Short on cash but found a property I like...

The naysayers are trying to help him from jumping into the fire and loosing EVERYTHING if something should happen. That is smart business and finance. Warm and fuzzies won't bay the bills.

Land, houses and stuff comes with major money that can go out in a very short time, breakdown, taxes insurance, mother nature, murphy take your pick. Never put yourself in a position where it is one paycheck from disaster.

Buy a smaller property pay it off then look for something bigger. Interest is the biggest asset killer. Get a saving fund 3-6 months living expenses first then the property down payment.

Past performance does not equal future returns. Just because your dad is a health senior adult won't mean you will be one and stress of bill can be hard on health.

A person doesn't have to do anything and can end up losing everything anyway. If I decide to stay in the rv for another 5 years while I tread water, I could very well end up with an rv that'll be worth $10k, not $25k. That's going backwards. But that's where I am. Stay a little longer and it'll be worth even less. Do you wonder why I want OUT of that depreciating asset???

Mother nature, murphy, accidents, storms, disasters happen regardless of where a person is. It's a given.

Buy a smaller property. Hmmm. Just how small? I'm already bottom feeding. There just aren't a lot of cheap properties here that are in livable situations. If they're cheap, there's a reason. In this case, it's because of an old mobile home that someone dragged on and built onto. If I were to remove that and put on a $50k modular home, I'd likely have a property that would be valued near $120k. Why do you think I'm looking at this as a potential investment? It would be one way to build some capital if things go well. If things don't go so well, it's a place that can provide a lot of our food needs and give us a place to call "home" even in the old mobile. We ARE going to live somewhere, and where ever that is, is not going to be free. Living in the rv, is not going to be free. Living in an apartment is not going to be free either. Things WILL break down. Things WILL need repaired. Same with a home on land. I get that. I don't live in a vacuum now just because I'm not attached to a property.

Past performance doesn't equal future returns. I get that, too. So I should just plan that I'm gonna die at 59 1/2 and just give up every hope and dream for something better on the part of life that comes after 50? I don't think so. Ya wanna know the truth, and I'm not gonna sugar coat this one... One of the reasons I want my own garden so badly is for my own health. I want to grow good soil. I want to grow good food. I want to eat good food. I want to get much of my exercise growing said food. I need that for my own health. It's not just about "living in the country". I may be looked upon as a fool for believing it but I still believe that how I eat and what I eat are likely to have a LOT to do with the quality of the life I'll lead in years to come. If you disagree, you're entitled to your opinions just as I am entitled to mine.

All that said, I have not jumped from the frying pan into the fire. (Incidentally, staying in a frying pan isn't necessarily any better, it just cooks one slower.) I haven't bought anything yet. I asked for advice on stretching the resources and have received some good advice. It may not work out at all for this place at this time. If it's not right, so be it. If the terms don't sound right, so be it.

FWIW, I did do some reading on land contracts. I don't know about TN yet, but in some states, there are laws in place that treat land contracts more like mortgages, requiring a more standard foreclosure, for contracts that have seen the buyer put in over 20% or so of the money or made 5 years of payments. I'll certainly be looking further into this for the state of TN as even if I don't end up making something happen here, I'll want to know more if the situation should come up again.

Thank you for your opinions.

Bellyman, only you can decide.

Also, I wonder if the First Bank of Tennesse loans on bare land? They only have offices in 2 counties or so.

The thing is, it is the local banks that are the most likely to loan on small parcels of land. B of A does not CARE if a small town stays healthy, but the little banks *NEED* their area to stay healthy or the bank may go under when the town does. So the local banks are motivated to be more flexible.

Thanks, Terri.

I haven't ruled out a bank as a possible source of financing. I'm still working on figuring some of these things out. There are some things going on "behind the scenes" as I type this but I wouldn't feel comfortable putting them all on an open forum.

I am going to be needing a new bank anyway, in the not to distant future, so it may be that some new relationships could happen sooner rather than later.

............BM , I'm kinda stuck in the same vortex as you are ! I've lived in my RV for 8 going on 9 years . All the small tracts of rural land are just Too expensive , like $30,000 and up . And , those Rv tracts available are most always tied to a gated community which means I'm putting money into a retirement fund for the owner . I won't purchase any property tied and goverened by such encumberances . , fordy

don't be afraid of private land contracts for property. I have done several in my lifetime as the buyer and seller both.

The legal protections are very similar to a mortgage only the seller gets the property back faster if a foreclosure situation presents itself.

Just have an attorney (not the sellers attorney) check it out and modify it if needed prior to signing.

Brian:

That would be pricey for acreage in my area, but the pond would be a plus. I would stay away from hard money lenders. They are going to have some major prepayment penalty most likely and 8% in today's market is crazy. There is no reason to do a land sales contract over a Deed of trust/note and every reason not to. If they have a mortgage, there is no way to insure that the mortgage is being paid unless you are paying it directly to their lender. The mobile home is not necessarily a loan killer. Just ask a local bank or look at the courthouse to see who last loaned money on the property and try them.

Thanks Declan.

You are correct, it is a little pricey. There are plenty of cheaper places that really would not be good land. I suppose if all I wanted was to put up a little cabin and have a few raised beds for a few tomato plants, it wouldn't matter. I want some good dirt. It's important to what use I intend for the land.

I'm not crazy about the hard money lenders at 8% or 9% either. And I'm exploring some other potential options.

I hadn't thought of looking for a former lender at the courthouse. It's a good suggestion! Who knows what other little tidbits I could glean from a visit to the courthouse.

I appreciate the positive input! Thanks!

30 acres next to me just sold at auction for $175,000. It does have two water taps and no septic. A good part of the property is a very large hill that has woods and a cemetery.

