All Forum Posts by: April Oswalt

Thank you so much Anthony! That is really helpful information. I definitely do not want to do anything that isnt completely open and transparent...I'm a mental health therapist and my reputation as an honest person is extremely important to my therapy business. I definitely want to look into doing free work with someone to learn wholesaling and especially flipping. I'm great with people, handy with power tools, a little bossy and teeny bit crazy. I'm guessing most of the people in real estate have a lot of those same qualities!

great Kesha! Do you have an area where you are particularly interested? Right now I am looking at the South Side area of Pittsburgh but I am open to deal hunting elsewhere 

That sounds like great advice...as cool as this place is there are reasons why it is still sitting here. 

I've had my eye on a property down the street from my office for a few months now. It keeps going up for public auction with a starting bid of $500 with no reserve and nobody is bidding. I think I could get this for under a grand. I spoke with a neighbor who has been inside and the place needs a total redo...the windows are all broken out and covered with plexiglass, roof may be leaking and needs replaced, pipes are likely burst...but it's a big place with a lot of old charm...the porcelain kitchen sink is probably worth more than the auction price. A friend joked I could buy the house just to get the sink. I'd guess 40-50k to rehab it enough to be liveable. This is a repressed area and there arent investors out here in this rural small town that I know of...I haven't seen many rehabbed houses on the market here. I dont think it would sell around here for high enough after rehab to make it worth it. Im kicking around finding a way to rehab it as a rental for military vets with PTSD or victims of domestic abuse...I treat these people in my therapy practice. I'd like to hear thoughts of experienced investors and stories if anyone else has done deals in rural repressed areas and what their experiences have been like. 

Thank you! I will definitely start searching for real estate clubs in that area so I can start networking. My rural area might be a bit more challenging to find some investors, but I plan to keep looking. Yes I assumed realtors would not be a fan of using a middleman, but I would like to make some connections to some relators who sell already rehabbed houses. It seems to me they would have connections to the investors who list their properties with them and may be able to connect me, especially if I offer a bit higher commission if they find me a buyer. I've heard offering a realtor 5% to help you find a buyer/investor is a good way to find local investors also 

Hi all,

I am new to real estate and just started researching some properties in Pittsburgh South Side. I've been doing a ton of property hunting and crunching numbers to find some deals and I would like to start wholesaling until I can have cash to buy and flip...but I'm scared to nail down offers to owners or realtors without any connections to buyers. If I get a contract where do I even start looking for somebody to buy and rehab the property? What happens if i contract and cant find a buyer to even look at it? Any advice on making connections with potential buyers for the deals I find? I live in a rural area 2 hrs southeast of Pittsburgh and I've got leads on properties out here too...
finding/researching  properties out here is pretty easy in small rural towns especially if you grew up here and know how to find them and talk to the local people... finding cash buyers who want to flip houses out here is a different story. I'm a bit lost.

SUCCESS! Finally found a local realtor who gave me the info I needed and I have placed a bid. Persistence has paid off!

I am getting absolutely nowhere. It is still actively listed for sale on zillow and realtor.com. Ive spoken to 2 realtors connected to the listings multiple times and neither can tell me anything about who is actually selling this place other than they dont have it anymore. Another realtor thru zillow who is not contracted for the sale says she is emailing and contacting both realtors listed on the website and neither are responding. One responded to me but just to say they dont have it anymore. The other sent me an automated email but has not returned my calls or emails since then. The bank (One Reverse Mortgage LLC) directed me to the last record they have which says it was sent to Reverse Mortgage Solutions and gave me the number. I called them and they said they dont have any record of that property. They said maybe the individual got the property out of forclosure. I did my research and i know he passed away and there are legal postings from the county on the door that the property has been winterized and taken over so I know this is not the case. Should I call a local realtor and see if they can help me track this down? Because the realtors I've been attempting to seek help from have not been helpful thus far.

Thank you! I feel kind of out of options of what to do at this point other than to keep calling the bank until they get so sick of hearing my name that they connect me to someone who can tell me how to actually buy this place :) 

I have found a local property that I want to purchase. I have done research and found out that the property was abandoned when the owner passed away. The bank currently owns the property. I am in PA, the bank is in CA.  It has been listed over the past 2 yrs by multiple realtors. I have contacted several of the realtors and am being told that the property was "taken from us" (I assume from the bank who then tried another Realtor) or that they do not know who currently lists it. Nobody really seems all that interested in connecting me with somebody who can actually take my bid on this place, which is understandable as it has been sitting here since 2018 with no offers and none of them really seem to want to put any effort into this place, as it is not worth much. None of the realtors can give me any info on how to actually buy this place. I researched the title etc and contacted the bank that owns it. It is not on the county auction site I look at.  I am waiting to hear from pretty much anyone connected to this property to return a call so I can figure out how to buy it. Any suggestions of what to do next would be greatly appreciated.