All Forum Posts by: Charles Whitaker

Tiara,

I hope you meant houses were selling for $50,000 a few blocks down, not $5,000.

Either way, you need to KNOW why these houses are priced that way. It's fairly easy to predict the condition of a home when the price is known IF you know the neighborhood. Get out there and look at more houses, I promise that you'll find a relationship between price, quality, size, etc.

Another aspect of the lending side - Points & origination fees.

All lenders will charge you some sort of interest. Personally, I could make an extra 5K-7K off of each flip (rehab) if I used my own CASH instead of a lender.

As for the typical deal, roughly 12-20% of ARV for a rehab. Wholesaling is different, you make what you make. Some times you make 2K, other times you make 10K and up. All depends on the deal

Jason,

Word to the wise, post your numbers here before buying. You surely don't want your first property to be a lemon, or a vicious money sucker.

Good Luck

Short sale? More like "Bailout Time"! OH look, another bad debt to acquire.

Maybe I should have a sex change, a nationality change, and spit out a few rugrats. Then, I'll be set fo Life, fo sho.

Any and all advertising helps, to an extent. Bandit signs usually work well, postcards, or do like chris and cull for motivation. Either way, whatever you do, keep doing it. Persistance is the key; you cannot expect everyone and their dog to call after putting up a few signs.

It is after your targeted audience becomes comfortable with you that you will see results. Make a huge impression and they'll never forget you, either.

Also, you only have the property fee free before the closing, after which you are responsible for all the carrying costs. And watch the HML fee's, these will quickly turn a wholesale deal into a rehab dud if you have to follow through and carry the note. If you add 7-9% to your purchase price, can you still wholesale it for profit. The HML's magical "points" will render your deal useless unless this fee is accounted for to start with.

Statements like that make a man feel good about himself.
BTW, The foreclosure steps now contain 37 pieces of gum and counting :mrgreen:

Another thing to keep in mind, if working with the title company and a situation arises like Ryans' example, you can usher the title work by assisting the title agent. Many times the title work can get done a lot quicker if you gather all necessary documents and/or family members. Experience will lend a hand over time and allow you to easily recognize what is needed for specific circumstances.

For instance, for each property purchased the agent needs sellers SS#, and Payoff information. The agent can gather this information themselves but if we can save them a half day of searching then you could have just saved the deal. For inherited property, an affadavit of heirship will be needed which states the relationship and ownership rights of each family member associated with such property.

All of this is learned over time as you progress through more deals.

Best of luck

Chris,

Our little market shifts just like any others, and you need to be on top of them shifts. As of the moment, I think a majority of the players have moved to 65% of ARV or lower, mainly to cover extended hold times.

If you consistently (and I MEAN consistently) watch other investors' websites, thrifty ads, mls listings, and every other real estate resource known to man :mrgreen: You will know exactly where you need to be in terms of price. Price does overcome all objections.

"It's better to pass up a good deal than to buy a bad one"

Chris,

No set budget will work for everyone, your skill set, abilities, focus and persistance will determine what your marketing budget becomes. You really just have to get out there and see what works for you. I used a few bandit signs when first starting; they are good for a few deals a year. Then letters/postcards to homeowners; that's good for a few deals a year. My advice, go for the low hanging fruit until your ready for something bigger.