All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I'm wondering if anyone has ever bought a property that was in probate through creative financing or other creative strategies? Has the executor/personal representative allowed you to do a lease option or offered you owner financing? Do they usually just want cash?

Do you only send probate letters to distressed properties, or do you send them to very nice properties also?

I assume I would have a better chance of getting a probate property if it is at least a little distressed. Then the executor/personal rep might not be as quick to put the property on the MLS. It might give me a chance to help them clean out the property and get a good deal.

If the property is in great shape, and they want to sell, I think they would list it on the MLS to get top dollar for it.

@Todd Campbell

@Roger Jones

Any updates to this? 

Did you find a good letter?

How is it working for you?

Sharon Vornholt has a great letter on her website. I made a few changes to it to make it my own. I'm just starting to mail them out this week

In my county I can search probate records online. I can search by deceased date or filed date. Which do you normally search by?

If I search by deceased date, I know the lead is pretty good because its new. I just go back a couple months to give the family time to grieve. I don't mail to people who have passed in the last month or two. 

If I search by filed date, it brings up A LOT more leads, but some of these people died as far back as 5, 10, or even 20 years ago. Would you mail to the estate of someone that died that long ago, or only to people that died within the last year or so?

@Jassem A.

I have a new LLC that I've been talking to BB&T about using to finance a property but I can get better terms and better cash flow putting the property in my own name.

@Jassem A.

I want to buy a rental property soon, but I also want to buy a new primary residence for my family. If I buy a rental now, I concerned that I won't get approved for the loan for my primary residence. 

You bring up a good point about reserves. I've been focused on credit score and debt to income. I haven't even thought about savings. 

If I buy a house with an FHA loan or conventional loan, how long do I have to wait to buy another house with another FHA loan or conventional loan? I assume that getting a mortgage in my name will lower my credit score a little bit. So would I need to wait 6 - 12 months to apply for another mortgage?

@Taron R Colenburg Jr

There are some good podcasts on estimating repair costs. Not just the BP podcast, but others as well. Search where ever you listen to podcasts for "estimate rehab cost" or "estimating rehab cost". 

You will hear that some investors just throw chunks of money towards their estimate. If it needs paint and carpet, $5k. New gutters, $1500. New roof, $5k. Landscaping $1k. And so on and so on. They learn over time what the typical cost is and what size chunk to throw at it. 

You should start calling contractors and subs talk to them! Call HVAC guys, electricians, flooring guys, drywall guys, General contractors, roofers, etc. Ask them questions about pricing and ask for ball park estimates. How do they price jobs, by the square foot or just by the job? Ask a few GCs if you can pay them a couple hundred bucks to walk thru a house with you and give you a scope of work with pricing so you can learn. If they say no, call another one. 

@Jeff Bonner

I haven't found the right one yet. There are a lot of duplexes in my price range that are on the MLS, but for one reason or another I haven't made a move on them yet.

A lot of properties look good in the pictures. Then, I drive by them and see they are in a run down neighborhood, or the distressed condition of the property is too much for me to deal with right now, or when I run the numbers it just doesn't cash flow enough. 

I just had a little HVAC scare with my single family that has me analyzing all potential investments with very conservative numbers. I thought I was gonna have to spend $5k+ to replace the entire HVAC system. After having another contractor look at it, turned out to be some burned up wires. It only cost me $135 to fix. That being said, I will never buy another property that only cash flows $100 - $200 per month. Repairs and vacancies eat it up too fast. 

I have also been mailing yellow letters to owners of duplexes all around me. I'm hoping to get a better deal than off the MLS, or maybe find someone who will owner finance me. I just got a call from a guy that had 6 duplexes next door to each other! He wants to sell all 6 together! I think it could be an awesome investment for someone. It's too big of a deal for me. I don't have enough cash and he doesn't want to owner finance them. I've been trying to find some partners or private lenders who might be interested.

So, I'm still working at it. I'm gonna find a great property eventually.