Is $20k down on a distressed property in SC realistic?

[Hunter B.]

I've been looking around some quieter areas back home in SC and I see many distressed properties available for under $100k. I'd like to use around $20k to secure a hard-money loan, fix it up, and get a little profit out for this year.

While looking at one property for $85,000, on which I would offer $65,000, I noticed a similar house very close by sold for $65k last year, and after what looks like a 2 month flip and 6 month holding period, sold for $195,000. That looked promising.

I sent 6 messages to realtors in the area, according to their Zillow rankings, and I didn't get any responses so far. Firstly, is that normal? If I put myself in their shoes, maybe this size of a deal just isn't interesting for a top producing agent? The first agent I was able to get on the phone told me the houses I was looking at were in an undesirable area.

Will I just need to keep pushing and accept that this budget forces me to go an area that most agents aren't interested in? Should I maybe look at smaller agents who would be more interested in the deal? Curious to know what you guys think.

[Jaycee Greene]

Quote from @Hunter B.:

I've been looking around some quieter areas back home in SC and I see many distressed properties available for under $100k. I'd like to use around $20k to secure a hard-money loan, fix it up, and get a little profit out for this year.

While looking at one property for $85,000, on which I would offer $65,000, I noticed a similar house very close by sold for $65k last year, and after what looks like a 2 month flip and 6 month holding period, sold for $195,000. That looked promising.

I sent 6 messages to realtors in the area, according to their Zillow rankings, and I didn't get any responses so far. Firstly, is that normal? If I put myself in their shoes, maybe this size of a deal just isn't interesting for a top producing agent? The first agent I was able to get on the phone told me the houses I was looking at were in an undesirable area.

Will I just need to keep pushing and accept that this budget forces me to go an area that most agents aren't interested in? Should I maybe look at smaller agents who would be more interested in the deal? Curious to know what you guys think.

Hey @Hunter B., welcome to the BP Forum! Some hard money lenders have minimum purchase prices on properties they'll finance. As for agents, I assume you'll need to find a "junior" agent/broker or an agent that maybe just went out on their own and are hungry for deals. I'd also check around the area to see if there are agents that do a lot of distressed deals.