All Forum Posts by: Christopher Phillips

The investors I work with do a combination of things. No one method works all the time due to market dynamics and where information flows.

Many are on Zillow or Realtor or others. Some have access to the MLS. When they get an alert about a new property they call me up.

The other method is I come across something that I think an investor would look for and I let them know. I have prospecting searches setup in the MLS that sends me new listings/price changes/back on the market changes each night. Sometimes those will show up in the MLS before they show up on the search sites due to the delay in the feed.

The other is when I do prospecting for listings or when showing homes and I come across something of interest.

On a related note, I also use Zillow and Realtor as well. There are situations when a listing agent doesn't use the local MLS and uses a State wide MLS. I see that a lot with shortsales and foreclosures. Might also be because it's cheaper to use the other MLS. Zillow and Realtor will shows those listings. Also, Zillow and Realtor will show the FSBOs.

Also: Zillow is a good way to find houses coming up for auction and figure out where to participate. You can also search on the HUD store site. And also on HomePath store for Fannie Mae. HomeSteps for Freddie Mac. Those also show up on Zillow, but you might want to specifically search those sites just for those types of homes.

This is a common problem. Had a similar problem in Mineola, NY recently. Chase said they wouldn't do a loan on a condo because one owner owned too many units in the building, most of which wen through Chase. Odd thing is that the owner of the condo wanted offers to go through Chase. Capital One said they wouldn't have a problem with it. So you have to shop around.

Yes. You can try to go through the country records, but some places take forever to record things.

You can call if you don't have an agent. If you're working with an agent, the agent can call the owners and request a copy of the contract to pass along to the appraiser. It's done all the time in a hot market when comps aren't closing fast enough to keep up with rising prices.

I get your point, @Nick B.

The listing agent doesn't decide which offer to take, all offers have to be presented. The owner, in the case the brother, will decide based on who presents the best offer, not which one will get give the listing agent more commission. Do agents like to double end their deals? Of course, but they aren't going to push a lower offer just because they'll potentially earn more commission.

Any search site can provide you the ability to see what's on the market and what's currently selling and in what condition. If move in ready is moving quickly, then you know that you can fix a house and get max dollar when you sell it. If remodeled homes are sitting for a long time on the market, you might have a hard time selling your homes quickly. You can determine this based on how many days the properties were on the market before selling. Anything under 6 months is a seller's market, longer than 6 months is a buyer's market. 6 months is about normal.

Another way is to look at home homes are currently on the market vs new versus sold (absorption rate). This will tell you if there is too much inventory on the market.

Another way to look at it, how many distressed homes are on the market (distressed being financially speaking, shortsales and foreclosures). If a town has a lot of distressed properties, you might have a hard time moving fully rehabbed homes. If there aren't many distressed homes, you might have a hard time finding bargain properties needing rehab.

Power of attorney to represent the seller is common. The seller's lawyer deals with that end of things. You don't have to worry about it. If the seller is in a nursing home, they would need someone to deal with their finances.

you would be able to confirm that the other family members are out at the time of the walkthrough before the closing. Don't close without them being gone.

Don't use the listing agent to represent you. Their duty is to the seller and not you.

You would have to call up the owners and see if you can get a copy of the contracts for your appraisal.

You should have a conversation with the HOA about the repairs made and why there is still moisture penetrating the structure. You don't want to move in and have to deal with them dragging their feet on fixing it.

There are two components:

Front end % - total monthly housing obligations... principle, interest, home insurance, taxes, association dues.

Back end % - Housing expenses plus... credit card bills, car loans, child support, student loans, and any other long term debt (can't pay off less than 12 months) that shows on your credit report that requires monthly payments.

leaves out utilities, health insurance, groceries.

Conventional loans 28/36

FHA 31/43

VA 41

USDA 29/41

These are in general. Sometimes you can find a higher set of numbers under specific lending programs using manual underwriting.

There is almost no benefit to the tenant. They don't actually own anything. It's a bit of a pipe dream for people not ready to buy a house.

There is the non-refundable deposit to lock in the option. Then higher than average market rent, which in most cases doesn't go towards the house. And then they still need to apply for the loan and put down at least 3.5%. If they do the lease option because of bad credit or lack of savings, they usually aren't in a position to buy anything 2-3 years later to use the option. 

A lot of people get into these situations thinking they are owning the house and I have to explain that they don't own anything. Most never buy the house, so they wasted their money on the deposit and higher rents. They would have been better just renting a regular apartment or house and saving their money.

To top if off, most bigger outfits add an annual maintenance % to the final purchase price, which over prices the house in a flat to negative market. So, there is no value in buying a house that's priced above market. So they never buy and move out.

From the owner's view, it's win win. Non refundable deposit. Higher than market rents. most never buy so you lease it out again down the road.