Making on offer on UGLY properties

[Mark Beekman]

I have my eye on some downright ugly houses that I'm looking into for rehab/flip purposes. Some are vacant and/or condemned and the ones that are inhabited look like only a crazy person would live there.

How does one go about making a deal from this point? I can't make an offer on a house I know nothing about and haven't seen the inside of. Do I mail a letter to the owner expressing my interest in purchasing their house? How do the vets here do it?

[Brian Levredge]

Originally posted by Mark Beekman:

I have my eye on some downright ugly houses that I'm looking into for rehab/flip purposes. Some are vacant and/or condemned and the ones that are inhabited look like only a crazy person would live there.

How does one go about making a deal from this point? I can't make an offer on a house I know nothing about and haven't seen the inside of. Do I mail a letter to the owner expressing my interest in purchasing their house? How do the vets here do it?

You absolutely can make an offer on a property sight unseen if on paper it looks like it has the potential to be a good deal, that being subjective of course. That's what good real estate contracts are for: They lock up a property so no one else can buy it and allow you time to do your due diligence. You need to make sure that you have clauses in the contract that give you an out and your earnest money back if you decide you don't want to move forward.

Many times you can't even get into homes without having an accepted offer so this is something you are going to need to do on the fly anyway. I'm a contractor and can tell you that you don't want to get into anything that will require structural repairs or changes. That will eat up a lot of your money and your time. Look for stuff that is cosmetic as you mentioned. Changing landscaping can be done on the cheap and make a huge difference in curb appeal. You can install replacement windows on the street only to give the house a better look as well. Curb appeal is just as important, if not more, than the inside appearance.