The TurnKey Investor’s
“Subject To” Mortgage Handbook
By Matthew S. Chan
www.turnkeyinvesting.com
Ascend Beyond Publishing
ISBN: 0-9713947-4-1
241 Pages
Matthew Chan’s latest
book for TurnKey Investors is for experienced investors who “wish to expand
their financial repertoire by utilizing the ‘subject to’ mortgage.” (p.5)
This review is based upon that guiding principle inasmuch as I, myself, am
not one of those experienced investors, though my background was in
directing lease management for a major educational institution. I therefore
have a basic understanding of the logic behind and in real estate
activities.
I believe this is an
important point to emphasize. Why? Because as I began to read, I found
myself uncomfortable with the concept being presented. Specifically,
“subject to” mortgage investing is a method of acquiring property by taking
title and possession of real estate, but leaving the seller’s existing loan
in place—a form of seller financing. It is to the author’s credit that he
immediately identifies this as a problem for inexperienced readers.
Therefore, Chan
confronts the issue! After explaining the primary fundamentals or
activities of acquiring property through this process, in Chapter 3 he
provides an excellent source of references for readers to confirm the
“legitimacy” of the process, including examples of forms used by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Having read several of
Chan’s reference books and after sufficiently negating my earlier qualms, I
settled back to be “trained.” Certainly Chan has the intelligence,
experience and knowledge to write books in his professional field. However,
I have found that Chan has also developed an excellent teaching skill by
which he uses his writing for effective training purposes. Investors or
property managers should feel comfortable asking their own staff to learn
and begin using the “subject” to mortgage transaction based upon using
Chan’s handbook. Let’s see what he has to tell us!
First, knowing that
this is a little-known and little-used process, Chan advertises its
availability¾”we
buy houses fast.” This catches the eye
of those needing to sell their hours fast! What that means is that a target
audience is usually available. Why? Because there are always those
individuals who have just changed jobs and therefore need to relocate
quickly. Or there are those individuals who sadly face divorce or the loss
of a loved one and find that they can no longer pay the high mortgage
costs. For whatever reason, needing to sell property quickly is oftentimes
a traumatic experience. And, for many, waiting for financial institutions
or real estate agencies just isn’t the answer. Having personally been in
this situation, I must admit I looked favorably at this option once I
realized how it worked. Because I had lost my job and knew I could not keep
up my mortgage payments as a single professional woman, I immediately posted
my home for sale. It was a nightmare as I first had to “fix” one thing
after another and then wait for someone who might “happen” to come along and
want to buy my home. It was just serendipity that I was able to acquire a
small cabin in a nearby state and maneuver each activity to be able to both
sell and buy another home as well as relocate within the time allotted;
i.e., by when I would receive my last pay check!
Matthew Chan could have
offered me a much simpler option! And his book includes pictures of the
wide variety of houses that they have acquired through the “subject to”
mortgage process. In essence, Chan’s company would have taken over my
former home as property managers, using the loan I already had in place.
Now, individuals considering this option would need to understand quickly
that they would continue to have an outstanding mortgage loan in their
name. But somebody else would be paying that bill. And somebody else would
have total control of the property.
In essence, then, the
seller in the position of having to quickly relocate has a little-known
option if there are individual investors willing to handle their property.
The Turnkey Investor’s program has the ability to do this...and then use
your former property to enter into a lease-option activity with another
individual.
I’ve personalized this
review to ensure that individuals who may hear of this process will
understand its potential in their own lives. However, the book, for the
professional, includes all the many details necessary to ensure that they
are able to handle a “subject to” mortgage investment if or when the
opportunity arises. It takes a professional agency willing to help
individual property owners. At the same time, the agency must have already
invested sufficient research and experience in their field to make the
process work within their agency. For those professionals wishing to
consider “subject to” mortgage investing, this book is a must-read!
G. A. Bixler
For Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
01/07/07
