All Forum Posts by: Doug Haisten

@Avery Gilmer Avery if you have a good sample ad for Craigslist can I get a copy?

Okay thanks for the responses. I knew the probate was going to be an issue.

A new contact wants to sell "her" house in less than two weeks as it faces city citation. The house technically belongs to her mother who passed away Jan 2017 and for different reasons the estate I s still yet to be probated (she thought her brother in TX was handling the estate and he thought she was). The house needs some major work (roof, new heat pump, upgrading, etc). The lady doesn't have the money or the mind set to make any repairs. She was already "cited" for the unkept yard and is about to be cited/ liened again because the house has been vacant so long and not boarded up. A sale will extend the time to get the house boarded up or renovated.

I am not familiar with Probates and it seems they have let this house get into a bad position. Does anyone have any clever ideas to sell this house in 1 week maybe two? I'm new and don't have a list of buyers. (Darn good marketing).

This house is a 2/1 1004 sq. ft. but consists of two adjoining lots. The comps show about $52K. No comparable house has been sold any sooner than 6 months ago but all close to the same age and distance. Average Sq. Ft. is 1,007 sq. ft. so about $52/sq. ft. for the houses sold (6 to 9 months). A similar house 4 houses down sold in 12/17 for $70K but is a 3 bd./2ba and 1500 sq. ft. but is only one lot. 

Spit balling, let the executor rent the house to me (or assignee) make payments to her as the house goes through probate with a balloon at 12 month? Gives her a time extension to avoid a citation plus givers her time to move all the personal item stored in the moved out?   

Any insight is appreciated? 

Doug

Good points. I live alone on my city while the properties are in the town where I grew up so I have family and friends there including my fiancé (who is an active partner in my RE career).  It would be easy if needed to temporarily move there. My plan A is to wholesale theses but maybe holding the units already rented So I wouldn’t need to be overseeing work. The 7 clunkers does worry me but my5 yr plan is me doing a good deal of long distance/out of state wholesaling so these gotme in batters cage early.

While driving for $ I found an older run down house in a low rent street. The owner responded to my post card and we met. As it turns out he has been a landlord for some time and is getting out of being a landlord. He has his last 7 properties he wants to get rid of preferably as a package deal. 

The houses average 900 sq ft and as listed don't have bedrooms (0 beds means no closet?)There are 4 houses from the 1950's in terrible shape (inhabitable) and have been vacant for a couple of years. These need new roofs, facia boards replaces, windows replaced, who knows what the electrical would be, plumbing is questionable, the furnace/heaters are either missing or striped (no AC), the bathroom fixtures are in place though old, the hardwood floors, while solid, will need a lot of works to restore and the list goes on. The other two houses have long term tenants paying rent less than the going rate for an up-to-date house but due to the condition of the houses the lower rent might be justified. One of the houses (circa 1930) has the high ceilings (a drop ceiling was installed in the past but it is in tatters) and currently has squatter in it). The yards are a jungle but only minimal trash. None of the houses are crack houses and none purposely trashed (no walls torn our or fixtures broken, etc). One or two years ago the owners was renovating the properties when he decided to throw in the towel and all rehab work was stopped.  I was able to go into 4 of the houses but the work to be done was really too much to write down. Suffice to say when I walked in it looked like total rehab was needed. I have a "lite" acquaintance who is a realtor and residential contractor/roofing contractor in my city that I am speaking with about this project but the properties are 200 miles away. I am reaching out to a local residential contractor for additional support in evaluating the houses if I need to. 

These houses are the "ugliest house(s) on the block". The other houses on the block are mostly well kept though old and tired. The adjacent streets/neighborhoods the houses are circa 1970s and very well kept nice lawns. Three of the houses are close to each others (properties almost touching) while the others are spread out but on the properties are within 2.5 miles radius. These houses are not located in my city but 200 miles away. The comps for the "newer" houses (circa 1950s) is about $34,000 while the comps for the 1930 house is $15,000. This is based on the estimated value "icomps.com" gives the properties but when I run a comp on each of the houses based on #BD/BA, Sqft, Age, and sold dates the comps I get are not much different.

