All Forum Posts by: Robert Dobbs

Welcome Andrew! (...and welcome to South Florida!)

Meet some very interesting South Florida real estate investors by joining a local real estate investment club.

For example, B.R.I.C. (Boca Real Estate Investment Club), will be celebrating their 25th year soon!

B.R.I.C. meets twice monthly. Their founder, David Dweck, still keeps this investment club going very strong, still after 25 years! Wow!

A nice environment to "network" with others and for you to learn "the lay-of-the-land" here in South Florida.

You can "Google" David Dweck or Boca Real Estate Investment Club a link for is:  B.R.I.C.   http://bocarealestateclub.com/ 

Andrew, ...I have "no skin in the game" with B.R.I.C, ...but if I was new to South Florida, ...B.R.I.C. would be a very smart place to learn about the South Florida real estate investment market.

And too meet some very nice-helpful folks too! 

Good luck Andrew, and enjoy a happy, safe South Florida holiday weekend!

Bob Dobbs,

Capitol Homes Real Estate (Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional/Realtor)

Land Rescue League Trust (Trustee)

Land Rescue League LLC (Managing Member)

Hello, Mr. Kadriri, good luck to you! I think it is wonderful, with your advanced education, in combination with living and working in NYC in an elevated capacity in the NYC real estate market, gives you some of that "NYC chops", that should go a long way to help you branching-out, on your own.

A thought for you: Do you have the possibility of renegotiating your work agreement to changing to an equity position (a "piece of the action", an "equity position" instead of a salary.)???

You may be just so valuable to your company, they are willing to give you "a piece of the rock", instead of "kibbles and bits".

And if they say "NO"! They may be many other firms that say "YES".

Shola, you can always "go out on your own" if you want to! And throw yourself to the endless real estate "gremlins and goblins" that stalk the streets of New York.

Me personally? With all the "war stories" I have heard from seasoned New York investors, if I had your "NYC education and working background", I would find a private equity company that will "pay you your worth" and give you an equity/cash position on every deal you "bring to the table".

Shola, just "one man's opinion". But who knows? My "2 cents" here, ... may just make you rich and happy" LOL!!! The best of good fortune to you!  Sincerely, Bob

Jake,

Keep working "expired listings" in your spare time. Look-up Owner's names and addresses in the County Records. Write them letters.

Ask for help, ...get tips from other agents and brokers in your office that are willing to help you.

I promise you Jake, ...as your "letter writing" skills get stronger, you will get replies, good leads and new listings.

Find the best producers in your office and offer to share your listings, leads, replies with them. Tell them, ...you have some very nice potential "pocket listings" and you are new and would like to share your potential listings ("co-broker") with these top producers, so you can "learn and earn" (part time)!

Learn by watching what these "top producers" are doing and "before you know it" ...you can "hit the streets running" when you decide to become a full-time agent, with "new-found talent" and "working relationships" with the "good agents"

Those "top producers" time is valuable, so if you keep "throwing good deals in their laps", ... "money talks", and they will want to help you, ...if you keep those deals rolling in.

Remember: Expired Listings = Motivated Sellers = Listings = Deals

Good luck to you Jake! (Remember, you CAN start doing this on a part-time basis.)

Robert Dobbs

Land Rescue League Trust (Trustee and Settlor)

Land Rescue League LLC (Managing-Director)

Capitol Homes Real Estate, Inc. (Florida Licensed Pro)

Josh, welcome to BiggerPockets!

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I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the past few years, that you gave for the service of our county, ..."Thanks for your service Josh"!

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Here's a few tips for you:

1. While you still have a year or two in San Diego, join a local Real Estate Investment Club and try to attend their monthly evening meetings. "Chat it up" with as many seasoned real estate investors at these meetings and "pick their brains", make friends, tell your story, make some friends and maybe spend a day or two each month "in the field" with an experienced real estate investor!
2. Finding the right income property in or near College Station, Texas. Try to find a neighborhood that in general, will give you the best "bottom line" (since you are good at "crunching the numbers" Josh). For Example, let's look at the "Zillow Home Value Index" of College Station, Texas. The current "median home price" is: $160,000. But the "median home price" close by, in the College Station Metro Area is only: $130,000. And other areas nearby have the following current median home prices: Waco, TX: $97,000, Corsicana Metro: $83,000. In other words Josh, try do your homework and find as much information as you can first before you "pick your poison" and commit to your first income property! Try to find an income property that is not necessarily where you personally prefer to live, but a house that will give you the most promising "positive cash flow". Like most of America's neighborhoods, there are wide price spreads in home values from 'neighborhood to neighborhood'.
3. "Owner Financing". Josh, try to "wrap you mind around" these most important two words, "motivated sellers". What works for me in any "up or down" real estate market, are what I call "life events": ...death, disability, childbirth, health issues, domestic issues, divorce, loss of job, relocation because of employment, retirement, legal problems, back taxes and many others, ...are all "life events" that can "motivate a seller" into selling their real estate! Many times, it is no longer just about the money, it is about just selling period! Combine these life events with "owner-financing" and you will be amazed just how you can pick-up nice income producing properties, with little or no money down and solve your financing problems!
4. "Price and Terms". Let us look at a "motivated seller", selling a great property that will work perfect for you Josh, let us say for example, a purchase price of $100,000.00. What about offering this "motivated seller" $110,000 for his house if he is willing to offer you "owner-financing. Where do I begin? Try working with listing agents. A good place to start is Realtor.com. How about this: Try offering the listing agent a 50% ownership in the property, if he can help you obtain his listed property via owner financing. Let us say you put up $3300 in escrow and the listing agent and his broker use their earned commission, in exchange for 50% ownership of the property. In addition, as part of the deal, the listing agent will be responsible for finding a proper tenant. Why would an agent go for this deal? He paid nothing out of pocket. He just put-up his real estate commission for 50% ownership. You and the agent will use the $3,300 you put in escrow for any expenses, until the said property is rented. Josh, this is just "one of a hundred" ways to obtain a property with little down.
5. Tell your story Josh! A young man, putting his life on hold, by serving his country in the military, and then returning to college to obtain his masters degree, and to live the "American Dream" of real estate ownership, is in my opinion, a "powerful tool", a "story you must tell" that will inspire sellers and will get you owner financing that you deserve.

