wholesale or owner finance?

[Christopher Oliva]

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie,I've been actively marketing the last 2 months to try and get my first wholesale deal.  I spoke with a very elderly woman late last week who has 2 properties on the same street in San Antonio that she would like to sell.  She called me because she got one of my postcards inquiring about her property, but the property isn't an ideal wholesaling opportunity.  The houses seem to be in pretty good condition and she wants market value for the houses.  

She's looking to sell because she's elderly and tired of being a land lord.  She says both houses were recently updated (roofs, floors, appliances) and provided pictures of the properties. I've driven by the properties but i haven't been able to get on the properties to take a look for myself because they are currently rented out and the owner does not want me to disturb the current tenants. 

She wants 125k for the smaller of the two properties and 155k for the larger one.  I don't have any realtor friends who can help me put together a super accurate arv, so i checked redfin, reatlor.com, and zillow and they all estimate the houses to be right around her asking prices.  If i were to try and wholesale these properties, i was thinking of offering 70k and 85k for the properties.  

And then i spoke with someone i met from bigger-pockets who suggested i maybe think about trying to get the owner to work an owner finance deal with me.  Any suggestions on how i would structure the deal?  I have 0 experience doing this, i've only been listening to podcasts and browsing the forums for the last 6 months, so this would be my first real estate deal of any sort.  Any help is much appreciated!

[Andrew Newlon]

Hey @Christopher Oliva, have you attended a local REIA meeting yet? It would be best to find someone local that understands your market. It should be easy to find a couple Realtors who will help you find comps. Owner financing is as easy or complicated as you want to make it. The terms are exactly what the two of you can agree on. Simply tell her that you don't want to make her a cash offer due to her asking price and the shape of the house. Then ask, "Is there any reason why you won't seller finance it to me for a short period of time?" This will hopefully unveil any objections she may have with that option up front; one most likely being her age. If she is open to it, you both decide on a price, down payment (if she absolutely needs it), term length, and interest/monthly payment. You should be able to find a title company that will draw up the paperwork; if not, real estate attorneys are everywhere.

Hope this helps!