All Forum Posts by: Jaime Vasquez

Arlu,
9 out of 10 houses i buy are REO's. My offers are high earnest money, no option, zero contingency, fast closing, contracts with a copy of EM, and a bank statement. My first call to them is after i sent the contract to make sure they recieved the fax. The next point of contact with the REO broker is when they send the "multiple offers sheet: submit highest and best", after that its a denial or acceptance. I get 1 out of 20 offers I submit. But even before this process, i physically went out to each property and did all due diligence (value/repairs). There is nothing I need from a REO broker other than a fax number to send the offer.

May i ask, do you plan to close on those houses or sell the contracts?

I have been involved in a similiar transaction. The wholesaler wanted 10K non refundable if we didn't perform. We just made the title company hold the cash in escrow and would only release it to the wholesaler if we didn't fulfill our end of the deal. It worked out fine. I would say if you hand him the check, you must be OK with never seeing that cash again. on the wholesale/birdog end, I always got paid after the keys were in the buyers hands and the cash in the sellers.

No book will prepare you for the things you will face in RE investing. You need to network locally and make investor friends that are in the business of what you want to do (rentals, flips, etc). Then help them any way you can till you feel confident enough to branch out on your own. As far as trying to prevent losing cash from mistakes goes, I think even seasoned investors make mistakes that cost cash. Heres an example: I had a inspection that called for a new 5 ton HVAC system and 6 ducts to be replaced. I got my licensed HVAC guy put the system and ducts (total $3,500) and had my inspector check the work ($50) only to find a bad breaker and a bad duct that wasnt replaced proper. So the HVAC guy came back, it got it reinspected ($50 (this time I had the the HVAC guy pay)) and it passed. So now comes my buyer and his inspector and guess what? Theres a big duct hidden in the attic all ripped with insides coming out. WOW! Yeah I fired that inspector, it wont cost me much at all to fix the problem, but my point is even if you take all the precautions, something will always creep on you. Every rehab i do i say "hmmm what in this house is going to try and bite me" and I challenge it....the house cant be smarter than me!

good luck!!

nice job Will! hope you make a quick sale!

I agree with Jeff. Most books out there are full of motivational fluff. I do enjoy a good real estate investing book now and then but i focus on the author. Frank Mckinnley is a investor from florida who started flipping cheap houses and moved up to mega mansions. Gary Keller is one of the men behind keller-williams realty and his book is a good read. I would not buy a book from an author unless they themselves got rich from real estate.

Originally posted by Jon Klaus:

Welcome Jaime! Tell us about your last deal or what you want in your next deal.

Do you think the market has bottomed in SA? It didn't decline much at all, did it?

The market in San Antonio grew soft in the new home construction area more than the secondary market. The backlog went from 3.9 months inventory in late 2005 to 8.6 months in Jun of 09. Although I feel the bulk of that inventory is new home construction. When i say it softened, I mean in the lines of investors outside REO's are gone at the bargain priced houses listed on the MLS. I am no longer competing with 30 offers on over priced REO's, instead REO's are priced accordingly and investors seemed scattered. The San Antonio retail market has stayed strong, the average and median prices for houses in San Antonio are near all times highs right now, up from 2004, 2005, 2006. Its a fun market. My approach is to buy at 65% of LOW ARV minus repairs and then I even submit lower for negotiating room. My exit plan is to undersell my area and strategically repair the house to be overbuilt for the area (staging helps here). I dont have any problems selling em.

Currently Im working a deal in Live Oak. The numbers are a bit tight but the area is great and I should sell it fast.
ARV 120K
Purchase price 62K
Repairs 15K-17K

Id put it up for 110K, take the first offer and run lol.

My wife is the realtor so commisions are rolled in. This reduces sales costs.

Thanks Jon and yes Will i commented on Collett. Thanks for the welcome! I been reading the posts you and Jon put up and I feel like a rookie! You guys are insightful and motivating. Thanks!

Wow Arlu. If those numbers are real i would waste no time trying to wholesale the property to a cash investor. If they dont jump all over the deal then something is wrong. If an investor checks out your house and doesn't buy ask him why so you can get some insight. If its a real deal, you will have the house sold cash within hours.

Hey Everybody. I am a full time real estate investor in San Antonio, Texas. At 23 yrs old I found it enjoyable to locate properties for investors for a fee and eventually I began to run the rehab projects for these investors. I have been fortunate to be mentored by very successful investors and I have a decent understanding of winning and losing with money. When the market turned soft here in San Antonio and investors werent fighting for deals, I saw the opportunity in the market place and raised $200,000 private cash for my own flips. I am steady working on getting the best return for my investor as he does have "bigger pockets". I know 200K is small time cash but im a small time investor and its fun!