All Forum Posts by: Luke Buettner

I am marketing to absentee owners that live more than 4 hours away from my market. Naturally, I will be talking with sellers on the phone. 

My question: How does the dealflow tend to look like? Do you normally get to see inside before purchasing? If yes, do they make a trip to visit? Or do they typically have family that lives closer who can grant me access?

Do you always scan/fax the documents, or do you mail the documents?

Please only reply if you have actually done this type of deal before. Thank You!

@Christopher Jordan

How is it going? Still under way? I'm from Collinsville lived there all my life. What part is it by?

I've been working with a local investor now for about 4 months. He just paid me a visit last night and told me we can no longer work together. Now, I know there were some discrepancies, but I thought we really could work through them. We've worked through a lot already. I've basically been working for free since we started. I've received one moderate paycheck of $600 in the entire 4 months we've been working together. 

He can't honestly believe that I can just keep on going like that! Last night I got a call from my bank that my credit card payment is past due. This morning I got a call from Amerin IP that my electric bill is past due. I still have medical bills from months ago. What he doesn't fathom is that I stopped everything in order to help him. Now this?

I know that everything happens for a reason, so it really doesn't bother me as much as it would most people. Lo, I ponder why he gave up when I had the will to persevere. Is it ever easy starting a partnership? My cousin tells me that it's vital two would become friends before anything business related. Do you agree?

Our ideas of work did not mesh together very well. He is of the opinion that one must work very hard for his/her success. I know that my intelligence allows me to work smarter, not harder. In some capacity, I'm happy that this happened because I wasn't learning much from him anyhow. He's been an investor for 2 years. If I were to try a coach again, I would want him to have 20+ years experience.

That's not overly selfish, is it? I care very much about the quality of knowledge I receive. I don't want to grow into a sapling, I want to grow into a mature oak tree. He really couldn't teach me because he was still learning himself. Of course I'm only rationalizing this now, after the fact. I'm still in shock that he could not see me eye to eye.

Thoughts?

I'm not a specialist here, but it sounds to me like that would be state, county, or even city specific. Best to check and adhere to local laws. If it's too confusing to try and work with the county's office right now you could always just ask another local REI. Have you already found your local REIA?

@Corey Shields

It sounds like you have a very level head about you and you've done your research.  Last little nugget - Don't get too carried away.  I listen to the podcast and I hear Josh and Brandon admit times when they themselves rehabbed past the market standard.  Don't go too over the top with the quality you rehab with.  If you want a property to sell, you definitely need to know how it fits into the neighborhood of surrounding houses.  It's prefect if you can find an opportunity to see open houses nearby or even "pretend" to be a prospective tenant for another landlord just to see your competition.  Of course, don't lie, but use your imagination.  The more houses you can see the better idea of a median you will have.  In a rehab you want to shoot just barely above median.

@Corey Shields,

I must admit, I haven't closed on my first deal yet either.  However, I have found several leads.  There was only one property where the numbers really made sense.  The homeowner pulled out of the deal last minute for personal reasons.  

All that to say, I was pretty blown away at how quickly I was able to find a buyer. I had networked at a local REIA and gotten a few business cards of potential buyers. The first person I phoned set an appointment for me the very next day.

He was a little upset that all I had was a lead.  So I suppose I actually learned two things here.  First, finding a buyer/financing can be painless if you've networked with the right people.  Second, don't go to a cash buyer or hard money lender or private lender until you already have the deal and you're sure everything looks good.  You're going to have to present all your due diligence to your lender.  

On a different note, what made you choose to rehab? I'm assuming by rehab you mean buy, rehab, and sell in a relatively short timeframe?  

Happy Birthday bro! Mine was yesterday lol.  I knew there was a reason I could get along with you so well.  Aquarius all the way lol.

It all depends on what he's comfortable with.  From what I see, that's about a three hour drive.  At that point you still could manage it yourself, but you might want to invest in a property manager.  Any further away than that and you'd definitely want a property manager.

There's a ton of pros and cons for having a property manager.  I'm sure you've already weighed these and decided what the best choice is for you.

That can be a very difficult task to undertake.  You could spend hours driving for dollars and come home with a short list of properties.  Yet, as you stated, you are still left with the struggle to find the owner.

You can search county tax records - have you tried that? From what I gather, that is very helpful for some investors.  However, in my county, the records are extremely outdated.  I called a man who seemed very upset when I mentioned the property.  Little did I know that he lost the property in a bankruptcy three years prior - THREE YEARS - and his name still showed up as the primary owner.  

That being said, I've now switched to searching for foreclosure and pre-foreclosure properties because they are easier to find in my county.  The records for pre-foreclosure court dates are up to date and list most if not all of the following:

1. The borrower's name(s)

2. The purchase date

3. The purchase price

4. The balance of the loan

5. The location of the property

With number 3 and 4 I can already determine if this will even be worth my time.  I can also do a super quick preliminary estimate of the neighborhood it's in.  I can see what similar houses in the area have sold for in the last 6 months.  

ACTIONABLE SUGGESTIONS FOR YOU, @Sarah K.

1. Talk to local investors

2. Talk to workers at the local police station

3. Talk to workers at the county sheriff's office

4. Talk to workers at your city/village hall

5. Talk to workers at the county courthouse or administrative building

Tell everyone what you're doing - those you know and those you don't know (yet)

If all you have is one SFR I would recommend you start out by being your own property manager. Not only will you gain valuable experience, but you'll also save some money.