My problem is this is my first real deal (although I have 2 other much simpler deals I am working one right now in my city) it complex in that some much work needs to be done and the low value of the properties. I don't know if this is a deal that makes sense pursuing. I am hoping the owner will give me an option to let me buy certain properties without buying all 7.

Anyway I am so inexperienced I don't even know what I need to ask. I don't intend to hold these properties I just want to price repairs correctly, look at the possibility of a buy and hold. I don't know if I am seeing all the obstacles and traps I need to be wary of.  

If anyone reading this can help with some guidance/wisdom or places I need to look to please contact me.

Doug 

@Will Barnard I have been looking at what the other houses have. The block is mostly houses from the 1950's and listed as 0 bedrooms (no closets?)1 or 2 baths and the house (now houses) I am looking at are the ugliest house on the block. The houses are roughly 900 sq ft average wood frame while the crossing streets are much newer  (70's) and brick.

@Kuba F. Kuba, thank you for forwarding me the article.

Well I was curious since I had a 3/1 house and the recent comps are 3/2 hours, do I deduct from the comps, say $10k (for a full bath), from the comps or add $10K to the rehab costs for a bathroom?

I have had a few responses from DM and D4D. In looking at comps (recent sales using iComps, Zillow or Realtor) I truly have a hodge podge of past sales. The site iComps gives me the most past sale to refer to . The problem is difficulty in matching houses sold to the house I am working with (there's actually 3 houses in the same 1 mile radius). One of the house I am going to offer on is built in 1957, well maintained and is a 3/1 house of 1400 sq ft. The recent sales are either over 6 months ago, are 3/2 houses or built in the 80's or 90s. There is one recent sale that is on the same street and a 3/1 but only 1032 sq ft sold almost a year ago and another 3/1 about a 1/3 mile away that is 1550 sq ft sold 7 months ago and another 3/1 1.3 miles away 1146 sq ft sold. How do I make adjustments in looking at the comps?

Thanks, Doug

I am looking at a VA to help with my direct mail/hand written letters, skip trace, etc. I worry about turning over lists and customer information especially with someone out of the country. Are there written agreements I need to have?

Doug

Hello all:

I am ramping up my marketing and need some pointers.

I am already doing a yellow letter mailer and I am driving for dollars. I am also in the process of having lead generating websites made (sellers and buyers). With these I have separate email addresses with the same domain (my name@domain name.com). Neither of these has my company name in the addresses but it in in the websites themselves. I have set up a Google Voice #. I have had temporary business cards made. I have one cell phone and a home number.

To start I am targeting SFH morphing into buy and hold in 12 months. I see myself having flyers, postie notes, door hangers. I don’t know yet about bandit signs. I am full time into RE now (got laid off).

So I have these pieces but a cohesive picture these do not make and I need some pointers.

On the yellow postcards I have my name and cell phone#, no website or email. I want to remove my cell number and add the google voice #.

On the flyers/door hangers I thought of doing the same thing but adding the website. I also thought of a postie note that I stamp with a brief message and ask them to call me (google voice).

My website is actually two separate sites, one for buyers and one for sellers. It has my email of course. Do I put the google voice in the website or my cell? I understand the value of answering the calls, and I will when I can, but when I am driving for dollars or just down the road I hate to stop and take calls.

On my business cards do you have one set for buyer and one for sellers? This would have my business name and my email address but if I put websites a seller could go to the buyers’ site and that might be awkward. What about cell phone/home phone (I live alone) or the google voice.

I should have done this a couple years ago but work kept me in false sense of satisfaction and security. Now I am eager to go. This is one of those “Cortes burns the ships” places in time. Anyway, any pointers/suggestions would be appreciated.

Doug