All Forum Posts by: William Murrell

How could you not?  Postage is expensive relative to the entire budget.  

Don't ever be afraid to ask them to accept way less than it's worth.  If they want to sell it for that, that's their business.  People have a lot of reasons for wanting to sell a property.  Maybe they  really don't like the idea of fixing something up.  Maybe someone died or they got divorced and the physical structure of the house makes them sad and they just want to walk away.  It's up to you to find out why they want to get rid of it.  I don't feel bad about a low ball offer because I'm not their only option.  If they would like to tell me "no" or they don't like my offer then that's fine.  There are always other properties to look at and they can always list with a realtor and fix it up.

And a lot of times someone will say "this offer is way too low" and then go off and find out they can't sell as easy as they thought they could, find out it will cost too much to repair, or just get desperate and call you back to accept the original offer.  You never know.  If you're not borderline embarrassed when you offer, you're offering too much.  

And from a general negotiation standpoint, never start with your max.   If you do, you have nowhere to move.  You can't come up a little bit and make the deal happen, you're just maxed out right out of the gate.  If you start lower than they want and then put some back on the table, they'll be more apt to feel like they got a win-win.

That's like picking a favorite kid!  I really liked the Millionaire Real Estate Investor.  Also Hold is really is good.  Check here for the consensus based on the podcast's recommendations.  Good luck!  

http://garifunainstitute.com/math/bpbooks.php

That is not my site, but someone from here was nice enough to compile it so kudos to them!

They're supposed to send one person out to survey the new property when they take it under management.  That person will outline the things that need to be fixed and then you make the call as to which things get repaired.  All bills should be itemized.  If not, how would you know when to be able to make a warranty call?  If they send a plumber to fix my toilet, I want to know which one in the house.  That way when it still leaks three weeks later, the plumber can't charge me for fixing what he should have done during the first visit.

As for the charges over a certain amount, that is usually stipulated in the management agreement.  You should be able to say "as long as it's not over x dollars, just do it and don't ask."   But $700 would certainly raise a flag to me.  For something that expensive, they'll call me with an estimate and ask for my approval.  

20% of the rent?  I find that hard to believe.  Around here (which I know is entirely different) they charge 12% as an off the street rate, and the rate comes down the more properties you have.  I'd call the companies you find in a google search and ask them.  

If your first offer doesn't embarrass you, you might be offering too much.  And if they say "no," you're no worse off than you are right now.  You can even come back with another offer.  You aren't going to lose money on a deal you don't get and there is always another one.  

You might also try telling the listing agent "I'm thinking of making an offer, but I'm coming up with 170k.  Is that offer worth putting on paper?"  Now, they're supposed to be representing the best interests of the seller and they're also supposed to present any offer, no matter how stupid.  But sometimes you might be surprised how far you get with that.  They might agree that the asking price is too high.   They might know that the bank is ready to go ahead and be done with it.  And they might also realize "if I convince them to take this lowball offer sure the seller will net less money, but I'll get both sides of the commission."  They're not really supposed to do that, but that's a different discussion. 

Welcome to the site and the area! If I were in your shoes, I'd begin by listening to the podcasts. They're free and incredibly informative, and one really nice thing for you is that you'll get an inside look at all of the different types of real estate investing you can pursue like buy and hold, flipping, wholesaling, note investing, etc. I think you'll find that hearing someone talk about what it's actually like to flip or to buy and hold for example might solidify in your mind if it's right for you. You might hear someone describe it and say "that is exactly what I want to do and now I know how to do it!" Alternatively, you might say "that doesn't sound as good as I thought it did" and then save your money. You can also come to the coastal REIA here in Wilmington which meets once a month. You can also begin reading as much as you can from this list:

http://garifunainstitute.com/math/bpbooks.php

That isn't my site, but another site member was nice enough to compile and share.  You certainly don't need to read all of these, but this list represents all the books recommended over the years by the people on the podcasts.  If you only read a fraction of those books you'd end up with a solid foundation.  

Hope this helps and enjoy Wilmington!

Thanks!  I love it.  I have been meaning to make a list like this and then check all of them off as I go.

No problems at all with that method.  We just did the same thing twice in the last six months.  In my experience it makes it faster and easier because you can quickly close on a good deal when you find it. And I've not seen a bank that minded other than the occasional one that wants the deal to season for a while.

If the house is in that bad of an area, are you going to be able to sell it to the end buyer and make your spread?  As for "what happens to the mortgage,"  they will pay it off at closing with the money you bring to the closing table.   If you give them 2k for the house, they'll have to come up with an additional 2k to pay off their debt to the bank.  If you pay them 6k, they'll pocket an additional 2k.  

Them having a mortgage is not a deal breaker.  Plenty of people wholesale houses all the time on houses that have debt attached to them.  I'd worry more about the fact that you don't think it's in a good area and you don't know how much the repair budget is.  

Hope this helps.