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All Forum Posts by: Josiah Stacy

Josiah Stacy has started 10 posts and replied 18 times.

Post: Is it possible to turn a foreclosure into a short sale?

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

I've been direct mail marketing to homeowners facing foreclosure, namely, those with the auction date already scheduled. I mail to anyone in my desired areas who is 30+ days out from auction, and follow up weekly until the week before auction. I've had a high call back percentage, with about 2-4 of 20 on an average list calling. The problem I keep running into is that there is just too much owed on the properties. There is not enough equity in any of these to make a deal happen (at least not the ones I've heard from).

My question is this: If a homeowner wants to sell to me versus letting their home go to auction, what are the chances that a bank will approve a short sale? So far, I haven't even suggested the idea to anyone, because I just don't know if it can work. I know the chances are slim, as by the time the sale is scheduled the bank has likely already paid the lawyer and does not stand to gain by allowing a short sale as opposed to letting the property go at auction, but I can't help but feel there's opportunity here.

Any ideas?

On a related note, has anyone had any success marketing to foreclosure leads (auction already scheduled)?

Post: Great Deal in Limbo Due to Deceased Owner

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

Hi BP!

I've got a deal I'm working on that's got me stumped... well, not completely stumped. I've got some ideas, but I could really use some advice on how to proceed.

At the end of the road I live on, there is a vacant SFR, which has been vacant for some time. I did some digging on the owner, and sent out a greeting card. Two days later, I got a call back from the owner's sister with some sad news. The owner of the home passed away about two months ago. She also informs me that there are some liens on the property, and, most importantly, that she would me more than willing to part with the house.

I did some digging on the liens, and found that there's maybe $15k (probably less) in debt tied to this property, between a handful of tax and mortgage liens. The house does need some repairs, but the ARV is in the neighborhood of $110k, so I know there's some potential before I get into estimating rehab expenses.

I reach back out to the deceased owner's sister to set up a time to go through the house. She tells me that she doesn't get out much, but could have her daughter meet me there. Only problem is, they need to find the keys. Then further conversation leads to another glaring issue. The sister does not have the funds to open an estate for her brother.

Now the keys are one thing. I'm more than willing to pay a locksmith on their behalf to gain access to the inside and assess the property, but I don't know how to handle the estate issue. This is where you come in.

How can I legally and ethically help this person set up an estate for her brother so that the estate can sell me the house? I have considered calling lawyers for her to find out if any will take payment after the case closes, but I have heard that it is illegal to refer someone to a specific lawyer. Is this true, or another one of those silly myths? Can I help her find a lawyer to get the estate process going to that I can buy? Can anybody provide any insight into how lawyers generally accept payment for probate cases? I plan to call around to learn more, but not before asking my good friends here. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Post: Josiah Stacy - Dayton, OH

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

@Paul Amegatcher, interesting to see that you're from Brookville. I live there as well. Maybe I'll see you around sometime. I'll even take you out to lunch if you want to take me up on it. I have heard from Christina Carey already, and am working to get in touch with her about the REIA meetings in the area. I don't suppose you have links to any info about the GDREIA? I'd love to check that one out as well.

Post: VERY EDUCATED 17 YEAR OLD WHOLESALER!

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

I wish I had that direction when I was that age. I'm excited to follow your progress. 

Post: Josiah Stacy - Dayton, OH

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

Hello BP! I'm new to the community, and have already gotten so much from joining BiggerPockets. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. 

My name is Josiah. I currently work as a Personal Banker at a regional bank branch in a small rural town surrounding the Dayton, OH area. For as long as I can remember, I've known I wanted to work for myself, but have never been able to settle on what I wanted to do. After working at the bank for some time, and being involved in the right conversations, I stumbled into the world of real estate investing. An exciting observation I made while working at the bank was that my happiest customers always seemed to be those involved in real estate investing in some way. In my newfound thirst for knowledge, I began making connections with people who were doing it, working with mentors to develop my knowledge, and seeking out information anywhere I could find it. Naturally, I found BP, and I haven't been able to peel my eyes off the screen since. 

Already, BiggerPockets has provided me with more information than all other sources I've found combined, and the community here has volunteered answers to questions I wouldn't know who else to ask. I'm starting to feel like I need to earn my keep around here, so I want to take the opportunity to offer any knowledge or resources I have back to the community. I have a fairly well rounded knowledge about retail banking, and I'm happy to offer what advice I can to anyone with questions about navigating the world of bank lending; and I'll always be happy to help in any other ways I can. After all, what's the sense in joining a community without giving something back, right?

I look forward to meeting and working with more of the great people here on BP and in the greater world of RE investing. One of the most important lessons I've learned here is that if we're not adding value, we're never really going to get anywhere meaningful in the world. I'll strive to keep that in mind as I work toward my first deal, and all the deals to follow. 

Post: First Deal: The House with Loads of Liens

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

@Rich Baer

That's all I needed to hear. Worst they can say is no, so here it goes. I'll update when I've gotten in touch with the creditors. Thanks.

Post: First Deal: The House with Loads of Liens

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

@Rich Baer

Thanks that's an excellent idea I'll explore. Are there any avenues you are aware of for negotiating the liens down since they are pretty much sure to exceed my max bid? I am concerned that I would still be paying title fees to find out something I more or less already know if I put it under contract before finding out if the lienholders will come down.

Post: First Deal: The House with Loads of Liens

Josiah StacyPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Brookville, OH
  • Posts 19
  • Votes 7

Fresh investor here in the Dayton, Ohio area, trying to land my first deal....

I've been working any source I can to get leads on deals, and the effort is starting to pay off. I'm here to ask about one property in particular, though.

A friend told me about a vacant property across the street from their house. I checked it out. It is a dilapidated house, about 1500 sq ft, 2 beds, 1 bath. County records show that the house had past due taxes at about $3k. I found the owner through Facebook and struck up a conversation. Talk about motivated. The owner was surprised to learn that they even still owned the property. They all but begged me to make it go away.

Sounds good so far, right? Here's were it gets muddy.

The lien on those past due taxes was sold, and with the high rate of interest, that $3k balance was now closer to $18k. On top of that, the owner owes about $32k in child support, and believes there is a lien on the house for that as well. I had the owner call to confirm those balances, and he got back to me stating that the child support enforcement agency told him a buyer wouldn't have to pay up ALL of his child support to get a free and clear title, and that the tax lien company said they'd be willing to settle for a lesser amount.

Please tell me if I'm getting too involved in the deal here, but I'm having trouble letting it go. It is definitely NOT a deal at $50k, as the property needs extensive repairs and the ARV is around $70k. That said, the devil on my shoulder wants me to find out just how low these lien holders are willing to negotiate. The owner has agreed to meet me at the property next week so I can see the condition inside, but I'm expecting around $20k-$30k in repairs (those numbers may be way off as my biggest weakness right now is estimating repair costs), which, using the 70% rule, would allow me a max bid around $15k to account for closing and holding costs (forgot to mention earlier that I'm planning to either rehab or wholesale the property).

The reason I'm posting all this is that I need some help determining when to give up. Do I call the lien holders and try to negotiate lower? Will they even talk to me considering I'm not the owner? What if I get one lien holder to agree, but not the other one?

Any advice any of you can provide will be greatly appreciated. I'm not afraid to call the lien holders up and ask for what I want, and I know I'll plenty of value in the form of education from doing all this, but I don't want to waste too much of my time or the owner's.