I had a motivated seller call one of my bandit signs in Morehead City, NC and had requested for me to look at his property, a 2001 manufactured home on a permanent foundation on its own parcel of land in Smyrna, NC, owned free and clear. After discussing the motivation to sell and the specs of the house the seller said a realtor priced it out at an ARV of 65k. Skeptical, I asked what they were trying to sell the house for and how low they were willing to go. He said he could do 2/3 of the value, "maybe 30k?", which was enough for me to investigate further. We set an appointment for the following day.

When I drove to the property, the location was a bit more rural than I had expected and a little bit off of the beaten trail. I was put at ease seeing that both a new double wide and stick built home were next door to the property. I walked the property with the seller and his brother, building some rapport. It looked to be in decent shape. The roof was original and the water heated was leaking into the subfloor, but those were the main issues. Carpet, paint, countertops and curb appeal were the cosmetic concerns. Going into this interaction I had agent opinions and comps leading me to an ARV of 40k, with rent comps sitting around 650-700 per month. I initially suggest seller financing with a large down payment, but they were looking for cash. I threw out 20k, and they accepted on the spot. We filled out and signed the contract I had brought just in case. We were both happy with that number.

I immediately had my contractor out to the property the next day to go over the short scope of work. The bid came in a bit high. I negotiated it down, but it was still more than anticipated based on my initial assessment (still learning). I went back to the seller to admit my mistake and re-negotiate. After a small back and forth, we were able to agree on $17,500. Whether it was a good idea or not.. I gave them $100 cash before I left. They had talked about their money issues and I noticed that the seller and his brother were in the same clothes as before.

This deal was an education in probates. The sellers did not probate the will before engaging with me to buy the property. My attorney helped me look into the status of the will and walked me through the steps to help the seller take legal control of the property. I ended up hand walking them through each step, i.e. filling out applications, going to the courthouse, and posting ads in the paper. I was giving them money to pay for fees and miscellaneous charges throughout the process, which had me uneasy since there was no guarantee that the deal would go through. Nevertheless we were able to accomplish everything, only pushing closing out by a week.

At the end of the day these brothers were in a bind. They were both unemployed and trying to move to find a better quality of life and employment. I’m glad that I was able to help them through the probate process and close on the house. This is the third off market deal where a seller gave me a hug and graciously thanked me for my help. That never gets old, and it always makes up for some of the nasty phone calls I receive from my marketing efforts!

After closing, I spent the following month managing a small renovation. Due to COVID-19, I had a little bit of extra time on my hands so I decided to do some of the work myself while overseeing the sub-contractor. The scope of work was mostly interior and exterior paint, subflooring, flooring, finish work and landscaping amounting to approximately 10k for materials and labor. Currently, the property has been completed and listed for a little over a week with a lot of applications and interest. Should be rented here in the next week or so!

I thoroughly enjoyed acquiring this property, from lead to listing it as a rental. I was able to learn about the probate process, develop relationships at the courthouse, help the sellers re-locate, and work with new partners to finance the deal. “Tuition and commission” were achieved in this case. Now I am ready to have it rented on a long term lease, put it behind me, and find the next one!

Please let me know if you have any questions about the deal.

Thanks,

Padric