with no inventory…if they send you an address, cross reference it on public record to see if they own it.
• Those that have you wire escrow or deposit money to them or their firm.  Never ever ever ever do this.  Google Demetrius Mathis in Georgia.  He used to read these boards. 

I'll defend #2 a little.  As a wholesaler, our buying/selling entity is the same for all of our properties.  Once we have a secured deal in place with the seller we make it part of our "available inventory".  So even if you cross reference the owners name, sometimes it will still have the current owner and if we closed on it, it still takes 2 weeks to record our name in public records.  So that isn't ALWAYS accurate….However, we never send out inventory that we do not control.

I don't know where you can find licensed wholesalers.  There isn't a directory of those people here in the states.  I don't know many.  In fact, my competitors in my market are unlicensed.  Probably why we get a bit of their overflow.  We are licensed, we have our own funds, and that's just the way we do things.

and
3) Never wire money to the ‘Selling’ firm?
Isn’t this analogous to sending funds to a real estate agents Trust account??

It's simple to verify.  Here…Click on this link:  LICENSE

That's my verification of my license.  Ask your wholesalers to produce you a link of their license.  If they can't??  Well then they just aren't licensed   In the link provided, at the bottom you can also check on any complaints made against the licensee.  I am clean as a whistle and I take pride in that.  I have gone through a couple business mis-haps (who hasn't) and I had someone complain about me to the licensing board a while back.  I believed I was in the right.  After a thorough investigation, the state ruled in my favor.  My point is, it is a well governed industry.  If I mess up, it is documented.  If someone wants to throw a fit for any reason, they have to provide sufficient info for a state investigation. 

Broker licenses are public record in all states in the USA.  Don't let anyone tell you different.

FYI, there is really no legitimate way to document a complaint against a wholesaler.  As licensees, we are required to disclose EVERYTHING.  In fact, when I went to real estate school a while back, all 3 of the states I am licensed in begin by telling students that the most important thing to do as a licensee is DISCLOSE DISCLOSE DISCLOSE.  They drill it in your head.  I've seen plenty of people fined, suspended, and revoked due to non-disclosure.  Unlicensed wholesalers don't have to… That said, I'm not saying unlicensed wholesalers are bad.  I just happen to be required to abide by rules.

I've said this again and again, I empathize with nobody who sends their money to the "selling firm".  Always send your money to a title company in Florida or a title company / attorney in other states.  If you are a sophisticated investor, the first thing you ought to know is where to send your money safely. 

LAWSJS:  I mentioned earlier about your #2.  Sometimes we allow investors to see inventory we haven't closed on yet.  This would be titled still under the old seller and not us.  However we never send one out that we don't have control of.