All Forum Posts by: Corey Williams

Many of the events througout the year cover specific areas and are usually only one day. They are usually smaller, local crowds too so if there is one near you it may be worth checking out just to get familiar with ICSC. The two biggest events that they do are; CenterBuild Conference in December and the RECon Convention in May.

CenterBuild is all about education and networking. Everyone who is anyone in retail is at this conference and is willing to teach and share information.

RECon Convention is all about making deals. Developers set up booths to showcase their new developments to entice retailers to lease within these developments. All business and dealmaking during the day, extravegant parties at night.

I have been to CenterBuild and other small events but have not attended the RECon.

All my money is on CenterBuild for someone just getting started. If you can spend the money to attend.

I was a member of ICSC for 2.5 years and thought very highly of the organization. They put a lot of time and effort into networking and education. Many of their seminars were attended by attorneys, contractors, retailers, developers, lenders, engineers and even city planners.

I was never a member of anything ULI did but I do check their website and occasionally purchase some books and materials from them.

Corey

I will save the details of my real estate experience for personal conversations. If you care to know just ask and we can get into that later.

I joined Bigger Pockets over a year ago and began reading every post I could to help find my niche. This is a very helpful website, by the way, with an overwhelming amount of information and assistance from the investing population and I thank you for that. Josh D. I am not sure if this is what you envisioned but it is definitely a top notch investment community. During this past year I also took some time to obtain my real estate license in the state of Indiana. That said, I have a passion for real estate and want to build a very successful real estate empire but as they say “Rome wasn’t built in a dayâ€, but I will get there I have no doubt about that!

I am currently working full-time with a multi-family development / management company which is my steady paycheck that pays the bills. I also work part-time for a real estate broker listing and selling residential properties. Although I made a strong push to meet local investors (thanks to those of you who took the time to meet with me) and was gung ho to buy my first property, I also wanted to list and sell homes to families. Getting started in two new ventures plus working full-time became a drain and took time away from my family. I realize now is the time to buy cheap and hold but it is not the right time for me.

During my reading of Bigger Pockets forum posts I have not only learned about investing for my own personal profit but I have also read many posts regarding realtors and their lack of investment knowledge and follow through of requests. To all you investors out there who are looking to buy and sell properties in the Central Indiana market please look me up. Tell me about your personal experiences here and how I can help make your investment strategies work to their utmost potential. Don’t use and abuse me as a real estate “agent†but look to me as a real estate “consultantâ€. I would love to help with all your real estate investing needs and if I don’t have the answer I will work diligently to find someone who does.

Corey

First off you all seem to have the same concerns I did. Thank you for responses and confirming my thoughts.

Quick Update:
I found out there was an offer submitted for under $200k but wasn't sure how far under. That offer was rejected and I was told the bank would entertain a low $200,s offer but nothing below.

First things first, how does this deal look?

Fix & Flip not buy and hold.
Listed for $279,900 which is clearly a retail price for the neighborhood. Max. ARV would be $285,000 depending on the upgrades made. Believe it or not, but the listing agent is lobbying the bank to accept a lower price because of the condition. It is not bank owned yet and would be a negotiated short sale. The owner has left and completely trashed the place.

Plan would be to offer $185,000 and put $30,000 into it mostly cosmetic. The house is only 7 years old.
- All new carpet, and refinish hardwood floors
- Touch up nicks and holes in the walls and ceilings
- Paint the entire interior
- all new light fixtures
- Landscaping

Much of the work I could and would do myself except for the flooring and painting. I can elaborate more on the condition if need be, just let me know. To many details to discuss in this quick post. I have some skin I can put in the game, but not much.

Second thing is financing. My thought is that I am going to lose this one because I don't have a team of hard money lenders waiting to finance my deals and someone that does will close in on it quickly. If this deal either doesn't look good or does get away from me I don't want it to happen on the next one. Perhaps someone could fill me in on the current cost of hard money. It would be ideal for me to find someone in the Indianapolis area but for discussion purposes you could be anywhere. From what I see here people are supplying money across country.

- Please advise on this deal.
- Ask more questions if you need to, I am sure I left a ton of valuable information out.
- Help set me up for future deals so I can react quickly.
- Any and all financing options are on the table; equity partner, private lender, bank financing.

Thanks,

"Mixed-Use" was definitely the buzz word before the economy went into the crapper. One of the bigger organizations that is promoting mixed-use is the International Council of Shopping Centers (icsc.org). I would start there for some general information and from there you may want to check out some local office/retail buildings and find out who owns and/or manages them. They would be a great resource for local rents, tenants, and overall management of the building.

The numbers you are quoting are all over the board and I am somewhat confused by that. Here are my quick thoughts to some of your questions.

The bank will likely will not get an appraisal, because they will hire an agent that is experienced. That agent will be able to complete a market analysis to price the home accurately.

The county website, if you are refering to assessed value, means nothing in the market place.

As far as what to offer is totally up to you and how you intend to use the property (rental or personal home). First, I would check with a local real estate agent to find out what the "sold" comps are in the area. Current lisings don't help much, you need to find out what homes are actually selling for and what condition they are in when they are selling. That will show you the "Market Value". There are plenty of posts here to explain what to offer for an investment property. You could use the same thoughts for a personal purchase too, but you are likely setting yourself up for disappointment if you don't get it. That is the risk you take when you take the "Low-Ball" route.

You should go ahead and contact the attorney that handled the foreclosure. If it is your goal to get in before it hits the market this will be your only shot. Otherwise the bank has a number of agents on call that they work with and they will get it listed in fairly short order.

Keep in mind that if you are going low on your offer be prepared to have them reject it. They will likely want to give it a couple months listed at retail so they can recoup as much money as possible.

Mike said it "patience" is key. Here is a summary of my latest experience.

My wife and I have been following a house for over a year now to purchase as our personal residence. We first saw it in February 2008 and the owners had just moved out. Moved out is putting it lightly; they left and were no where to be found. They cut off all communication with the listing agent and everything. They didn't trash or damage the house but they did take the appliances and some fixtures. We did put in an offer but since the bank did not own it yet they couldn't do anything without the owner's signatures, and as I mentioned they were gone.

So we waited, and waited. Finally in November the bank said they were going to forclose. Unfortuanately that is when the proverbial s*^t hit the fan with the economy and the bailouts started. Our county placed a moratorium on foreclosures due to the government trying to save everyones mortgage. Finally in February of 2009 the house was sold at auction.

I would say there are $20k to $30k worth of repairs to bring this property back to life but Fannie Mae has the house listed about $10k to $15k below ARV and has already turned down 2 investor "low-ball" offers. The bank is going to make some improvements to get it to FHA standards but I don't see them lowering the price very quickly on this one.

There are many different reasons two firms may partner and you touched on a couple of them. Partnerships are starting to become more common due to the boom of "Mixed-Use Developments". Retail developers are adding offices and/or apartments/condos to their developments but they don't have the experience of residential development so they will partner with a company that does.

Consult an attorney for the structure of the deal.

Delegating the tasks is accomplished in a meeting of the minds of the two (or more) companies and preparing an agreement, in writing, as to how the project will flow.

Every joint project begins with intentions of being the "Perfect" project and a win-win for all parties with no complications. Things happen and disagreements occur and when they do it can get REALLY messy.