All Forum Posts by: Sharon Tzib

Looks like you're buying this property using the 57% rule, not the 70%, so you do have a nice cushion built in. Having said that, a train track will definitely turn off a lot of buyers, just like freeways, hospitals, and burger joints will.

"Other houses in the same neighborhood, the same distance from the tracks, have sold for as much or more than the comps I've looked at"

What were the DOM for those homes? Using an average, you could reasonably try to predict how long yours would take and what your holding costs would be. Buying a house by the tracks wouldn't be my first choice - it's a tough call.

Eric, cap rates are a metric to compare one commercial deal to another in a certain area to see if you are getting a good deal or not. It is generally reserved for the 5 unit and above deals. 4 unit and below are generally valued by "closed" area comps (an appraiser will not be able to use a pending sale).

Having said that, I think this is a great deal. Great cash-on-cash, ROI, and a Section 8 tenant to boot (I'm a fan of those). If you haven't already, pull the trigger.

Cross the appraisal bridge when you get to it (seller may have to lower their price and/or you could bring more cash to the table or a combo of the two-but make sure the numbers still make sense). Keep us posted and good luck!

Sharon

"As far as the wisdom of targeting people with unpaid property taxes, well not such a productive strategy imo. Unless maybe they within a couple months of actually losing their property to a Tax Deed."

One of the newbies in Podcast 25 did just that and made an $11K profit! He said he contacted them about 30 days before the redemption period was up, if I recall correctly.

<quote>If I want to sell my house fast and it's in bad condition why can't I just put an add out on craigslist saying </quote>

Sure they could. In fact, a large amount of sellers who respond to wholesaler advertising either have their home on the market currently or their listing has recently expired. Or they're FSBOing and can't find a buyer.

The fact is, that a large % of wholesale deals are for distressed homes that the average buyer cannot get a loan for. And average buyers don't want to deal with huge amounts of repairs anyways.

Real estate is something that intimidates the large majority of people. So if someone can come along (the wholesaler) and solve their problem for them, without them having to spend any time on the issue, then that is a value to a seller.

Most sellers are dealing with some tremendous emotional, physical, or financial burden (divorce, death, illness or job loss). If a wholesaler can come along and relieve them of that, then I guarantee you they won't feel ripped off.

Hey Helen! Mark just wrote a great post about this exact subject very recently:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/07/27/how-being-a-real-estate-agent-gets-me-more-deals/

In fact, if you search the site for "get real estate license" you'll find tons of threads on this conversation.

I will say that I believe the answer to this question does partially lie in your strategy. And no matter what, if you are using a realtor who you feel like you are bugging, you either need a new realtor, or yes, you need to take matters into your own hands.

Good luck no matter what you decide!

Hey Todd! I'd love to meet one as well. Let me know if you have any luck. I"ll be moving to Houston end of year. Looking to start in smaller multis, 5-10 units, just to get my feet wet. Good luck!

Hi Mike! I hear The Woodlands is a great area to be investing in right now. I'll be moving to Cypress end of year. Welcome to BP!!

Welcome aboard, Sami! Lots of us Houston folks lately. I'm looking at the MFH in Houston too. Good luck!

I signed up for the meetup group. When I move there end of this year can't wait to join you guys!

Hey Cameron! I'm gonna be relocating to Houston real soon myself. Will be getting into the multi-family segment.

If you want to find off market properties, besides joining a REIA as Eric already mentioned, you may want to look at employing several different wholesaler tactics yourself, such as driving for dollars or list mailing campaigns. Of course, all this depends on your budget, but it's a great way to get started.

Two premier wholesalers on this site are Sharon Vornholt and Danny Johnson. Their websites are chalk full of excellent marketing ideas to find motivated sellers.

Good luck!