All Forum Posts by: John Oden

@Aaron Carter I've been watching about a dozen properties in both the greater Nashville, TN and Tampa, FL markets and I've chosen Option #1, which is to let the auction end with my bid as the high bid, even though the reserve was not met.

The property to which I referred in my post has gone through no less than five auction cycles since I've started watching it. I've been high bid in two of those auctions but with the reserve not met. They continue to re-list and try again. This particular property did meet the reserve on one auction when a bidder ran it up to what I considered a ridiculous number. A week later, I saw it was re-listed, thus beginning another cycle. Since there is no vetting of buyers, anybody can bid anything without having to provide proof of funds, etc. I can only assume the buyer couldn't perform.

This same cycle repeats on every property I have on watch. I've been following Hubzu auctions for two months now, and I don't think a single property has sold. They simply continue to re-list. In only one case did I receive a counter offer, which I rejected.

I'll continue to keep an eye on Hubzu properties because the time and effort required is minimal, but I don't consider it a useful way to acquire property. The two markets I'm watching are pretty hot right now, and whoever or whatever in the Hubzu back office seems to realize this, but from what I see, they are just churning and nothing is getting sold.

Regarding my post above, I should mention that I have inspected the property, I am submitting through an agent that I have done other deals with, and my offer is all cash with no contingencies.

I'm currently in a similar situation. There is a nice older home in my area that I noticed on a drive-by. It showed up on Hubzu, and I placed a bid that was considerably above their starting bid. I was the only bidder, and the auction ended below their "reserve", whatever that is.

They immediately re-listed, using my bid as the new starting bid.

The second auction period ends tomorrow, and there are still no bidders. The current starting bid is my high bid from the previous auction.

Does anyone have a recommended strategy here? Several courses of action I could take:

1. Wait until just before the current auction ends, and bump the bid a minimal amount so as to remain the high bidder, even though the reserve likely would not be met.

2. Let the auction end with no bidders and see if they contact me.

3. Try to make contact with the local agent who is listed on the auction and ask what's up.

Any thoughts or suggestions from anyone who has been won a bid under these circumstances would be appreciated.

Excellent question - I'm in a similar situation in that I've always been a buy-and-hold investor but am contemplating my first flip.

I'll look forward to the discussion.

Hey Everyone,

I'm looking to acquire an additional property here in the Clearwater/Dunedin area. My intention is to find a distressed property that is a good candidate for rehab and resale. Additional exit strategies would be to wholesale it to another investor, or hold as a rental.

I'd be interested in hearing from experienced investors who have knowledge of some of the neighborhoods in this area. Specifically I'm looking at the area bounded on the west by Edgewater drive along the west coast, north to US 580, south to Gulf-to-Bay and as far east as US 19.

I've identified this area because its relatively close to my office and there are lots of reasonably good neighborhoods filled with 1200ft concrete block houses that look like they might ARV around 120k.

Input from anyone with local knowledge of this are would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

Thanks again for all the welcomes to the forum!

@Brandon Turner

@J. Martin

Thanks for the welcome!

@Bobby Beard Thanks Bobby! I'm headed down to Tampa on Monday, looking forward to a week of escaping the big chill we've had up here this winter.

Thanks for the welcome!

Greetings BP Community,

I'm a new member from Tampa, FL and Nashville, TN. I split my time between both cities and have properties in both places. I've been investing in real estate since about 1993. I currently own six doors, a mix of SFR, duplex and condo.

I work a full-time job outside of my real estate investments.

I have been following a buy and hold strategy up to this point. I'm ready to move to the next level ,and my short-term goal is to try my first rehab/resell (aka flip) to see if I can successfully infuse new cash into my business and grow it faster.

I'm looking forward to getting involved in the BP community and learning from the vast number of experienced investors here. I will try to contribute where I can.

All the best,

John