All Forum Posts by: Micheal Waldrup

Congrats @Brad Fithian Jr ! 

Those numbers look good IMO. I'm also interested in the story behind the deal. It's always nice to hear the millions of ways people find these deals. 

Great job!

@Walt Payne Great advice! Thanks for sharing your experience. Definitely something I will think about as I proceed. Nice to hear persistence is the key. I definitely have it, and it seems to keep tire-kickers out of things when it's required. 

@Account Closed Wow! They could reach up here to Virginia also and I wouldn't mind. I have the money, I'm concerned right now with the knowledge and opportunity side. Haven't had a whole lot of luck so far finding decent deals.

@Bryan L. Thanks for sharing that. Sounds like great cashflow on the rental. And the rehab sounds like an owner's nightmare, especially if they don't have the resources to fix it. Good opportunity for you though maybe. Wish you success there!

Thanks for all the replies.

Really I ask to get a feel for different areas. It's not that I plan on using the answers I get here to setup some rule for myself on bidding. More just curious what others are experiencing in their local markets. 

@Shawn Holsapple , funny that you mention that tactic, as I already have a VA doing just that. Great suggestion! Glad to hear you're having success with a bunch of offers like that. Are you talking mainly with HUD's site and Fannie / Freddie sites?

@Mike D'Arrigo I meant discount from market value. Sorry about the ambiguity.

@Account Closed At least there's opportunity in those locations. I may be moving up to Ohio after I'm out of the military. I will make sure to check that area before I do. I see more people on these forums from Texas than anywhere it seems. Have you found many great REO deals in your area?

Again, thanks everyone for sharing your valuable time with me. It's very appreciated!

I recommend using the guys who actually showed up. 

Negotiate their higher rates down a bit on future deals, you can use repeat work as a perfectly viable reason. Not to mention you'll have a decent contractor that won't mess up your timelines. $300 = Peace-of-mind. Let us know how it goes!

 Sweet! The Man himself!  Thanks for the reply. 

Good heads up there. I feel pretty clear on the 50% VS 70% differences. 

I feel very limited right now as far as the sources of these deals. Auction.com is extremely accessible, and so was the first place I gravitated towards. 

I think maybe the simple and quickest answer right now is to hook up with an agent until I get my license and even after. I'm sure it's almost always better to get more looks at potential investments, whether they originate from me or anyone else.  It's hard to see those self-imposed limits until someone points them out. haha. Thanks!

Hi Everyone!

I'm still devouring the forums and the fantastic J. Scott books. In the Flipping Houses book he mentions a very general and conservative thumb-rule for figuring if flipping REOs / short sales is a viable option in your area. Basically, if ARV / Auction Sale Price is ~ 50%. So, if a $200,000 ARV house sells at auction consistently for $100,000 or less it's a pretty good sign.

Understanding that it's just a thumb-rule, and varies greatly by area, I've been trying to get a feel for my area. I live in an area that was the 39th most populous in 2013 and only continues to grow due to a strong local military presence (active duty myself). 

 I'm scheduled to attend the RE Agent classes next month so I'm using Zillow 'recently sold' and my own CMAs for these 'viability' calculations.

Would any of you be willing to share a better process for this?

How did you start determining your farm area? 

I'm worried there aren't enough properties in this area that go through this process and provide opportunities. For example, there are only 12 properties in my city currently listed on auction.com. Most of them closing a couple hours from now.

I'm no pro, so take this as just knowledge from my recent reading here.

I'm not sure I would pay much attention to an ARV that a wholesaler is giving you. I'm sure there are reputable ones with track records and such in that area, but if this one is new to you I'd be careful taking ARV advice from them. Obviously it's in their interest to make you think the ARV is sky high.

I would look at similar listing in the area that are available to see what the 'norm' for the area is as far as finishes. I'd also look at as many SOLD comps as I could, paying particular attention to what was done in them VS the sales price. 

Personal preference, but I wouldn't feel right selling the property with any sort of serious moisture/mold issue or rot that could be a fairly easy repair. 

Since you certainly would know the area better than a lot of us, I'd recommend going through your SoW and rating the items. For example, on the left of each put the cost on a 1-5 scale, 1 is cheap, 5 is expensive. On the right put your approximate impact on resale price, 1-5 scale where 1 is no impact, and 5 is huge impact. Then put the right number over the left number in a fraction and you have an impact / cost factor. The higher the better! I thought this up when doing a few practice CMAs in my area.

I haven't purchased a rehab property yet, so take this for what it's worth. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps in at least a small way!

Excellent advice @Katharine Chartrand , I will always make sure it's the numbers and not emotions driving my bidding. 

Thanks again!

Great answer @Katharine Chartrand , very appreciated! 

I noticed there were VERY different occupied states listed in some of the auctions. All the way to using Quitclaims. I researched those a bit and decided absolutely against those for now. Seems like something that would require more due diligence than I'm currently capable of.

Thanks again!

Just an example to see here if you want to look:

http://www.auction.com/Virginia/residential-auctio...

Something like this to me seems just scary low. The price makes me think there's a hidden hang-up with the property somewhere. 

 I see it's been listed for around 9 months, is in a decent area close to some slightly better than average schools. 

Any tips on better educating myself on properties like these?

Also, anyone have knowledge on what this is? (from Auction.com transaction details)

• A Buyer's Premium equal to 5% of the Winning Bid Amount or $2,500 (whichever is greater) will be added to all Winning Bid Amounts to determine the Total Purchase Price.