All Forum Posts by: Chris L.

I have several ideas.

1. You could try looking through Craigslist, Realtor.com etc for ads for apartments for rent. If you google the address and find out it's a larger property, call and you will probably reach the property manager. You may or may not have luck getting the owner's info from them, you'd have to get creative. Find some excuse why you need to talk to the owner. 

I know one investor who finds the owners of mobile home parks this way. He calls the park and am attendant answers. He says that he owns parks wants to possibly buy this park. He says he pays his attendants $xx/hour (probably more than the attendant is making) and offers health benefits. The attendant lights up and and will help him get in contact with the owner, in exchange for potentially getting these benefits if the investor buys the park.

2. A different way: Drive around, scout out properties, and look up the owners at the county records.

3. Make friends with title agents. They know who is buying what. Plus, if they bring you leads for deals it gets them business. This works for smaller properties, I don't know if it would work the same way for commercial.

@Tony Ngo What ended up happening with this apartment? Did things work out? Did the husband move in?

Chris, are you answering your calls yourself or letting them go to voicemail? Do you have a special script for your voicemail? 

It's good to hear that you're getting promising leads from probate. That is one niche I haven't fully explored yet. Keep us posted!

@Ryan Dossey When we have callers who won't give a number, I try to ask a couple different ways. ie "What do you want for the property?" "What is the least you would accept for the property?" If that doesn't work, I do some sleuthing. I have already collected info on the property and I'm probably already looking at it at Zillow, so I have an idea of market price. So then I need to determine their motivation. I ask "When were you hope to sell by?...How come? Are you moving?...What were you thinking of using the funds for once you sell?" I just ask a LOT of questions. Rapport is key.

If they just want me to come take a look and make an offer, I tell them (as Michael Quarless suggested) my formula for how I will come up with my offer. I explain why we won't pay full price, we are investors, we pay 70% of market price minus holding costs, closing costs, etc etc and repairs because we usually modernize the kitchen and other rooms in the property (this is helpful when people think "but my house doesn't need repairs"). Once they see the offer size being whittled down, if they are still interested, then it sounds like they are motivated enough for us to keep working on the deal or at least keep in contact with them.

Reviving an old thread. I disagree that you can tell whether someone is motivated by whether they will answer your questions or not. There are 2 parts to their motivation:

1. Whether they need to sell

2. Whether they want to sell to YOU

Yes, you should chat with them, empathize with them. Don't read off a script, you will look inexperienced. But you can have a list of items you want to ask. By the end, you should leave them thinking that you are their first choice of people to sell to. 

Here is one podcast about what to say on a call, of course all calls are different:

http://buysellfixflip.com/podcastitem/bsff-podcast...

@Rick H. How does one sell their interest in a property? Does it involve handing over their POA for the property?

The numbers do sounds really good for that property. A few thoughts come to mind that could wipe out your profits:

Are there any liens on the property? ie tax liens?

Foundation issues? The scary thing about foundation issues is that when you try to fix them, it could lead to a ripple effect of other repairs that need to be done.

Buried oil tank? I'm not sure if in your area, sellers are required to remove them. In that process, the tank could leak and you're in a world of hurt paying for soil remediation. 

Rental market? You sound like you're in the beginning stages of looking into rent rates in the area. What you will pay might not equal what others would pay. Call all the For Rent ads on Craigslist and ask how long the rooms have been vacant. Also ask if they've noticed any trends in the rental market. Or talk to agents. Demand could potentially be very different from what you think. And what a place is listed as for rent doesn't necessarily mean what it will end up being rented for. When asking people for money, you will give them more confidence in you if you can gauge how tight the market is.

History of mold? Even if you don't see it, that doesn't mean it's not there. Black mold is toxic and lenders such as FHA will not loan on those properties (not sure about 203k loans).

Best of luck to you, I hope everything works out and you are able to make this deal happen! Keep us posted!

As others mentioned, you could get sued, and some say everyone will get sued at some point if they're in the business long enough. I recommend listening to BP podcast 109. Will you be investing in the US? I don't know the laws where you are in Singapore. 

Lawsuits can come from anywhere. Asking a prospective tenant the wrong thing. Making a promise you can't keep. Injuries. Etc

You can get in other types of legal trouble, too. Managing someone else's property without a license. Trouble with the IRS. Police finding drug activity on your property. etc

Another way to lose your shirt is if you have a highly trained squatter. See this thread about someone who took 4 years to evict a tenant. I can't even imagine he paid in mortgage payments and lawyer fees:  

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/6494...

Here's another thread about a professional squatter:  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/636...

Good to know, thanks!

Have any of you experimented with advertising in church bulletins? Have you had any luck? 

@Pat Martin  @Karen Margrave @Jared K. @Darrell Shepherd @Chad U. @Brandon Hicks @Andrew Syrios @Larry Turowski @Anne Wallace @Paul Hoeppner @James Wise @Bryan L. @Matthew Lee @Rolanda Eldridge @William Murrell @Jon Klaus @Ed L. @David Krulac @Brandon Foken