Is everyone ready to hear my crazy deal of a lifetime?

[Joshua D.]

So seriously landed a deal that blows everyone of my other deals out. Me and my wife have been ecstatic and my father in law who is a big business man in the area cant believe it. Thanking god every day for my blessings already and needed a little help financially and really has helped me out. So here it is point blank bought a beautiful 3 bed/2.5 bath house in a remarkable development built in 2006. Ready for the numbers? Maybe its me that thinks it’s unbelievable but i even have to tell my realtor i purchased it for 150k and he said absolutely grand slam. Anyways heres the the real numbers. Purchase price =80k out the door needs nothing Market value=250k Sold for 240k back in 2006 I gave the seller exactly what he wanted with his asking price. I almost feel i didnt do the right thing still? Any other deals out there like that?

[Tyler Kaye]

I have never heard of something like this.  I wonder what the circumstances were that warranted that kind of drop in price to something that isn't even close to market value.

[Pat L.]

Clean title???

[Wayne Brooks]

Tile search yet?

[Ryan Churchill]

Why would someone sell a house for $80k that is valued out the door for $240k....? If it looks like it's too good of a deal it usually is....

[Terry Miller]

Meth lab?

[Jay Hinrichs]

did you close on it do you own it ?

[Joshua D.]

@Jay Hinrichs yes, closed on it yesterday

[Joshua D.]

@Wayne Brooks yes, clean title

[Joshua D.]

@Jay Hinrichs Clean title, closed on and recorded at court house. One of my really crazy marketing tactics i get some decent deals but nothing even close to this. Who wants to see pictures? Long crazy story with seller and it all. Can i get nominated for a podcast maybe? Haha from scared to death purchasing 16k crap duplex and took evert amount of me an my wifes money to get had to literally do everything to get fixed and rented to 18th property in next month 3 years to spending 80k not thinking much of it. Beyond blessed and praise god for watching over me think some karma is coming back around. Thanks everyone for chiming in and thanks bp

[Joshua D.]

@Tyler Kaye seller just said he inherited the house free and clear from his dad, who passed last March. No mortgage on the house. Seller said he needed the money and needed to dump it, basically. Didn’t want his family to know he was selling it. He is admin of his fathers estate, father left everything to him in his will, and he was liquidating it all.

[Joshua D.]

@Tyler Kaye pretty crazy. Bought it for $80,000 and it’s worth $200-230,000 as it sits. Close to $250,000 if we were to fix up a few small things. The crazy thing is that the seller knew the tax evaluation ($175,000) and was aware it was worth more than what he was selling for but stated that he very much needed to sell. I have wondered if perhaps he has a drug problem or some nasty debt that he needed to pay ASAP. Not sure, but was very motivated.o

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Joshua D. Are you sure that it's been properly probated?  

Was it a quitclaim deed? Warranty deed?

Did you have a professional (title company or attorney) run a full title search?

Did you purchase buyer's title insurance?

Those numbers are so good that it seems like there has to be a catch.  Nobody in their right mind will sell a property at 1/3 of it's actual value.

[Joshua D.]

@Charlie MacPherson Yes. Our Attorney did the closing for us and had a professional title company run the title. No mortgages, no liens, no judgments. We don’t have title insurance, as we closed in 4 days and there was no time.

[Joshua D.]

@Charlie MacPherson Also, it was a warranty deed.

[David Perry]

@Charlie MacPherson Great points. Title insurance would be a must for me on this deal.

[Joshua D.]

@Charlie MacPherson His father was the original owner, and he died in March. Left everything in a will to his son. Son is admin of his estate (CTA on admin papers) no siblings, no wife or previous marriages. Wanted to liquidate all of his fathers assets immediately, already sold all of his stocks, cars, etc and this was one of the last to go

[Mary M.]

I hate to rain on the parade but I would really worry that he had the legal right to sell that property.  I hope the other trust beneficiaries dont start raising a ruckas.  Have no idea how that could play out.  

[Joshua D.]

@David Perry Normally, we do purchase title insurance on all properties we buy. However, the title was simple and clean and we didn’t want to take the chance of losing the deal. Title company that did the search, as well as our attorney, felt the risk was minimal.

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Joshua D.  You may still be able to get buyer's title insurance.  If it were me, I'd pull the trigger on that right now - and I'd be very nervous until I got that policy!

This whole thing just doesn't seem right.  I don't know what the scam would be, but I'd be awfully worried about a title defect, a competing probate claim or some major defect in the home that the seller successfully hid.

The fact that you closed in 4 days is especially concerning.  The "hurry up and close now before this deal of a lifetime is gone" scenario is one of the hallmarks of a skilled scammer.

I really hope I'm wrong.

[Joshua D.]

@Charlie MacPherson how would you go about getting it after closing?

[Joshua D.]

@Charlie MacPherson The seller is an alcoholic, for sure.

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Joshua D. I'd talk with your attorney.  Around here, that's how it's done.

If he is truly alcoholic, I'd be concerned that he was mentally competent when he signed the contracts.

[Wayne Brooks]

All sounds good...my best purchases were from people with “ past substance issues”.  You can get title insurance at any time, doesn’t need to be simultaneous with the sale.  I’ve gotten it after a foreclosure auction, on a property I planned on keeping long term.

[Kevin Taney]

@Joshua D. Make sure you check behind the walls for bodies.

[Jay Hinrichs]

AS @Wayne Brooks  states you can buy title insurance at anytime.. just contact your title company and order it and pay for it.. you will want this if you plan to finance it.. lender will require.. plus you want it to defend your title should something come up.. its like any insurance .. you only need it when you  actually need it.