All Forum Posts by: Chris Isaacson

Thank you for the input @Russell Brazil, I assumed so.

Thank You @John Mathewson, this will be my first transaction with them. I received a congratulations email and their PSA but no other contact info that I saw. I will have to check the junk folder. Not holding my breath on a correction just thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone has received one.

I am in contract on a house through Hubzu. The property is listed as a 1/1 960 sf on MLS and tax record, however, Hubzu has it as 2/1 1500 sf. There was a note in the description that says the property is larger than the sf listed. The county has no records of permitted additions and the property does not measure up to the 1500 sf.

I understand Hubzu is a intermediary service and they don't care, I don't really expect them to. With that said I am sure other bidders assumed the listed information was somewhat correct and caused a little more action than expected.

My question is, has anyone been able to get a positive resolution with a solution like this or is it not even worth the time? (By resolution I mean a reduction in purchase price or some form of credit)

Also, who did you contact? The listing agent has affirmed she is just a paper pusher on this transaction which leaves my only contact as Hubzu. Should I continue to ask the agent to relay the information to the bank or is Hubzu the correct contact?

Thanks @Mike Reynolds, good luck on your projects. I am sure Texas is more friendly to builders than CA, at least on the permits and fees.

I am curious what builders are planning for 2017?

Ramping up?

Scaling back?

or Status Quo?

I always hear there is a market correction looming ahead and I can see their point but recently I was speaking with a developer who has a subdivision of just over 100 lots and he said he plans to wait a couple years for the market to pick up more before he starts any construction. Up until then I haven't heard anyone be so bullish about the next few years of real estate. So I am just curious what other builders have planned for the next year or so? This is for all spec builders at all volumes of production.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, bah is high and acquisition costs aren't too bad if you look around. The market seems to have softened significantly with the price of oil. Plus you get to enjoy Alaska.

I think @Jon Q. said it best, "They are simply automating the yellow letter strategy".

@Jesse Tsai You mentioned that: 

"Their offers were about 5% below market less their fees and repairs. I could see how their offer could be compelling to a retail seller."

To me this is contradictory, I don't know any of my past retail sellers who would have been ok with me bringing them an offer that is 5% below market and then also a list of repair credits. I am not saying you are wrong I am just saying I work primarily with retail sellers and most don't look at it like investors.

I think it can't be a disruptor if you are not even accepting their offers because even though they are super slick and you are interested in their services, from the context it looks like you still sell your flips the ancient way for one reason or another.

@David Dachtera I think I understand what you are saying about the idea of wholesaling. What I was referring to wasn't the actual position of a wholesaler selling a contract and more so the idea that there is a wholesale market for homes and the way it works with them needing equity in exchange for convenience. Many sellers don't or (I think) won't grasp this concept. This forum is filled with people talking about unmotivated retail sellers responding to direct mail and how you need to only focus on the people with motivation. This is the same hurdle opendoor will face.

For the people comparing this service to UBER I would like to point out that a big reason UBER is successful is that they provide a more convenient service at a LOWER cost. So for opendoor to be comparable it would have to be more convenient and bring an equal or greater net to the seller than the traditional method.

I should follow my post by saying I have not had any personal involvement with opendoor and don't actually know their practices from first hand experience.

I have looked in to this company quite extensively because it is an interesting concept. However, they have a lot of bad reviews. In the comment section on most articles I read and the reviews on yelp as well as other sites they are filled with unsatisfied people.

From my reading, the initial offer is not bad and is roughly 5% lower than a broker estimated net. During their inspection process though people get hit with repair costs in the several thousands or renegotiating of the contract price. The other problem is that some of the sellers have gotten upset because opendoor didn't do the repairs that they charged for prior to relisting.

One of the benefits they market is knowing your net ahead of time but almost everyone says they did not close with the initial offer.

I don't see how it is a risk for retail brokers as most sellers are looking for the highest net. From reading the reviews it seems most retail sellers think opendoor is trying to pull a fast one as they don't understand the idea of wholesaling a house. 

I also don't see how they would hurt wholesalers either. It's like CarMax, people still trade in their cars to other dealers at wholesale prices even though CarMax practices a similar model.

What I don't understand is how do they operate on such thin margins if the market shifts to a buyers market or even just a softer sellers market? Even with their repair costs and market risk fees, once they have to start being even more conservative wouldn't they have less interest in their offers?

Hey @Wes Blackwell I would like to give my input on this. I am far from an authority with subdividing but I have worked on a couple recently. We worked on 10 acres in to 14 lots in Sutter County and 9 acres in to 6 lots in Placer County.

JV with a builder/developer doesn't seem to be to common around here but you may be able to structure some sort of creative arrangement if your seller is willing to subordinate (obviously there is risk).

I would focus on marketing the property for sale and forget splitting the lots, or JV. Simply for the sake of time and money.

A lot of builders even low volume builders have an in house agent so blast it out to them and focus on getting in front of the builder or at least a phone conversation.

Small builders in my experience are hyperlocal, many don't seem to even venture out of their city, but it doesn't hurt to ask. This is mainly due to relations with the building/planning department I assume.

With that said I am interested in possibly purchasing if you could send me a few details through pm. 

@Zachary A. Call a title company they will walk you through it, you don't need any agents for what you are describing. If you are back in 30 days what's the urgency to do it while you are over seas though? (Rhetorical)

Out of curiosity...

"I would like to move ahead without paying 6% to agents (I'll give him a better deal as well)."

I understand not wanting to pay commission to maximize the net but why do it to give the buyer a better deal? Just curious because I have heard this before.