All Forum Posts by: Michael G.

That is why I love this site so much. Experience. Thanks Will and Deuce. I looked up the lender infor at the county courthouse so its not like I dont know who it is. Should I ask her to send the ATRI form to the lender's loss mitigation dept herself or should I send it on her behalf?

@na na - I her you and I think thats the way i'm going to go however when I've called lenders previously the menu driven phone system always asks me to enter either the account number or SS#. The user was so salty the last time I asked her for her SS# that I'm trying to give her a chance to cool down even though that was weeks ago. I've never had a seller react so abruptly and negatively when asked for a SS#. They usually are happy someone like me is showing up to resolve the issue!

I have 2 short sale deals in the pipeline.

Both have purchase and sale agreements between myself and the seller. (The ab part)

My question is.

I will have a cash buyer lined up to sell these properties to on the same day I buy them (the b c part). When do I go to contract with the cash buyer? I'm thinking I have to wait for the lender to approve the AB sale or do I just go to contract with the cash buyer with him buying at the listing price or a lesser price that I deem acceptable?

My thought is that on the day of closing I Ishould ready to close with 2 signed contracts ready to go A to B. And B to C.

I just want to make sure I covered all the bases and have the order of execution correct and didn't miss the details.

My attorney is asking for an up front fee or a retainer to be applied toward closing my short sale/wholesale deals. He's investor friendly and understands creative REI so I hoped he would take his fee on the back-end. I even offered that he raise his fee in return for getting paid on the back end. Also, when doing a double closing is the attorney fee per contract? So if he charges $500 for a normal closing is it $1000 for a double closing? Has anyone had experience with this?

I hate to be contrarian but...I'm going do it anyway. So why do i feel IMHO like this post in general is a bash on wholesalers? Am I reading to much into the post? Have you rehab investors NEVER received a good deal from a wholesaler? I know about skewing the numbers on deals. I've done it. Its part of the learning process. When buyers keep telling you I think I'll pass your numbers are probably bad. Its hard when the Wholesaling Guru course you attended has all these successful deal examples. Who hasnt been told that wholesaling is the quickest way to put cash in your pocket and build up reserves for those rehabs that you may graduate to? I've seen the deal analysis play out wrongly from the wholesaling side. (ask me how I know this :oops: ) Some of you wholesalers know this drill well. A wholesale deal finally comes across after weeks and/or months of marketing, putting out bandit signs, spending money on advertising and a guru course, etc. Most wholesalers are taught WMAO (wholesale maximum allowable offer) is ARV x 65% - repairs = purchase price. The issue arises whan the seller rejects the offer. This is deal shock so the wholesaler plays with the numbers...a little. First he/she adjusts the ARV a little, then lets modify the % a little...this repair estimate could use some adjusting....and finally ahh yes the purchase price is now...yes...just where I ( excuse me..the seller) needs it to be. This is where the wholesaler starts to suffer from that dreaded disease "gottadoadealitis". You know what I do with my buyers? Once I get control of the deal ie - access to the property...I let them go look at it. Sometimes I just send them the address and they will tell me if they are interested. They ask me how much and I say come take a look and let me know what you think. Once they give me a price based on repairs I'll ask is that the absolute most you willl pay? Now I have a more accurate number and some space to play with numbers a bit. This way there is no "pie in the sky" illusion about the reality of the deal and what the numbers should be. Like a few have already alluded to, wholesale deals are small ball (another baseball analogy...sorry) every deal is not a home run. In fact home runs are few and far between in the wholesaling business. Singles, doubles and triples and the occasional home run is more like it. It also gives me real numbers to take back to a private seller or a lender if I'm dealing with a short sale. When I do my estimates I use guidelines based on education, personal experience and just asking contractors questions. I estimate windows at 200-250 bucks per. Front door 500- 900 depending. Sometimes i'll call a contractor and say "I've gota 2100 sq foot splanch. Give me a siding estimate" I know contractors get a discount on supplies so I'll discount that 10%. The best is just having my buyers look at it. I've found out also that there is some tailoring that needs to happen in one's wholesaling business. Its not a picture perfect out of the box experience like depicted in the guru courses. The whole guru game is a slick one because they dont really disclose the amount of deals that will be duds. (most of them) That every body that calls my bandit signs doesnt really have a deal...that i will spend way more than I like on education, advertising and mistakes than I care to admit...but I digress. I think that if you rehab investors have ever had a good wholesale deal in your inventory you should tell that story also. The truth about wholesaling is that there are good wholesalers out there trying to get a slice of the proverbial RE pie and that wholesaling is a worthwhile endeavor if properly executed. Hope I didnt offend anyone...

OK. Good to know. I'll talk to my attorney about it.

I wouldn't buy a property in a senior living area. It doesn't meet my criteria for a probate property. Namely one that needs repairs and lots of maintenance. Thats were typically the motivation comes from. The seller would have to do significant repairs to sell retail. With senior living the property is usually very well maintained. I would doubt if it would need more than paint and carpet and minor repairs. I might consider it if the discount was too steep to possibly turn down but generally I would stay away from it.

So I tracked down the seller of a home she walked away from. Its right in my farm area. Perfect short sale candidate. So i'm 10 minutes into the conversation with the seller and I'm feeling the love. She says the magic sentence "What do you need from me" . YES! in the bag right? WRONG. I tell her I just need her to return the Authorization to Release Information form. She says "That asks for my SS#...you need my SS#?" Me: Yes. Seller: I don't feel comfortable doing that. Me: This is common practice. The lender will not allow me to speak with them about the property without the authorization form. I assure you that I would not risk my business or personal reputation by doing anything inappropiate with your personal information. Seller: I dont care. I dont know you and I dont give my personal information to people who send me letters in the mail and show up on my doorstep.(I think to myself "hmmmm...she has a good point...how do I respond to that?) Me: I tell her that if you call an attorney and ask them about the short sale process they will request the same information. The bank will not allow me to speak to them without this info. Seller: I'll call you if I'm interested. (ouch...insert image of deal flushing down the toilet bowl). Actually she said she would ask some people about if this were on the up and up or something to that effect. My questions: a) Can I submit an Authorization to Release Form to a lender without the sellers SS#? b) Is there a way to sign a legal document in front of an attorney that basically says I will use the sellers personal information soley and exclusively for retrieving information from the lender about the property? Maybe that would make her feel more comfortable? I'm open to any and all suggestions on this issue. So close, yet so far...

@Audley - The seller didnt qualify for the HAFA program because he doesnt currently live more than 100 miles from the subject property.
@ Logan - Thanks for that response. Its sounds a bit hmmmm...shady? No disrespect to you. I just dont want to get to the 2nd title company and the whole deal blows up because of what Will mentioned. Have you personally executed a transaction like this in one of your deals?

Thanks. It was sent to me by the Loss Mitigation specialist at Litton. He sent this list of about 6 things that they need to get the short sale done. That sub-clause was part of the purchase agreement clause. I'll ask my attorney to make sure we dont agree to that.