How I Bought This House For $0

Graham Stephan May 20, 2019
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Graham Stephan

@grahamstephan

About

As a 34 year old real estate investor who started working in real estate shortly after turning 18, with over $120,000,000 in residential sales since 2008, I've created this channel to share my successes, failures, and experiences in real estate, personal finance, and investing news. I'm also obsessed with frugality and credit card churning...a lot. So Subscribe! Because all the cool kids are doing it. Feel free to follow me on Snapchat / Instagram: GPStephan

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I’m proud to say that this property…was free. It cost me $0. I was able to buy an income generating property…in Los Angeles…for nothing. Here’s how - enjoy! Add me on Instagram: GPStephan The YouTube Creator Academy: Learn EXACTLY how to get your first 1000 subscribers on YouTube, rank videos on the front page of searches, grow your following, and turn that into another income source: https://bit.ly/2STxofv $100 OFF WITH CODE 100OFF Get 2 Free Stocks on WeBull when you deposit $100 (Valued up to $1400): https://act.webull.com/k/Vowbik9Tm5he/main My ENTIRE Camera and Recording Equipment: https://www.amazon.com/shop/grahamstephan?listId=2TNWZ7RP1P1EB 24 months ago, I began looking for an income property around the mid-city area of Los Angeles. I liked this area in particular because it was close to nearby transit, surrounded by several large new developments, it was only a 15 minute drive away from the beach…and most importantly, it was one of the few areas in Los Angeles where property prices were still selling under $1 million dollars. After 6 months of searching, writing offers, getting out bid, and otherwise not finding a single opportunity - the perfect spot came up. And the price? Listed for…$585,000. So I made them an immediate offer: I’ll pay full price, guaranteed to close…under the condition, that the owner accepts it immediately. I bought it for $585,000…I put $150,000 as a down payment, and I got a loan for $438,000 to cover the rest. Then, I spent another 2 months, and roughly $80,000 fixing it up. This meant, when I was finished, I had invested a total of 2 months worth of time, and $230,000 into a property. So I went to the bank, and I told them I wanted to do what’s called a REFINANCE. This is when the bank will give you a new loan on the property, based on the CURRENT value of what it’s worth - NOT what you paid for it. And the market value was very favorable to me…an appraiser determined the market value of my property, for a remodeled 1920’s Spanish duplex, was now $780,000, just shortly after I bought it. So given the new value, the bank is able to give me a mortgage of up to $585,000, and give me back $145,000 in cash. My current mortgage is $438,000 The bank’s NEW loan is $585,000 The new loan pays off the old one, and that leaves us with $145,000 left over after paying some transaction fees. That was in 2017. NOW…I can do it again. I went from bank, to bank, to bank…to get a quote on a new mortgage. I was able to get at 3.75% fixed rate mortgage for 30 years, on a cash out refinance. The bank appraised it for $965,000. And given the new $965,000 value, I was allowed a $675,000 mortgage - leaving 30% worth of equity still in the property. That meant…after all was said and done…not only do I have $290,000 worth of equity in the property…but I now SAVE an extra $200 per month on my mortgage interest payments, and I got back ALL of the $230,000 I invested, leaving a total out of pocket cost, to buy this property, of $0 Like I said, the first refinance got me back $145,000…and the second got me back $85,000. That was everything I had invested in this property…and it’s basically free real estate. In real estate, your ideal situation is that you can control 100% of an income-generating asset…by having as LITTLE of your own money invested in it, as well. This gives you the opportunity to INVEST your money in other, higher generating opportunities - than keeping your money tied up in an asset where it isn’t actively working for you. This is the name of the game in real estate…it’s to find a good deal, put your money in, make it work for you, refinance your money back out, keep the property…then go and use that money to do it again. And it’s by doing that, over and over and over again, that you can soon build up an empire of real estate, for free, by just…smashing the like button. For business or one-on-one real estate investing/real estate agent consulting inquiries, you can reach me at [email protected]

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