All Forum Posts by: Hal Cranmer

On Friday I went down to our courthouse and started to look up probate leads. As I was standing at the booth talking to the clerk, a lawyer got in line behind me. He overheard my conversation with the clerk and asked "You looking for some cheap real estate?" I chuckled and said "Yup". He then proceeded to hand me his card and told me to call him because he has 6 properties in 'consevatorship'!

I got all excited but then I thought - I have no idea what 'conservatorship' means. Can someone help me understand what conservatorship is? Also, how should I talk to this lawyer next week when I call him? If this works out I would like to keep a long-term relationship with him. We mostly use title companies in my state (Minnesota) for closing instead of legal offices, but could I help him out in any other way - other than taking the properties off his hands? :wink:

After having this encounter, I also decided to write the names and addresses down of all the lawyers in the probate files, because I thought it might be good to contact them about potential properties as well. Does anyone have good ways to approach these people?

Lastly, do you guys have any outlines of letters I should use to send to probate sellers? Do you mention the deceased/sorry for your loss kind of stuff? Or do you get right to business and let them know you want to buy the house? Thanks for the help.

Michael,

I tried to PM you, but I kept getting an error message. I'm trying to find some good deals on mailing lists in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area - out of state owners, divorces, landlords with evictions etc.

I notice in one of your posts that you might have access to good deals on lists?

Thanks for any help you could give,
Hal

Hi,

I just spent a day with Robyn Thompson "The Queen of Rehab" through MNREIA in Minneapolis. She said she has obtained about half of her 300+ flips with REO agents that have some 'pocket listings' for their best investors before they list the property on the MLS.

Does anyone know some good REO agents around the twin cities area in Minnesota? I would really like to discuss deals with them.

Thanks.

Thanks for all the responses in such a short time.

To answer Joel's question, I am trying to flip some properties and pay off debt on my rentals. My rental duplexes are cash flowing but I could always use more:)

I have been working with a realtor in the area where my duplexes are, but it seems like the supply of duplexes have dried up. I am trying to look around Minneapolis to figure out which pockets of the area have homes that are selling.

After I determine which area to 'specialize in' then I will spend more time reviewing properties to determine what constitutes a good deal.

So I guess I am looking for two things in this post thread - a) trying to figure out which areas would give me the quickest/best profit on a rehab project and b) what do I need to do to determine what constitutes a good deal in that area.

Thanks again for the help.

I was wondering how investors are valuing property these days? I have a realtor send me listings of properties that I am looking to rehab, but I just don't have a great idea of what is a good deal or not - other than a small area of my city (Minneapolis) where I have rentals.

Does anyone have a good system to determine:
1. Finding areas that are appreciating or at least has homes that are selling.

2. Looking at comps to get a good idea of what would be a good deal? It seems like comps are all over the place these days.

3. A more 'scientific' approach to determining values? In other words - I get the networking with realtors in an area or looking at demographic information (which seems pretty scarce for good information) - but do you guys use spreadsheets or other programs to track properties sold, listed etc.?

Thanks for the help and my apologies if this has been discussed before in these forums.

I have read a lot here about using direct mail, bandit signs etc. to find motivated sellers. I was wondering if anyone uses realtors regularly? I work 50 hours a week at a full-time job and have 5 rental properties, not to mention a family. I have flipped 2 properties that a realtor found me for very nice profits.

Do you guys use realtors at all to flip properties? Or should I try to find wholesalers? If wholesalers, where would be the best place to find them? I have not had much luck with real estate clubs.

I would be more than willing to give up a little profit to have a realtor find me decent deals so I don't have to spend my time looking. I can just buy them, fix them and hand them back to the realtor to sell. As I get older I find time is the most precious commodity and just do not want to do all the work myself.

Anyone got any thoughts or advice? Thanks in advance.

Minneapolis. I am interested in precious metals.

I have a self-directed IRA with approximately $30K that I used to buy some notes on mobile homes. I made about 20% on them but they are very close to being paid off. Now I am looking for another investment and was wondering about buying real estate, but I already have 5 properties and am in the middle of purchasing a 6th, mostly duplexes. That may be a bit much to handle right now since I work full time. So I was wondering if I could partner with someone and just provide the funds for a return. That way I could let someone else do the work and I can work on my other real estate holdings. I know there are also some companies that pool people's investment and provide returns on properties they have purchased. Or is it better for me to just go it alone with real estate? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Hi,

I recently had a purchase agreement accepted for a duplex owned by an old lady. She was selling it to pay for the retirement home (or something like that) she was moving into. We were supposed to close at the end of the year.
Well yesterday I received a call from my realtor letting me know the lady passed away. Although sad, he said it means that the closing will be delayed 4-6 weeks. I am ok with this because the place has tenants in it that are paying half the rent the market would provide. I have asked my realtor if we can delay the closing by two months or so which would give those tenants time to move out.
Are there any pitfalls or traps I need to worry about as the duplex goes through the probate process? Anything to worry about asking for the tenants to be out? They are month to month and have no lease or security deposit down. I believe one of them is related to the owner.

Ok Great. We thought we would offer to do the survey if we could roll it into the price of the sale or negotiate it. I just didn't want to do it up front. Good to hear about Boulder though. Thanks for the help. Any tips on selling? What do you think is a fair realtor commission?