Josh, you can find many other ways to hunt for "motivated sellers". Find your own niche, crunch those numbers, "pluck those motivated sellers out of the barrel" and live the American Dream!

Your youth, intelligence, desire, "telling your story" and most important "hands-on experience", should help you reach most any goal, including a nice portfolio of income producing properties Josh! Good luck to you! Happiest of holidays!

Whew! I did it!

I put under contract, a "bulk deal, 48 vacant Florida homesite lots on April 26. I was given until the end of the "bank quarter" (June 28th, 2012), or about two months to complete this transaction:

This deal was called a "step-down contract".

I was allowed to close on a minimum of 12 lots at a time. The original "vacant land contract" was for 48 vacant lots, and was ammended to add another 9 lots to the deal, bringing the total to 57 lots I closed on!

The seller (a bank) suggested this "step-down" technique to me, as they did not want to do the deal my way, via "option to purchase".

The first batch was to be 12 lots (I put 10% down on those 12 lots).

I instead closed on 28 lots on the first batch of lots (as I had these 28 lots sold within two weeks!).

I closed on 12 lots for the second batch.

I closed 17 lots for the 3rd and final batch!

All went smoothly!

The key to this type of transaction is having a way to market all properties within the alloted time frame, per the agreement (the "contract")...

The second key to my success is pricing.

I portray myself as a "land liquidator".

So I make offers, what I call, "well below wholesale bulk deals". And then I sell them wholesale ("below market") to others, working on "thin margins", so I can move them fast!

My monetary risk was an initial 10% "hard deposit" on 12 lots. And my bigger risk was not completing the original deal (48 lots) and losing the trust and confidence of the seller (the bank)...

I was able to sell 26 lots (11 lots, and then 15 lots) to an investment group (they "warehouse" these properties for a "future rainy day-real estate boom"), and 7 lots to another investor of mine (thru his self-directed IRA) and the balance (24 lots) were sold as "singles" or as "doubles" (i.e., 2 adjoining lots) on eBay (as I am a long-time "power seller" and "top-rated" seller there!)...

All-in-all, it was a pretty cool deal, for a few months of hard work.

I "patted myself on the back". Now what?

I need to DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

Bob
Land Rescue League LLC

I bet Home Depot does not sell too many lawn mowers in Vegas? LOL!

When I started investing in real estate, I thought like many newbie investors, "there is just too much liability being licensed in real estate and "doing deals"!

I can tell you I WAS WRONG!

Being a licensed real estate professional has only helped me create more deals, make additional profit, and so much more over that past few decades!

The ways I use my licensure has changed over the years, with the ever-changing real estate markets.

I simply do not fear the risk of extra liability being a licensed real estate professional "buying for my own account".

In strong markets, "bubble-busting" markets, and in-between, being a Realtor has helped me in multiple ways.

I for one, will continue to buy and sell and be licensed, as I think this "added liability topic", while an interesting read, is simply overblown!

I for one, feel confident I can handle most "liability issues" relating to being a licensed agent.

I'm satisfied with my disclosure abilities to sellers.

I explain to sellers (...individuals, corps, banks, etc.) that I'm a "real estate liquidator" and I currently buy properties "back of book value" and re-sell them for profit.

I recently bought a 54 lot package from a bank. These were vacant buildable homesites, located in varoius Florida Counties.

These 54 properties were listed by varoius real estate agents for the bank that totaled $550,000 on various MLS in Florida.

I paid just over $53,000 for 48 of those 54 lots. I acted as my own buyer's agent and was compensated for that. Did I take advantage of this seller? Am I subject to liability?

