All Forum Posts by: Marc Freislinger

I did a double close at L Fay Hedden Abstract in Vincennes, IN (on 7th St) several years ago. They used the end-buyer's funds to fund my purchase, so no transactional funding was needed. I don't think I can post phone numbers here, but it should be easy to find with the above info.

Vincennes is about an hour from Evansville, and it's been a while, so no guarantees they will still do it.

Like Nick said, the seller can give these instructions to the agent. If these instructions are given in writing, the agent doesn't have to do anything with your offer once it's submitted, so you may be wasting your time.

I have only come across this twice, they were bank owned home that had previously had reverse-mortgages on them. Both were being processed by the same company. Of course, I have also submitted offers to an agent who I'm sure has not submitted them even without these written instructions. But what can you do?

I'd like to correct some of this information, since I recently lost a sale and thousands of dollars due to similar misinformation. Aluminum is cheaper than copper because there is more of it. Aluminum was used in homes during the late 60's and early 70's because copper was being used for the war effort. As someone else mentioned, most big-wire is still aluminum because it's cheaper, including almost all service cable the utility companies use.

Aluminum is completely safe if it's installed properly and used with the proper AL rated equipment. It becomes a fire hazard when some handy-man comes along and wires it to copper rated devices without the proper connections. I've had these connections installed throughout an entire home recently for less than $2,000. This puts in UL approved connectors in each junction box, installing copper pigtails so that the new owner doesn't have to worry about what type of fixtures they install.

Aluminum wire is still allowed to be used in residential homes as long as AL equipment is used, or it is properly pigtailed. There would be no need for an entire house re-wire just to do some modifications.

All that said, buyers are the "general public" and the "general public" is misinformed about the safety of AL wire, so expect to sell for less than you otherwise should.

Nick,

If you've ever checked out cafepress.com, they let you upload a logo/graphic/whatever and put it on pretty much any merchandise you want and sell it. I have a couple of different stores open from back in high school that still bring in a few bucks here and there, especially around the holidays.

Most of this is screen printed, so it's not high quality embroidery or anything, but it's not trash either.

With Josh's approval, maybe you could get it all up and running and donate the proceeds to the site.

I would expect this from almost every bank-owned property. Ideally, they should be asking for highest and best without explicitly saying there is another offer (if there isn't), but this lie is told so often I don't think agents feel bad about it anymore. It's simply a negotiating tool for them.

Andy,

The markets that got hit the hardest now have the toughest competition. Have you been losing out on the deals where your offering below list price? If you've been trying for a while, it may be worthwhile to jump the offer up if it still makes sense to your bottom line.

Matthew,

I have not yet found short sales to be that difficult, though I have only been dealing with them a short while. It basically comes down to following directions. The banks will give a list of what they want, and all the parties need to provide it. Your negotiating skills will come into play when the BPO is ordered and you meet with the guy doing the BPO. He is the one who needs to be convinced that the home should sell for what you want. The banks will usually only take a certain percentage lower than what the BPO comes in at. The house will then need to sit on the market a while before they will order another.

They do take a while, and there's a lot of paperwork back and forth from the buyers, the sellers, and the bank. Make sure everyone involved is prepared to wait for long periods of time, then meet very short deadlines when the bank is ready.

Jim,

Click the house or start at your dashboard. On the left hand side, there's a link that says "My Photos." Once in there, you'll be able to create an album and upload your photos. Once the file is uploaded, you will be able to right click the photo and choose "Copy Image Location."

Once there, you'll post. Use the tag [img*] https://bp-v-newproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/user_photo/image/50224/thumb_photo.jpg [/img*] without the * to get your photo:

That help?

Toni,

It's a little unclear to me if you're buying or selling.

If you're buying, many banks/government entities have various periods of time ranging from 15-30 days in which only owner-occupants can buy the property.

If you're selling, the bank you bought it from cannot do anything to prevent you from selling for any amount at any time unless you agreed to it in their addenda. Buyer's banks may have issues with appraising flipped properties though. I don't know of any blanket rule (except FHA, they always do it), but many banks will require a second appraisal if the property is being sold in less than 90 days.

I hope that helps.

Martin,

I think one reason for your lack of responses is that most people here don't think these courses are very useful. There's no secret in this business that you can pay for and start making money.

If you are already a successful wholesaler looking to expand, you simply need to review your business. Find the things that only you can do, and do those things. Find the things you can train other people to do, and hire people to do those things. If you're looking for software, the best you can do is to design it yourself (and hire someone to create it if you don't have the skills). Only you know how YOUR business operates, and what will most benefit you.

I have some people on my Facebook who are flipping homes and use the Fortune Builders system, they swear by it, but they are always trying to sell it to new wholesalers. My guess is that's where most people make money with those programs.