All Forum Posts by: Jim & Michele Wilcox

Hi - My comments are only for what I know about my area. I agree, the banks are trying to make their bottom line look good - but as the house sits there at a high price it continues to deteriorate and the value decreases. But they know more than I do I guess. :cry: There have been REO houses on the market here almost a year now with now decrease in prices.

I have not found any banks that sell their own REO's to the public or investors. I've seen this about 10 years ago, but not today.

Care to divulge which banks??

Just wait until the bank's year end balance sheets come out. When they have tons of houses still owned by the bank and are losing out on lending that money again. Maybe they will wake up ... or do we need another Savings & Loan fiasco?

If the person owes you money - send him a certified letter stating the amount owed, any proof like your contract, and a time period to pay. If he does not pay, take him to small claims court. It's not expensive to do. Lots of times, they will pay up before they go to court. Then if you win your case - they will put a money judgement on him. He can't buy anything, sell anything and will have a hard time unless he clears that judgement.

I'm not a lawyer but have dealt with this in our family.

Good luck.

DBL is correct, you need to find out what type of liens you can attach to a property. You can't just go file a lien for any reason you like.

If you have done work on the home and haven't gotten paid ... small claims court is a good remedy. Then a judgement on the owner.

There are ways to protect yourself when working on properties if you are a contractor/sub-contractor and that is called a preliminary lien. It is not a lien put on the house - but it tells the owner that if he doesn't pay - a lien will be put on the house.

P.S. you did not state WHY you want to put a lien on this house so it's hard to answer.

Good luck...

Possibly on the way west end of the Phoenix area. Lots of building going on there.

I'm not sure what you are calling "pre-construction deals" but I'm thinking you mean buying a new construction home in a sub-division and then trying to flip it before it is completed - making some money.

Around here - that has been done for a few years now. Many investors got caught in these deals when the market trended down. They now can't even break even by renting mainly because there are so many homes in the sub-division that are owned by investors. Many will fall into foreclosure.

Also, many sub-divisions will not let any investors buy new homes any more because by doing so - the neighborhoods are filled with empty houses and renters - something the developer did not want.

Now - we do something called a "spec" home. We build high dollar 1M to 2M custom homes in desireable areas that will sell because they have the location and bells and whistles people with money want. We would enjoy having an investor or two reap the rewards when it is sold making a great % on their investment. We have not persued this avenue as yet though.

Check your deals closely, find out who owns what in the neighborhood, and find out if you must ultimately rent the property, your rent will cover all expenses.

Good luck ...

We purchased property in Hawaii without seeing it. We saw photos of the property and bought it. Then the next year went out to see it and it was pretty much what we thought it was. We still own it today.

I'd make sure you have access to the property (a dedicated road or drive in and out) ... that the lot is not land locked in any way.

And then possibly contact the county and find out about building on it. If you can't, it's worthless.

Usually in many states you do not need to be present at the closing. Like Ashannon said, they will fedex deeds, etc. for signatures.

Where is the property?

A couple questions:

Is the land listed with MSL?

Are you willing to carry back on the property? This makes the property more desirable and easier to purchase for many people.

Yes, you can put the lot on eBay .. they have a real estate section. If it's prices low enough, you'll sell it. Most real estate sold on eBay is at less than FMV.

Keep us posted, I'd be interested to know the answers to the questions and how you do on eBay.

Good luck

White trim is always in. It make the house look clean and fresh - especially a rehab.

Most reputable generals and subs have their own liability insurance. If they don't - I wouldn't use them. Before hiring them, ask for proof of insurance. They will gladly fax you a copy.

To protect yourself from fire, theft, vandelism, etc. - you can purchase what is called "course of construction" insurance. It's a yearly policy but can be cancelled whenever you are done. It is not expensive. We ask all our clients to have it. We do not insure 'their' house.

I am a general contractor and my advice is:

Do Not ... repeat ... do not .... pay any contractor or sub-contractor 1/2 of the full contract amount up front.

If he is unscrupulous - where do you think he'll head? ...... down the road.

Any contractor worth his salt can start a job with 10% down. Then you can pay in full at the end. Or pay in agreed upon "draws" during the job as each segment of that job is completed.

Please be careful.