All Forum Posts by: David Stone

@Brandon Turner, (sorry phone not actually tagging), that helps a lot! Differet numbers from what other investors have given me so I guess everyone has their own criteria. I had a property on F st but I scrapped that one already. Good to know about location though! Thanks for responding because this gives me a better idea if I have a marketable wholesale deal in the area. 

@Chris Garzino, I did it the old fashioned way (and cheap method) of plugging criteria from my county's assessor office parcel search and looking for mismatched addresses (property vs. owner address). I guess it helps that I work in an ER part time at night and have computer access to these sites. 

I also drive for dollars in the areas I am interested and mail the owner of the property using info from the assessor's site.

Other methods I have used (not in Grays Harbor County) have been to contact a title company and obtain a farm list. You can also use paid sites such as listsource.com to obtain specific leads.

Hey, I have been getting a ton of calls from my yellow letter campaign with owners who need to sell their homes. I have been focusing primarily on absentee owners.

Investors in Aberdeen, Montesano, Elma, or McCleary... What is your criteria when accepting a deal from a wholesaler. (Location, cap rate, equity %, minimum cashflow... are you open to lease option or subject-to or only cash offer??)

I am hoping to gather a solid set of numbers/criteria to help me structure the best deals for those looking to pick up some cash flow properties out here in Grays Harbor specifically (for now). 

Thanks!

Welcome Radley! Be sure to search for meetups in the area. There are groups of BP members in Seattle and Lakewood who meet up on a regular basis. It's a great way to network and learn. 

What does Dodd Frank have to do with putting a buyer under contract through a purchase and sale agreement? 

I imagine if you have a deal and are going to be cashflowing then $600 really isn't that big of a deal. You can request the seller pays all or even half, but I wouldn't lose any deal that will make thousands over only $600 up front.

As far as who is expected to pay... if it's not written in the contract then whoever is more interested in the deal completing will be more willing to pay for the fixes

I would let this lead go and get in on a better deal. You would be buying above market value before fixes started and still be at market value after. If the house is still in poor shape after fixes you won't collect top market rents. You run the risk of putting yourself in a similar situation as this motivated seller.

Good luck with whatever you choose. If you have the time it might not be a bad idea to get inside and confirm the price of fixed and try and negotiate the price and terms in person.

I got a duplex owner financing 3% down on CL. It is hit and miss but don't waste your time with people at or above market value. If you are looking for a good cash deal find the run down fixer property that would scare most people away. Also searching the rentals for landlords who are sick of renting or forced to rent and would rather cash out from their property and avoid any headache.  I really wanted a duplex so I emailed every listing and asked for owner financing... I finally found one in my area that worked with my terms and it is my best cashflow so far. 

Good luck and hey, at least you are getting experience talking to sellers!

By the way, I followed the advice of @Sarah Ziehr and put the tenant in an extended purchase and sale agreement (instead of lease option).  They waived the inspection and the only contingency is on financing.  I pushed the closing date out max one year and had them sign a one year lease extension.  I have been in contact with the tenants periodically and they have been talking to banks about financing and minor credit repair.  I have also obtained resources for them to consider as an alternative.

Thanks again for the advice!  So far everything is working out well.

We originally rented it to the tenant and they expressed interest in purchasing the property.  Timing was perfect that the house we bought and was soon  upside down in the market now had equity and the renter wanted to buy it for our price as long as we met some of their specific terms.  But, we didn't intend to end up in a lease-option type situation.

I would say a potential lease option renter should know their finances, know their situation and not only have a plan for carrying out the option to purchase but also have put some of this plan into action.  If they can show how they have been taking active steps toward repairing their credit and solid rental history with no evictions (and they pass the rest of the screening criteria), they should be good.  They should also have saved up enough money to put on a option fee that they are willing to lose if they do not exercise their option to purchase.

Not sure if that helps, but hopefully it did.