All Forum Posts by: Jason Robinson

Thanks. I forgot to mention that the house being built next door is not going on the market.

Hi. I am looking at a house that has 3 bed & 1 1/2 baths. It was built in the 1958. It had a home built in the same era on the lot next to it but someone bought it this past year and tore it down and is building a large 2 story brick home that is probably 5 bd 3 ba. Is this a good/bad thing or does it even matter? My plan is to renovate the house and try and sell it at the beginning of spring. Has anyone been in a situation like this before. If so, did you have any trouble selling the house? Thanks.

K. Thanks for the input. I'll see if the mortgage broker has anymore options for me tomorrow.

Days on Market.

I have bought new fridges on my last two projects. I sold the ones that came with the house on craigslist and then used that money towards a new one. However, I did buy a really nice stainless steel fridge for the house I am trying to sell right now. I thought that it would help the house be a quick sale but I don't think that it has made much of a difference. I would buy one that matches the rest of the appliances but not spend much on it. Some places fix broken appliances and then sell them pretty cheap or you might be able to find one on craigslist.

K. I like the idea of using the money from the Heloc for the renovations. Would I run into the same problem as going through a mortgage company in that I would have to put 20% down which is about 37,000 with a hard money lender? I also like the idea of a construction loan but I already have the loan on my home, then I would be getting a heloc and another loan for the remainder of the investment property. Not sure if I would qualify for an additional 20,000 dollar construction loan.

Ok. So there is a house that I am investing in that has a lot of potential. It needs roughly 20,000 in renovation. I plan on using a HELOC for the 20% down and financing through a local mortgage company for the rest. There is enough remaining in the HELOC after the dwn payment for about 7 months of mortgage payments and utilities. Now, I was thinking of using credit cards at Home Depot and or Lowes for the supplies and some of the labor. I would get the 6 or 12 month no interest financing. Is there any other ideas about financing the 20,000 in rehab supplies and labor? I think that the 203K loan would be FHA which would probably be a pain and may not be even for investment properties. I am going to talk with the mortgage people tomorrow but thought some of you may have run into the same kind of problem.

Ok. I am about to go take one last look and make my offer, verbally. I was afraid that the letter was going to sound negative. I have read that it is not good to go into details about renovations. This is a lady that is about 65 that is selling her deceased mothers property so she probably doesn't want to hear about someone gutting it and remodeling. I was trying to make it more personal when mentioning my family though. We will see how it goes. Thanks for the input.

Going for my first fsbo property tomorrow. This person is selling her deceased mothers house and doesn't want to deal with realtors. Making an offer tomorrow. Since I am not really good at negotiating (usually use an agent). I thought I would give her this offer letter that I made up? Anything need to be added/removed?

Dear xxxx family,

Please find the attached offer to purchase your home at xxxxxxxxx.

My family and I have been looking for a fix-up property that we could make into our home on this side of xxxxxx. We love the proximity to the xxxxxxx, xxxxxx, and xxxxxx. My wife and I really think that the back yard can be turned into a great family area and that the home will be a great place with some remodeling/updating. We plan on working hard and putting a lot of money into the house. We will have to hire someone to do most of the painting and floor refinishing as well as the updating of the kitchen so it is going to be a considerable investment for us. We are prepared to offer you xxxxxx for the property.

I do have two contingencies in that I would need to have a professional home inspection and obtain a conventional loan. I have spoken with xxxxxx Mortgage and they are ready to get the process started if we come to this agreement.

Our offer price is as high as we can go. Please take some time to consider our offer and give me a call when you make your decision. If you are unable to accept, we will certainly understand. If you do accept then we will find a real estate lawyer to draw up a formal contract as well as set up the closing and all of the other things that are involved in selling a home. Thank you so much for allowing us to see the home and for your consideration of our offer.

Sincerely,

Jason and xxxxx Robinson

I think the newspaper he was talking about is the Alabama Messenger which can be found at most of the municipal libraries around town. It lists properties that are about to go up for auction on the courthouse steps as well as the mortgage carrier and the attorney that is handling it. I think they are required to publish each foreclosure listing 3 times before it goes up for auction. It comes out twice a week I think.