All Forum Posts by: Alan Caceres

@Victor Vazquez The thing is, 20% off the estimated market price could be exactly what he's asking for. The seller could be undervaluing the property without knowing it. The seller could also be overvaluing the property, in which case asking for 20% the market price would seem like a really lowballed offer. In the case that he is overvaluing the property, I would show him the numbers that can help prove his property worth less than what he is asking for.

I would also find out why the seller is interested in selling. He could just be trying to gauge how much he could sell it for in the future or it could be that he needs to sell it because he wants to get out of landlording and move to Hawaii or something(if he's managing the property himself). I'd find out why he wants to sell, then figure out how to create a win/win situation for both parties involved.

@Victor Vazquez I'd find some comparables to determine out how much the 4-plexes would sell for in your market. Then, I'd find out what market rents are in your market. Since it's not on the MLS I'd try to make an offer that is 20% less than your estimated market value, maybe more if you aren't embarassed by the low offer yet.

If the numbers work out, and you've done your initial due diligence, then I'd get it under contract and start the full process of doing the title search, getting proof of rental income, getting the home inspection done, etc. Of course you'd have contingencies written in the contract that let you back out without losing your earnest money if you find something wrong with the property. 

Having a realtor to talk to is great, but using a realtor for an off-market deal may be more of a hassle than just asking questions here on BP. I'd get a good real estate attorney if anything.

Also, have you considered asking if the seller would finance some or all of the sale price? 

@Keenan Freker The best way to tell if this is a good deal or a bad deal for you, is to know what your investment strategy is. What are the criteria in a deal that you have decided is a good deal for you? 

Are you looking for a primary residence? Are you looking for a flip? Are you looking to house hack? Are you looking to purchase the property for primarily rental income? 

There are many factors that tie into what makes a property a good deal or a bad deal, and those factors rely on what you are looking to do once you've acquired the property.

@Drew Eldridge That is an amazing story! I can totally relate to your 14 year old when I was that age, new and shiny things always got my money. Your story is really inspiring and I look forward to teaching my future children the values you have given to your 12 year old. You are really setting your kid up for a great future. Congrats to you and him!

Hi all,

I have been on BP for a few months now, learning what I can. I have decided to invest in Rochester, NY and would love to know what companies those of you who invest there use. More specifically, what title company, property management, real estate attorneys, contractors, home inspectors, etc. would you recommend. I would like to start building relationships with companies/individuals located in that area and I figured what better place to get referrals than here on BP. 

Also, for long distance investors, would you recommend using companies local to the property or companies local to you? I figured local companies would be the better choice as they have a better understanding of the market in their area, but I am open to other suggestions.

Thanks all in advance!

@Frank Rocci I'm also a new investor in the Bronx, I totally understand where you're coming from.

Maybe chatting up @Ceasar Rosas would be helpful to you. He specializes in The Bronx and Westchester Counties and is an investor/agent himself. There is also a monthly meetup run by Ceasar; the next meetup is this Wednesday. If you search Bronx Meetups in the forums you'll find it. If you happen to go to the meetup I would be happy to chat about REI with you.

@Steve Vaughan Wow. Thanks for the advice on using an LOI. I'll definitely give that a shot. Are the listing agents legally required to present the LOI? What do LA's really get out of using those 'highest and best' and 'other offers already in' tactics? What are they trying to accomplish?

@Russell Brazil I completely agree with you about not sticking to a specific price point for criteria. My criteria looks more at the ROI than just purchase price. I mean, I am looking for low price points, but I mainly look for deals that have at least 16% return considering the acquisition or exit strategies I plan to use for the deal. Using BP's calculators help me do this. Is this a bad way to go about doing this?

@Marcus Auerbach Thanks! I've done a lot of book reading and podcast listening to even sound remotely coherent in a real estate discussion. You are correct in that I do not have a very specific farm area. I live in NYC and quality inexpensive properties are somewhat of a rarity here. I do have areas I have been consistently looking at, but since they are hours out of the city and it can be difficult to learn them well. I've contacted people in those areas to try to get a feel for their market and develop "boots on the ground", so I'm still working on strategies for those areas. I also have a specific borough in NYC that I consider my farm, but I'm not sure if that's specific enough so I've been mainly looking at a specific zip code. I wish I could quickly and accurately determine price points of houses in my area, but I tend to under estimate the value of properties by 100 - 200k.

Also your car analogy was spot on; I did so much research on the car I planned to buy, I knew the different price points based on whether it had 18" or 19" wheels, was a hatchback or a sedan, had certain features, etc. I guess I need to analyze my area a bit more? What is an MLS portal? Is that what only RE agents have access to? Do I need to have an agent for each area I'm looking at or can I use one for all of them?

@Joe Villeneuve

@Joe Villeneuve That's an excellent point. I guess being so anxious to close my first deal I might loosen up my criteria just so I can say I did it. That's great advice to keep a newbie like me focused on buying it right. Thanks!

@Joe Villeneuve Thanks! I'm actually focusing on closing deals that I have analyzed where the numbers show I'll make money on them. Like they always say, "You make money when you buy, not when you sell." I'm not looking at closing deals that I will then try to make money on; I'm looking at closing deals I know has more potential to make money than lose money. Am I going about that incorrectly?

@Russell Brazil The properties I think suck for investing, I still see listed on listing services and real estate agencies. The properties I think are great for investing, get contracted faster than I can finish analyzing them. I do have pretty specific criteria for properties I'd make an offer on and I'm not really keen on loosening them up. I've read on BP and many REI books that I should stick to my criteria once I've created it, and it seems to be similar to the criteria of the other people scooping up these properties before I get the chance to. Should I be looking to change my criteria because of that? Should I be looking in other areas?

Thanks for the input all!

Hey all,

As a newbie real estate investor, I have found that closing deals are pretty difficult.

I'm sure as I gain more experience, I'll look back on this post and laugh at myself for thinking this. So hopefully this is enlightening for my future self and for anyone new to investing.

I have been analyzing deals, networking, reading, listening... basically doing everything I could do to close my first deal... minus actually making offers on properties I saw as deals. I've been a "sideline investor"; looking at properties and determining if they are good deals for my area. I've found many deals over the past few months since I started this journey, but never actually went ahead and spoke with a realtor or the seller. I've have finally taken my next big step in participating in REI; I've contacted the listing agents for properties I saw as good deals to try to walk through the property and make an offer based on numbers that make sense for me, but I've hit somewhat of a snag. I keep getting callbacks from the agents telling me that an offer has already been accepted for a property!

I've analyzed hundreds properties and have found most of them suck for investing. I've also found that there are a few that are actually pretty good deals. It's frustrating to look at so many properties and only see a handful of them are actually worth pursuing. Since I started contacting the listing agents, I've gotten nothing but "already in contract" responses! Now I've only attempted to make an offer on 8 properties but this is crazy! I've read and heard that I'd analyze 100 properties and only find 10 properties that are worth it, and of those 10 I'd only be able to make offers on 5 and of those 5 I'd probably close on 1. That sentiment is completely spot on! I'm always getting beaten to the punch on these properties!

I've actually started getting leads for various properties in my area and have begun a marketing campaign for them to try to beat everyone else to the punch! Postcard marketing is expensive! Hopefully this marketing campaign will work out somewhere down the road. Meanwhile, I'm still analyzing properties and trying to get my first deal closed.

How do you guys go about getting your offers in before anyone else? Or even before another offer gets accepted? 

Thanks in advance!

Hi @Chris A.

What is it that your group does? I'd love to learn more.