All Forum Posts by: Christine L.

I'm looking for my first deal for my family - we need to move into a good school district in a zip where home values avg $500K+. I mailed about 60 hand written letters to people who are listed as late on their mortgage payments per zillow. I got around 10 letters back as un-deliverable, 7 calls, & 4 seemed motivated. 1 lady is underwater & said she's just riding the wave until the bank kicks her out. Her Mom passed away & she's having trouble paying bills after that. She'll call the bank &get back to me on the amount owed, & a Realtor was trying to work out a short sale. 2nd person is seperated ^ asked me to write to her husband. 3rd guy is out of state, had renters in both apartments, none were paying, now the property is vacant. The taxes are about $13K /year & said he owes over $400K. He also asked the bank if they are willing to short sale it, says the bank will probably get back to him after the holidays. 4th guy is going through a divorce & sounds like the best prospect. I happened to send him a different letter- noting that his house was listed unsold for over a year. Only after I sent him that letter did his house show up as a pre-foreclosure, so I sent hmi a follow-up letter indicating my interest in buying his house. He called back today today & so I asked if he'd be willing to hold the mtg. He said a loan mod attorney is meeting with him on Monday & would like to work wit me but would need to clear it with an attorney. He thanked me for trying to help him. I have most of the funds in my 401K (about $360K) & would consider investing it into a self directed IRA to buy the house cash, but would rather buy it subject to the existing mortgage. He said the bank sent him a payoff letter of $392K. The house is worth about $490K.

What should my next steps be with him to convince him to sell me the house for my family?  I can pull out $10 to $20K as consideration if needed, but Im afraid the loan mod attorney will advise him against selling & try to convince him to keep the house.  He did say he was ready to move out & move on, that his wife is still in the house & he stays there sometimes.  Please help me!  

Thx, Wayne. I'm waiting to hear from the realtor the amount of the liens. The properties in that area are selling for $350K+, so I dont doubt there are other offers close to the LP. I'm re-structuring my offer per your suggestion. It totally makes sence! Thanks again & I'll keep you posted.

Also, I'm in the town next to this school district, so I'm not in a rush. I can wiothdraw $100K from my 401K & have a pre-qual for $300K, so I should be able to do a short sale, since I'm not in a rush. I've heard they take about 2-3 mnonths these days, & are not dragged out like before.

Thanks Bill & Wayne for your help! Wayne, on Monday I put an offer in for a short sale in another good school district. Its an "approved" short sale for $277,525 in a very nice section, with a note on the listing "Buyer to cure lein issues at closing". Problem is, the realtor says no one has been successful in getting inside the property. I went on a whim & put an offer in for $208K, as is, all cash, subject to clear title at closing. (Offer was around 25% of the List Price). The realtor got back to me with this email from the listing agent:

Subject: RE: Offer
To: (My Realtor)

Its the lowest offer I have of several offers.
we are pretty close to full price

I told him the Listing Agent is obligated to present the offer, & I'm sure the other offers had conditions.

Now in light of what you advised, Wayne
"It will help if you have extra cash above your down payment and closing, to pay some outstanding liens/fees a shorted bank won't pay in a short sale" I'm thibking I should have taken out that condition? But I would first have to find out what those leans amount to & add that to my initial offer, if it makes sence. I'm emailing the realtor now to find out if he knows about those lein issues or the amount.

Thanks guys, you've open my eyes to different options!

Thanks, Bill. When you say "foreclosure issues need to be cured" do you mean that arrears have to be brought up to date? Also, for divorce filings, wouldnt it be harder dealing with 2 disgruntled homeowners? From what I've read on here, the best appraoch is to go in as a potential buyer, not an advisor, etc. So, if I strike a deal to "buy" the property, how would I approach the homeowner? For simplicity's sake, say the arrears are 5 months at $1500/month = $7,500. The market value is $400K (given the house condition) & the loan balance is $300K. Since there is $100K equity in the house, would it be prudent to make an offer to pay off the arrears, split the equity (offer the Homeowner $50K) & in the end get a $400K house for $350K less the $7.5K to bring the loan current? I'm willin to pay a mentor to assist in this regard. I have read a lot of valuable info on here but am paralyzed when it comes to taking action. Credit & money wise I'm ready, but cant seems to get the courage or confidence to approach the homeowner.

Thanks Bill. I know what a Lis Pendens is - perhaps I should have asked differently. I wanted to know if one has the Lis Pendens list for the desired area, what method would work best? I've read that sending out letters indicating an interest in the property, offering to take over the property sub to, offering ot pay off the arrears, etc. are methods investors have used. I just dont know if those methods would work in the high value areas as well. Thanks for your insight. Its much appreciated. I googled a couple of the addresses on the List Pendens list, & some are listed for sale, others are marked "Not for Sale" on Zillow. I dont have access to expired listings on the MLS, & tried asking my realtor but he wasnt biting. I read some really good ideas here. One is to cross reference the expireds from the MLS against the Lis Pendens list. The matches would indicate "motivated" sellers. I.E. - they have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, have listed the home for sale on the MLS, but the house wasnt sold. Any other ideas out there?

I'm looking to purchase in a igh income area for the school district. The average Home Price is over $400K. How would one approach the Lis Pendens in those areas? Letters? Knock on the doors? Ideally I would like to get the property sub to. I can afford to withdraw $50 to $100K from my 401K to purchase the property. How can one convince such presumably higher educated homeowners to sell me the property at a nice discount off? What are your thoughts? Should I offer to pay up the arrears / split the equity? I was preapproved for a $300K mortgage, & am paying for a subscription to a foreclosure list, but am paralyzed when it comes to taking action.

The zip is 11725.

Thanks for your replies

Welcome,

I'm in the same boat here & have been learning a lot. I'll be attending my second meeting at the LIREA in 2 weeks. You should check them out.

Chris