All Forum Posts by: Adrienne Bryson

Usually these signs are for gurus trying to sell a course or "mentoring program". It's not a scam or anything but I wouldn't waste my time with those.

Just spend some time here on BP and you'll learn what you need :-)

Ditto.  It's not as much about what you say as it is what THEY say and your ability to listen and make your offer work for them and their specific situation.

There's no one-size-fits-all pitch.  Personally, I like to avoid the whole "pitch" altogether and focus on building a relationship and understanding exactly why they're selling and what they want out of the sale.

First of all, welcome!  As for common real estate acronyms here is a link to a pretty comprehensive list! Also, usually when someone uses a common acronym like MLS or ARV you can hover over it and get the meaning.

Many restaurants, banks, stores, etc have a cork board where people post their business cards.  I started posting my cards about 2 weeks ago and have gotten a handful of calls from them and visits to my website increased.  That's the only "nontraditional" marketing I've done.  I have yet to see any other real estate related cards so clearly that's something most are overlooking.

Direct mail is marketing meat and potatoes.  As you already know, it works!  If you want to stand out, send a unique mail piece and make sure your copy is strong.

Since it's a rental (and the numbers won't work very well for a flip as they stand) you will want to run the numbers as if you were going to wholesale to a buy & hold investor.

What is the rental income for the property?  How much is utilities, taxes, insurance, etc?  What is the vacancy rate for the area?  etc etc

Run the numbers as a rental and factor your wholesale fee into the purchase price, and see if it would cash flow.

Make sure to get as accurate as possible with your numbers.  Do as little guessing as possible and overestimate when you do.  Did you actually go inside or did you just guess at repairs from peeking in windows?

@Duane Kidman Thanks I will definitely look into probate issues if this turns out to be something I want to pursue. When I look into "comps" I look for completely renovated. I try to find houses that are pretty much what I expect the subject house to look like when sold. So I really meant to say ARV is probably around $100k.

Thanks for the insight!  It's looking like buying after rehab is going to be my only good option.

@Steve Vaughan I don't think the owner is experiencing "hardship" per say, more just inconvenience and a stretched budget.  I plan on keeping this for myself if possible, not necessarily wholesaling.

@Joe Villeneuve I don't think that is a feasible rule. Considering I'm basically brand new to REI, if I were to NEVER question or pursue options I don't already understand, I'd NEVER get anything done. I'm still in the learning phase so I have to explore all my options including those I don't yet know about. I have no issue walking away from a bad deal. But without seeking the advice of those more experienced than I, I risk walking away from a good deal I'm just not knowledgeable enough to make work.

Trust me, I'm not going to throw my money away!

No it is not a good deal as it stands.  That's why I'm looking for some creative ideas.  As of right now my only option seems to be pursuing a short sale.

Here's what I'm dealing with:

Homeowner bought a house with his first wife.  They got divorced and she lived in the house, then passed away.  Now owner has a new wife and new house, so is stuck with this extra empty house he still has to pay for.  He owes about $80k on the mortgage.  Comps around $90k-$110k, and could rent for $900-$975 easily.  He's in the process of fixing it up so it's not livable and still needs probably $10k-$15k worth of work.

The numbers simply don't work for flip, rental, or wholesale.  I considered sub2 or lease option but as far as I know those work mainly for move-in ready houses.

Am I missing something?  Any input/advice/ideas?

Don't show a property that unless you actually have it under contract.  Don't get a property under contract without having at least a handful of buyers you know are interested in that type of property.  Don't go out finding properties with no rhyme or reason and hope to find buyers later.

And I would bet if a buyer found a property on MLS he is interested in, he would just buy it. Why would he go to you at all at that point? They can't steal a deal if you already have it under contract!

Go, right now, and ask your buyers to explain to you what they actually want.  THEN go out and find those types of deals.  If you're only finding deals that your buyers want, you don't have to "test the waters" first to see if they'd be interested...you can go ahead and get it under contract immediately because you already know you'll have someone to buy it.  If it's taking you more than 10 days to find a buyer for your deals either 1) you're buying properties nobody wants or 2) your "deals" aren't actually deals.