All Forum Posts by: Christopher Leon

First, in my experience, properties on online auction sites are usually foreclosure/REOs. Thus, the bank probably bought at sheriff sale (check your state - maybe different) now, what this means is that whomever was occupying that unit, probably already knows they were going into foreclosure, or, they are renting from somebody who doesn't know this is happening (I have this exact situation going on right now) As a disclosure, they list the unit as it may be occupied cause there is a possibility depending on the type of property. Condos are more likely to be vacant because associations have the power to file a FED and remove anyone from the unit who is not paying assessments. Houses might be different where you can still have squatters because no one is there to police it. Until the unit gets closer to closing, only then do the real estate companies hire a property preservation team (in my experience of course) to then officially secure the unit and then give you keys. This does mean that they have to though, they can very well just leave the unit as is and let you deal with the surprise. I have purchased two condos via online auction and both said occupied. I did my due diligence by looking up tax record and determining the parking space (assigned spaces for condos) and scouted the joint out randomly during evening and early morning to determine if someone was living there. If you did get a property with someone in it, all you have to do is go to the property with a briefcase and a business card and let them know you work for a company that acquired the property. Let them know the company purchased the unit at a foreclosure sale, or whatever, and let them know that your there to help them because the sheriffs eviction has been scheduled. Your there to help them, that's the angle we use and depending on your strategy you may want to offer them a lease and give them a shot to rent, but at the very moment they pay late or violate the lease, you schedule your eviction properly and get them out. There isn't really an exact way to do this in my mind, but this has worked for us and we have successfully taken back possession of units with much ease. Good luck to you. What's your experience like with online auction sites? Anything weird you have run into? Likes/dislikes?

Originally posted by @John E.:

@Christopher Leon Does thou speakest of the Oracle at Omaha?

Look at how he waves his wand and casts a spell !! Haha

@JohnElmenhe

You bet your bottom dollar that's whom I speak of. This made me laugh!

a wise man once said invest in what you know. Respectfully, Sounds like you don't know. You can't rely on rent O meter to determine what fair market rent is. Also, it's not about getting top rent. It's all about the NET! Rent the unit at a fair but competitive price and your unit will stay rented longer and turn over quicker. The difference your talking about renting it out for can be lost in single month vacancy most of the time. I'd prefer to have the rent just a little lower to be competitive as to keep the unit in play longer. So keep it simple, don't be greedy, do your homework to determine what you can rent it for quickly while still attracting the right tenant. Good luck

When you get an app and run credit you need to move quick. Accept fast and encourage them to sign a lease within 24 hours AND submitting the security deposit. There is absolutely no incentive to get a signed lease without the deposit because of your obvious problem at hand. Only hold the unit on a case by case situation but I always push for immediate occupancy. Tell them you have multiple apps to consider and your just trying to help them secure your unit Before everyone else, they'll feel good about being first. ;) for example, if it's June 4th and the unit is avail for. June 10th occ, I rarely consider a July 1st move in, UNLESS they're signing a two year lease and there's a lot of strength in the applicant. Otherwise, they're a just no incentive to hold a unit for a prospective tenant. Close hard, close fast amigo. Good luck

Your agent sucks. Write better cause I can't fully understand . What's upg? Sounds like something you catch on your genitals.. Good luck.

Private lenders. Find someone with money who will be your personal mortgagee. It's not simple, but it's not difficult either. I recently raised over a $150k at a McDonald's recently (initially it was $40k and that loan lead to two more, totaling over $150k) be knowledgeable about your market, know your numbers and strategy, pitch, and deliver the results you said you would. Good luck

Why would you offer or market selling homes commission free? Does your brokerage allow that? Am I misinterpreting this or is this a marketing tactic to get someone to call you ?

If in your area, section 8 counts as a source of income, I do not think you can market lower rent and then charge more - I think that would be considered discrimination, but I am not 100% sure. I would be interested in hearing other peoples advice. FYI I have never rented or participated in the program as a landlord. Good question.

Absolutely @Tony Goodwin First, surround yourself around people in the business at your local REIA, meet ups, chamber of commerce, auction steps, the nearest McDonalds or common restaurant right after the auction because thats where investors go to discuss their successes and failures, etc and MEET these people to build your network. Learn what these people are looking for in terms of deals. A lot of people are unrealistic so you should take what their saying with a grain of salt, but just use common sense, be polite, and LISTEN! You should be doing this all the time if your gonna be in this business, you need to fully absorb yourself in my opinion. Next, ask your friends where they want to live (North side, south side, loop, Wrigley, Bucktown, etc) and ask why? understand that those people, your friends, ARE the market! Especially, if they have good credit, income, and stable employment because that's who most landlords want to rent too. These people will help you have insight to a portion of the market you want to concentrate your efforts in, I would then scour craigslist and go apartment/condo hunting and get a feel for the market. Dont rent a place if you dont need one, but do this is reconnaissance to get a feel for floor plans, specific features, amenities that you think the market (your friends) would like. Do this twice a month on a saturday to learn the market FREE OF CHARGE (less the cost of a Latte from "Fivebucks" (Starbucks) of course. Once you have done this enough and have learned a specific area of where you live, you should get real comfortable with rent prices, whats outrageous and whats right; then figure out what something like that costs, run the numbers and determine a yield on the property. Do this all over until you understand what units net more! Once you understand this segment of the market, you know what is a good buy and hold unit. Managing is a whole other issue, but focus on this part and you'll have something to talk about to other investors and maybe you can wholesale a deal, or maybe you can partner up with someone who has cash, and you can acquire the asset, fix it up if needed, and rent the sucker out! BOOM! I just made you a million dollars, now go get it!

One last thing, if your real serious about this business, go get a real estate license and really do some deals. You can learn more about the RE business by just learning the rental market and moving some rental units then moving garbage via unlicensed activities. Hope I didn't crap on your ambition here, no answer is perfect so don't just take my word for it. Figure it out for yourself, but I thought you should know since your new to our market and new to the biz. Wholesaling is cool, but you had better be a certain type of individual to pull it off and ACTUALLY net a profit at the end of the year.