All Forum Posts by: Eric Caputo

     On my way to work, I see this property that has a For Sale By Owner sign outside. I looked it up on Realtor & Zillow to see the details. It's a 3 bed 2 baths 2,122 sq ft home on a 3-acre lot. From what I can see from the road, half the roof is covered with metal roofing, and the other half is shingles. The yard has tires and other trash in it. The first thing that comes to my mind is, distressed property= possible deal! I call the number on the sign and start talking to the owner. He's a 79-year-old gentleman that owns the home free and clear. He wants to sell this property and another he has so he can retire and travel around the country. I asked him if my partner and I could go take a look at the property and we would potentially make an offer on it. He agrees to let us take a look but we would have to wait till after the tenets are out of the house. He states that they should be out by Monday at noon. So, I make the appointment after that.

     We get to the property and it still looks like the tenants have things in the house. The owner didn't feel comfortable showing us the house when the tenants had stuff in it, but he would show us the rest of the property. He stated that he had a workshop in the back so we went to go look at that. As we are walking to the back yard he states that he also built "apartments" and he has people renting them. This man personally built 5 units in his backyard and was renting them out for $600 a month!! 4 of the units were stacked (2 story building, unit on top and on bottom) and there was one that was single-story. The units ranged from 1 bed 1 bath to 2 bed 2 baths with full living rooms and kitchens! The units had their own power meters and they were connected to a well that he drilled on his land. The makeshift apartments were not in good shape though, they were completely trashed from the past tenants, needed major construction work, and were definitely not up to code. The makeshift apartments didn't have A/C or heating other than window units and space heaters. The two-story buildings were described as "Storage units" and the single-story was actually registered as a single-family home (So he said). All the properties were claimed to have had the proper permits at one point but he didn't feel like keeping up with them. 

     From what he was telling my partner and me, he was making $600 rent for each "apartment" and $1200 for the actual home. He was making $4,200 a month in cash flow. That is the kind of creativity we need in this market! oh, I almost forgot to mention, he was asking $250,000 as is with all the tools, work equipment, furniture, cars, boats, appliances, and trash on the property. Honestly, if I had $250K just lying around, I'd buy it. This was all before we stepped foot into the house that we went there to see. 

What would you do in this situation? Have you seen anything like this before? What is the most creative thing you've seen on a property that created cash flow?  

-Eric

@Joshua McMillion Thank you!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment.

Purchase price: $182,500
Cash invested: $3,500
Sale price: $185,000

This property is my first house hack. It is a 3 bed 2 bath single-family house ~1,600 sq. ft on a half-acre lot. Using my VA loan, I was able to buy the property for $0 down and I paid ~$3,500 for closing costs. I have two roommates that rent out the extra rooms for $500 each. This offsets my mortgage and the extra I am saving for expenses. Utilities are split per person in the house.

Hello All!

I just started my real estate investing journey, and I currently own two properties: a Condo in Rio Rancho, NM, and a Single-family house in Jacksonville, NC. The Condo I got a conventional loan with 20% down. For my single-family home, I used my VA loan and am currently house hacking.

I am running into (and I'm sure everyone does) is having capital for a down payment, rehab costs, etc. So I have been researching ways to raise capital, and the one that sounds the best is wholesaling properties that I find. I like this because it gives me all the practice I need to analyze deals, make offers, and talk to sellers. It also provides me the opportunity to build relationships with local investors. 

My question to all of you: How do I actually wholesale a property? I need the down and dirty from making the offer on an off-market property. How do I get it under contract? How do I assign the property to another investor? What do I need to do after I assign it? What do I need to do for closing? What paperwork do I need to be able to do this? Legal considerations? I need it ALL!

I know I'm asking for a lot, but any information will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance,

Eric

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment.

Purchase price: $182,500
Cash invested: $3,500
Sale price: $185,000

This property is my first house hack. It is a 3 bed 2 bath single-family house ~1,600 sq. ft on a half-acre lot. Using my VA loan, I was able to buy the property for $0 down and I paid ~$3,500 for closing costs. I have two roommates that rent out the extra rooms for $500 each. This offsets my mortgage and the extra I am saving for expenses. Utilities are split per person in the house.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to start Investing as soon as possible. Being in the military, this was a no-brainer strategy.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found the deal on the MLS. With the market being the way that it is (Early 2021) I offered $180,000 initially with a $1,500 earnest money attached.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

The house was not kept up very well when it came to cleanliness and yard work. Cleaned the property and painted, and little by little getting the yard in good shape.

What was the outcome?

Two roommates and not paying rent.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Should have negotiated more. The property had a really bad pet smell throughout the house and the renovations were done subpar. could have used all this as leverage to get a lower price.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I worked with a real estate professional but I would not recommend them to investors because there was very little drive and communication between us. they were comfortable and not HUNGRY.