All Forum Posts by: Harold Carter

Hi Everyone,

I have a house that I just finished completely remodeling.  Was thinking of renting or selling, but then came across the idea of lease option.

What I am noticing in my community is some houses move quickly, while others are stale.  Also have seen a couple realtors, recently, list houses slightly below market value to make the quick commission, which has a negative impact on the comparables for the short term, which is why I am looking into the lease option approach. Also, if the market declines, the lease option downpayment can hedge my risk.

The house is worth about 510k-520k.  Market rent is about 3,300 a month including lawn, pool and pest control. 

What is a realistic expectation of lease option terms?  I'd like to have a bigger downpayment if possible vs credit for larger monthly payment.  

Where should I market my property? I am thinking the MLS is not going to attract many rent-to-own people.

This is what I was thinking:

    Sale Price: greater of 520,000 OR index + markup (i.e. tax assessor value + 140,000) 

    Downpayment: 25,000

    Term: 2 years

    Monthly rent: 3,000 (tenant pays for all maintenance, instead of 3,300 and I pay maintenance)

As an investor, I am trying figure out how wholesale listings work in South Florida.

I stumbled upon a property, as a cash buyer, and before I could present the offer, a wholesaler got it under contract.

Now the property is over-priced from an investor standpoint and it is plastered all over the internet on these maverick type real estate websites promising the sizzle without the steak.

In fact, I am seeing other properties both pending and active MLS properties on these sites with differing prices, sometimes higher and sometimes lower than MLS prices.

What the heck is going on and how are these wholesalers sharing the data between one another? It almost appears that there is a black/gray market MLS system that "wholesalers" are using here in South Florida.

Also, seems to be some sort of pecking order.  The wholesaler who got the property under contract and then a network of wholesalers trying to push the property to their buyer lists.  Seller-> wholesaler #1 -> wholesaler #2-> End-User/Investor

I am trying to figure out how they are marking it up and what it takes to become a member of this service that appears to be much like an MLS, so I can cut out as many middle men as possible.