I would say to this and any other seller, "as a principal to the deal and as a licensed professional representing myself, I acted in an ethical manner and will vigorisly defend myself against any legal action that would arrise from me "buying for my own account" and at the same time, being a licensed real estate professional".

Bob
Land Rescue League LLC

Staging "lite" ...

It is amazing what you can do with little or no extra money!

Make that house smell good! (Fabric freshener, Air Freshener [I love vanilla a scent, combined with fresh paint on the walls! Yummy! LOL!], ...and please don't laugh at those chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven! (Okay, you can chuckle a little! LOLI!)

"Nice and cool" inside, on those hot days, and "nice and toasty", on those cold days!

Good lighting! ("Light and bright" and "good smells", sells better than, "drabby and dark", with "no smells"? You think?)

"Eyebrow & eyelashes" on the front! (Paint those shutters! Clean that front door! LOL!).

If you are not going to spend on "pro staging" like Billy V. talks about, then at least make a list, what you can do for free hot little cash, to make that "good first impression", before you "show it".

I'm sure we all can think of plenty of other good things "one can do" before a showing"?

Bob
Land Rescue League LLC

Hi Michael!

It is like that "singer on American Idol",

... when she "hits that first note" her audience is "tuned-in" to her!

I have that good feeling that your audience is "tuned-in" to you also!

...with your marketing!

Great job! Much continued success!

In your postcard, the word "cash" is mentioned nine times (including a couple times, in your handle, "1-800-SELL4CASH.COM"

I might suggest you experiment and cut back on the word "cash" and try replacing, maybe half of them with another word, related catchy phrase, etc.

Just a thought? With less than 20 lines in that cool postcard of yours, and then:

... cash, cash, cash, cash, cash, cash, cash, 1-800sell4cash.com &
1-800sell4cash.com,

9 X "cash" just may be a bit overstated. I think Mike, it is short enough for you to experiment with those few paragraphs a little, and you just might ... "hit it out right of the park!"

Again, great job, EVEN WITH ALL THAT CASH! LOL!

Bob
Land Rescue League, LLC

I would say the majority of banks use what is called a "Special Warranty Deed", which sounds "less threatening" than a deed called a "Limited Warranty Deed".

(...or maybe some states use a "limited warranty deed" while other states use a "special warranty deed"? All the banks I've done REO deals here in Florida use "special warranty deeds"!).

My last 50 properties from banks:

47 - via Special Warranty Deed
3 - via Quit Claim Deed

Banks seem to "have a fear" of exposing themselves to extra liability when they sell REOs,

so banks, in their wisdom, mostly use Special & Limited Warranty Deeds in lieu of a regular Warranty Deed when transferring title on REOs.

Banks also use "special addendums" or added language in the "additional terms section" of a real estate sales contract to even further insulate themselves from liability.

Sometimes an investor can use the bank's paranoia and fear of liability to their advantage:

I recently purchased (3) REO vacant lots from a major bank (BB&T). I submitted my offer, as I usually do, but this time the bank said they would only sell these three properties to me via a "Quit Claim Deed".

The problem was, almost all title insurance companies will not get involved with title work and not issue title insurance, if a "Quit Claim Deed" is used to transfer title!

I really wanted these (3) lots, so I "dug deep" into "chain of title history" to see just why a bank would refuse to sell me these lots only via a "quit claim deed"?

I learned that these three lots were part of a huge group of properties that were "Quit Claimed" to BB&T Bank from a land developer via a "Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure" agreement.

And I further noticed that the title company used was owned by this land developer, and the "Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure / Quit Claim" documents were drawn-up by the land developer's own lawyer (...who was also the lawyer for the title company! Yikes!).

Now I kind of understood BB&T's motive in wanting to transfer these lots only via a "Quit Claim Deed". But that didn't help me much as I would have to buy these (3) REO lots without title insurance, ...and that did scare me!

So here's what I did: I convinced a title insurance company (who uses their own "in-house searcher" to do the title searches as a "prelude to getting a property underwritten for title insurance issuance.") to do a free title search for me, with the understanding that they would get the "back end" title work from my end buyers.

So this small town title company said ok! They did the search, and then they made their money by closing these (3) lots to two end buyers with title insurance!

They did that only days after the BB&Ts "quit claim deed" was filed and these 3 lots were transferred to me. So in other words once the property was in my name (regardless of obtaining them via a "quit claim deed" or not), I was able to sell them right away, via a full warranty deed with title insurance to my ebay buyers.

So I bought the (3) REO lots from BB&T Bank, without title insurance (and zero closing costs I might add!). So just a few days after I closed with the bank (of course my title company requested to review the "quit claim deed" and make sure it was drawn up correctly by BB&T Bank's lawyer, with proper legal descriptions, etc. And all was indeed ok!).

I resold the lots with full title insurance, thanks to this small title company!

So all worked out perfectly for me.

But I hope I never have to buy another REO property via a "Quit Claim Deed"!

LOL!

Bob
Land Rescue League, LLC