If the property already has a usable septic and water, its not a bad deal.

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Mortgage Underwriters

I think your biggest issue is you are listening to everyone instead of checking it out for yourself. I'd be no where today if I believed every else's experiences will be mine. I know plenty of people who have mortgages on mobile homes.

I also bought a home on a land contract or owner hold mortgage. It was totally legit if you go to a good lawyer.

Sounds like a nice find! Go for it!

Sure. Mobile homes vary depending on the situation. If it is on a block foundation, has its undercarriage removed and the title cancelled, it generally gets treated the same way as a stick built house as far as the law goes in my state.

My concern is that if the people recently bought it, there is an outstanding mortgage that could get foreclosed on if it is not paid. A good lawyer has nothing to do with that except insisting that you get to make that payment as your mortgage payment, but even then you would not be able to get a payoff from the lender or any account info.

Much of the checking on mortgage payoffs and possible liens and that kind of stuff is (or should be) standard in most any real estate deal. I appreciate that.

Farmgal, I did get a little too up close and personal with some of the replies that went places I really wasn't asking about initially. Some have been disregarded as well intentioned but irrelevant. Some have been noted as things I do need to check out.

Nothing is a "done deal" here, not even my decision as to whether I want to pursue trying to acquire the property. I'm not through with the discovery phase of this whole thing yet and there will not be any kind of offer before I am convinced that I really do want the place.

The main thrust of the original post was whether there might be some ways to make the finances work IF I decided this was a property I wanted. If the finances don't work, it's nothing more than a hypothetical. I've received some good input in that regard and am exploring further.

Thanks for the thoughts!

A legitimate concern...however, if there was an outstanding mortgage, then this would show up when the attorney does the title search. As long as this is addressed in the contract the buyer would be protected from the property being foreclosed from underneath him. The bank does NOT want to have to enter foreclosure proceedings.

Any attorney worth his salt would make sure his client is either protected from this or advising him to steer clear of any contract that couldn't protect him.

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'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.

Friedrich August von Hayek

No my lawyer did all title searches etc. They find all that out. There was no prior owing on mine. Nothing was different except the owner held my mortgage instead of the bank. She took more down payment then a bank and slight higher interest.
I received a payment stub of all money's payed monthly on the house. Mine was taxes, principal and interest.

If there's a prior mortgage or lien then you can't get a true land contract. It would be more like an assumable mortgage. That's different. Also my seller paid for the title search and those fees.

Hope this isn't out of line but I've noticed a lot of things about crowd funding recently. In fact I've found a decent house on a small property I would love and have considered setting up a go fund me page for it. Perhaps if you could tell your story in a way that illicits empathy out of others you could get contributions for some of the funds you need.
I haven't yet started one for the place I've found as I'm not sure who I would ask to help as I'm not into social media networks and you have to have Facebook and twitter to set one up (I think).
Just an idea sorry if it makes me sound like im calling you a bum which I'm totally not doing but if it works for some folks for getting cars and what not whose to say it couldn't work for getting a house?

Thanks! I've given that consideration and honestly, haven't ruled it out. I'm not one to beg for money. But if someone wants to give it, I'm not one to put up a big argument over it either. There are lots of times when I've done things for other people without thinking much of anything of it. That's just the way I am. I don't keep score, and my memory isn't the best. It's typically not money but sometimes it is. More often, it's some veggies out of the freezer or looking back to last summer, some fresh stuff out of the garden or help with fixing a car or aligning someone's satellite dish or helping them mow their lawn or fixing a garbage disposal... It's just he stuff of life.

I doubt I'd feel right taking a whole lot. I wouldn't be out for a new car or a new home. But just a little help to get me over the hump while I recover physically could be helpful. Once back to the point where I can work, I'd certainly want to. I want to feel useful and productive.

Any chance anyone knows how the "crowd funding" stuff works?

From what I understand about crowd funding is you set up a campaign at gofundme dot com it asks for stuff like Facebook log on info. There are all sorts of categories for campaigns. I was going to set up a campaign but I don't like the idea of making my pictures public as I had a stalker in the past, I know one chance in a million they'd see my page, lol.
Then people see your campaign by Facebook, twitter or whatever other social networks are out there. Someone does not have to be on your friends list as others can share your story and complete strangers can donate.
I am not sure how you get the money in the end since i havent yet set mine up all the way. but I think the money ends up in a PayPal account that only you can access? I know the company gets a certain percent of what your campaign raises. The truth is I was kind of hoping you would be as guinea pig as I don't know anyone online who has actually done crowd funding but have seen blogs and people talking about it. If you set up a go fund me and it works for you, let me know!

I could swear I heard of someone doing this. I had thought it was a Facebook friend that was trying to raise some money to go to a lifestyle center. He had some heart problems last year and wanted to get himself a little healthier to try to avoid the repeats that can come when nothing changes. But for the life of me, I can't find that anywhere. It could have been that I imagined it as I may have been using some pain meds about the time I thought it was going on. But I'll keep looking. And hey, if I do get something going, I'll let you know. Sure would like to talk to someone who's actually done it, though, before signing up myself.

Successful crowd funding campaigns?

There is a current thread by someone attempting to raise money through crowd funding for a medical procedure, but I can't find it now. Apparently it works if you have a large base of support like on Facebook or Twitter, or can get noticed by a newspaper so the story gets out.

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I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it. Attributed to Voltaire

Why not write a contract contingent on selling your RV? If you have enough income to make the payment and a hefty down payment, financing should be a go. Lots of contracts are written contingent on a house to sell. Why not an RV? You should be able to do a lot better than 8% interest also. 5.9 would be more like it.