Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career?
Leonard: One of my best friends named Twin introduced me to a good friend named Ravin who was doing Real Estate investing in 2003. I seen him collecting checks off of deals he closed for $20,000 a piece. From there that inspired me to get into the business. At that time I already saved up 15k to buy me and my family a house in PA. My friend suggested to flip that money and invest into property until I can get what I truly wanted. So that’s what I did. I found a property worth 306k in Brooklyn, NY where I was born and raised and put 10k down on the property. I was the youngest black guy on the block that owned a multi-family house which made it hard to rent at times because prospective tenants didn’t believe that I owned it. It was Because I looked so young. I had to always show them the deed and prove that I owned the property and that I would be their landlord. Long story short I flipped that property for $550k the next year and netted 180k after taxes. I then bought and sold several properties that year making over $1.2M in my first year doing real estate. That’s when I started a company and self published a book called “Hood Estate The Manual” which was created to give the urban community an idea on how to flip property and build wealth by leveraging credit.
What are 5 things you wish someone told you before starting your real estate company?
Boost your credit to get a lower APR
Leonard: I wish someone would’ve told me to generate a score in the 700’s so I can get a lower APR on my mortgage payment when I received a FHA Loan.
Private Equity Lenders
Leonard: I wish someone would’ve told me that I didn’t need to show Tax Returns, W2’s or Paystubs to get a mortgage to purchase a property. If I was to use a private equity lender or get a hard money loan they would base every transaction on the equity spread of the property, not too much off your finances. Plus they close way quicker then conventional mortgages because your Financial credentials aren’t under a microscope to get approval for loan which can take several months.
Unsecured Business Lines Of Credit
Leonard: I wish someone would’ve told me that I can get unsecured business lines of credit and use that as a down payment/Earnest money deposit to purchase property. This way I wouldn’t have to spend my money but can use it as leverage against the business line of credit that I borrowed. It Makes it easier for me to flip the property without spending my money. So I would be paying back the business lines of credit with the net proceeds that I made off the sale of the property, plus making me some money myself while building up my business credit and my personal credit all at the same time.
ALWAYS ask for the bill from the city
Leonard: I wish somebody would’ve told me to look at the CD/HUD1 and make sure I’m not getting overcharged at the closing, especially by the title company. Title companies can mark up bills sometimes without providing a legitimate invoice from the city or state if you don’t request to see the physical bill. For example a registration fee that cost only $250 was marked up on my CD stating that it was $5000. I felt that was too high and I requested for the title company to send me a physical bill from the city for $5000. Long story short, they could not provide the bill from the city and had to reduce the fee from $5000 to $500 and that would’ve been excluded because they couldn’t even show a bill for the $500. I had them put that in the escrow account because a general registration fee for a vacant property or vacant lots space can range from $250-$500, but no bill was provided. So they could of robbed me for $4500 if I didn’t inquire to see the physical bill from the city.
Challenge Banks on your foreclosed property
Leonard: I wish someone would’ve told me that you can receive properties back mortgage free if you challenge the bank and issue a order to show cause to prove that your bank owns the promissory note of the finances. Most of the people that faces foreclosure be intimidated to challenge the bank to see if they actually own the promissory note of that mortgage. You will be surprised on how many Banks that hold the mortgage note but don’t necessarily own the promissory note because it wasn’t endorse buy the original Bank it was only assigned. Once you can prove that, you can receive your property back mortgage free because they cannot foreclose on you if they can’t prove that they own the promissory note. At myhousegram.com I teach the strategic ways to finance and flip property with no or minimum credentials. There strategies are truly amazing.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Leonard: You can follow us on social media platforms @MyHouseGram