All Forum Posts by: Randolph Ellis

Well when we looked at it ( this is my first time estimating repairs), the carpet looked to be in good condition but I was told that the carpet should always be replaced ( so I estimated for that). The only thing we saw was that the stove was really old so we figured to replace that. Lastly it it needed a little touch up paint. So I figured ( with help) that 5k could work and 10k would be better.

We did comps for that area and houses sold in that area were close to what they were asking ( except for a foreclosure).

I am still a novice and I have a guy helping out a little but I am trying to figure this out on my own as well

So an Agent called me a couple weeks ago to go look at a house that was listed at about 65k. Its in a good neighborhood and houses in that area are going for about that same price. I was going to put in an offer of 50k but I was told that it may not get accepted. Fast forward to today and I got a call saying the owner really needs to sell and would entertain any offers. So I am thinking about offering the 50k .We also estimated that it would need about 5k in repairs. Here is the issue ....if it gets accepted then I dont know what my next step is. I want to wholesale it or flip it...maybe even do a L/O. What I dont want to do is rent in out. I have no desire to be a long term landlord. The bank has already approved me for financing btw.

So what would you do?

So lets lets I find a motivated seller that accepts an offer at 70% ARV. What would my next step be if I want to use the least amount of my own funds possible. I have located a bank that will do 100% of the appraised value minus repairs but I would like to see what can be down without using the banks. Would the best option be to wholesale it? What would you do if you are just starting out?

I have often heard you make money finding good deals.....but what do I do after i find the deals

So I need to target those that are not on MLS. I think i got it.

Would you guys suggest getting a separate mailing address? What about phone? I haven't even thought about it until I was reading more.

Also how is list source ? Are they worth it?

Man you guys are awesome. Thanks for your advice!

Looks liek I have a lot of work to do this weekend

Ok so I have been reading extensively for the past month or so on this site on how ot get started but I stilol have some question. Please forgive me if they have already been answered..

1. So how exactly to you guys find MLS listings? Do you just go to Realor.com or some other site and just target those sellers?

2. How do you do direct mailings ( thats yellow notes right?) and how do you know who to send direct mail to...Where do I find the address of an absentee owner?

I have many more but those two are answers I relly need to know.

I would like to send mailing to owners looking to sell. I am also emailing or calling the contacts of FSBO listings I find online or in the papers. I have tried craigslist for my area but it looks like there are a couple investors using it heavily already so I would like to try a different approach to find sellers.

So for us newbies is it a bad time to invest due to the lack of inventory?

I dont know what you mean about position but hopefully this will answer it. I have very good credit and a lil money saved but my spouse does not want me touch the saving...at least until I can show her that REI will pay off.

I work full time so I plan spending my off-time/weekends reading and doing some investing. If you need more info let me know

So i am going to Texas in a couple of months and I had my mind set on starting our=t on Lease Options. Since reading this forum it seems L/Os are a touchy subject in Texas. So now I am looking at other REI methods that does not require a lot of my funds. I was thinking of maybe buying some HUD homes or homes requiring a little rehab and turning them into rentals. I have also just started looking at wholesales but I dont know a lot about that.

So let me ask you experts what would be the best direction besides L/Os?