All Forum Posts by: Kel S

What a great post! Thanks Justin.

Well, I can relate to feeling bad. Not so much guilty for buying a property that has gone into foreclosure, but bad for the previous owners. In reality someone will end up buying the house if we don't.

This is something that our RE agent is constantly frustrated by. We've been working with the same agent for awhile and she is always prompt at returning calls, setting up showings, etc., but when it comes to getting other agents to respond (REO ones in particular) it's a real pain in most cases.

I think they are busier than the adverage agent from what I gather. But when you are dealing with deadlines such as making sure your offer is in on time, you'd think they would make that effort.

It's frustrating to say the least and as our realtor would probably say, it doesn't create a good image for all realtors in general when they do this.

Hi Guys,

It's been a bit since I've had a chance to log on. But wanted to pop in and share that we received purchase approval for our latest REO deal.

This one needs virtually no work with the exception of drywall, paint in the dormer room.

Here is the run down....

3 bed/1 bath
Full basement (really nice and partially finished)
Listed for $35k (Before foreclosed it was listed at $78k)
We offered $27k they rejected. So we offered $33 they accepted. So not a GREAT deal but an OK deal for a 3 bedroom in the best school district/area of town. I knew it would cost more to get into a 3 bedroom. But I'm excited as this one needs very very little work.

Expected rent $700-750 month.

Here are some photos. Please excuse the quality as I had to take pictures of the pictures from the original listing sheet (back when someone was living there) prior to foreclosing. These don't do the house justice really. It's really nice. Carpet is nice, paint is nice, kitchen is darling, living room, den and bedrooms are nice too. We will just have to work on the 3rd bedroom which is upstairs and a dormer. But other than that everything else looks great. It also has 1 car garage that can be accessed from inside the house off of the kitchen.

Front of house

Living room and kitchen

Den and one of the bedrooms

Back of house and deck overlooking backyard

That picture is deceiving. It's just dirty paint. I went down there just the other day and was telling my husband we should paint the floor. It didn't smell down there at all like it would if it has a moisture problem.

Hi Justin,

Welcome! I'm in SE Michigan. Actually, just north of Toledo Ohio.

Of our 3 homes, all of them are under 1,000 sq ft. One is 817sq ft, another is 870 sq ft and the third is 850 sq ft. All are 2 bed/1 bath. We have 2 of the 3 rented with no problem and they rented quickly. The 3rd one we close on next week.

I think like Mark said just study the market and try and get a feel for if there is a demand for rental homes that size in that area. Check out the local newspaper and see how many in that area are for rent and what they are renting for. Learn more about the area as well. Is it mostly owner-occupied? How big is the town? Is there conveniences there such as easy freeway access to those who might be commuting to work? What industry is nearby? Is there a hospital, grocery, schools nearby, etc.,

Here where we are there is a darling lake front town not far from me. The houses are adorable. However, I don't think there would be a big enough demand for rentals there because it's just not conveniently located. So you really have to research a bit before taking the plunge.

She sounds like a woman after my own heart! I've done the same thing, except when I tell him I'm paying he knows better by now and has just accepted it :mrgreen: Although I'm a cheap date (did that come out wrong??) and our meals generally are in the $50 range for the whole family.

I can't blame you for liking this A frame! It's darling! I've never seen the inside of one before and love how it looks. Looks like they lowered the price to $199k. I'd be very irritated if my realtor EVER told me that an offer I wanted to submit would waste everyone's time. Of course she has never done that to us to date. But that would be the point where I'd be looking for a new realtor.

I always find out in advance too if other offers have been submitted on properties. Sometimes it makes a difference on if we bother putting one in or not. Just depends on if it looks like a property where it might of been listed SO low that the bank is hoping for a bidding war.

Some factors that I would consider when putting in a newspaper ad are:

* Number of bedrooms/baths.
* Amenities (Central Air/Full basement, Fenced, etc.,)
* School district (a biggy in my area)
* No pets (or pets ok), Sect 8 ok or not.
* Rent and deposit amount.

Those would be the basics.

As far as why people don't read the ad and ask a million questions, I actually think they do read it but by asking you questions (have done this myself) it's a way to open communication. As a landlord, I personal would welcome this because the more they ask gives me a better initial phone first impression of them. That's just me though.