All Forum Posts by: Brian Kittner

Make sure that any property that you bid on that you do your due diligence with a title search. I presume you are looking at the Florida online county auctions to buy a foreclosure? There are still opportunities out there, but there is a lot of research to be done. You could think about doing a one on one training course to increase your knowledge base exponentially! Good luck!

@Brian Kittner

If you are looking for properties just in general, foreclosure auctions come with all sorts of risks... which is why you will find better deals there.  We have bought 3 properties off the foreclosure market.  But know that (where I'm at) they are all cash affairs.  You have to deposit money into a bidding account, and then pay the balance in certified funds the next day... so no financing options with foreclosures in Florida.   I know it's different in other areas though.

Also, obviously there are no inspections... so you don't know if there are appliances, whether the roof leaks, the AC works, they poured cement down the drains just to be a PITA, or what!  We have never lost money buying at an auction... but you can pretty much bet the property has not been maintained if they can't even pay their mortgage... so it's always buyer beware.

As for other places to look... we have bought more than one property off of Craigslist (believe it or not)!  We of course closed at a title company... but found the deal there.  We have been at the closing table buying a property and asked, "Do you have any others you want to sell?" and more than once that has led to another purchase.  We have bought off of snipe signs posted on the side of the road.  We have bought from for sale buy owner listings.  Wholesalers are definitely a good resource (that was who was listing the property on craigslist.). They go out and find the desperate sellers and then need a buyer to make their money.  So see about getting yourself on wholesalers lists in your area.  Call the snipe signs you see around town and even if you don't have interest / buy that property - have them put you on their email list.  We are probably on about 10-20 lists like that and get emails daily about off market deals.  

Hope it helps!

Randy

@Brian Kittner

The seller (usually the lender) can set whatever price they want to. I think a lot depends on whether the property is obviously upside down. I will tell you they usually don't sell it for less than what they are owed (including fees, legal expenses, upkeep, etc). They know their next move is to sell it on the MLS if it doesn't sell at the auction. The MLS will involve paying realtors which will cost them more money, etc. So I think it comes down to the value of the property. One would usually expect that in todays market that it is likely worth more than what is owed (taking into account a down payment, plus recent appreciation). In those cases, it would make more sense to take it to the MLS if they couldn't get all their money back through the auction. But if the property is upside down for some reason, it might make sense to set a lower sell price to ditch it and not have to pay a realtors after the fact.

I have been in a situation where the lender in second position bid on the property, because they were going to be completely wiped out if the foreclosure went through. So in order to protect their 2nd lien, they bought the property (ie. outbid us). That way they could take it to the MLS and sell it and recover their investment. There are all sorts of ways things go down at the auction!

In our area, the seller has the option to hide the minimum bid as well.  Another interesting wrinkle!

All the best!

Randy

Hey everyone, I'm trying to choose which market to invest in (I'll be doing long distance investing) and I've narrowed it down to a few options I think would be a good choice. I've got around $40,000 to use for a down payment. Just hoping for some insight and recommendations. Thanks! Here's what I've got.

Indianapolis, IN

Des Moines, IA

Albuquerque, NM

Tulsa, OK

Louisville, KY

Greensboro, NC.

https://amzn.to/3n5fkzE This book does a good job relating the value of the market study to the inputs needed by developers and financial analysts and covers the topic in depth across property types. Great read

@Brian Kittner

that's right - generally, folks are leaving the northeast for the sunbelt.  but if you go a level down, you'll find counties and communities more local to you that are growing and others that are shrinking.

you could check out the lehigh valley in PA and danbury in CT.  there's two.

BRRRR is a grind. it's not fast and it's a lot of work. and the reward if you can do it is equity.

@Brian Kittner

I think you need to expand your search radius.  You're saying that there is no market within 2 hours in any direction that you could BRRRR in, that is lower cost than your immediate market? I have a hard time believing that.

Lots of new investors want to find a perfect, cheap long distance market.  But I am convinced based on my own experience, and also lots of stories from the forums, that being hands-on and in-person strongly outweighs a slightly lower price.

Outside of the books here in the bookstore, try Buy It! Rent It! Profit! by Bryan Chavis: https://www.amazon.com/Buy-Ren...

He has a detailed method for analyzing real estate markets.

I wish you all the best.