All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Barnes

You can follow me@ StephBuysHouses

Anthony,

What kind of investing do you do? I am in Washington but do a lot of business in the Twin Cities. I am very familiar with the area and have representatives there that do the things I am unable to do because of my location.

Please feel free to pm me and we can talk more.

Thank you,
Stephanie

Yes if they are bank owned they are called REO's ("real estate owned" properties). You can wholesale them but most banks will not allow you to assign the contracts to another buyer. You can do a double close where you will need to actually close on and own the property, even if only for a few hours. There are lots of hard money lenders that lend up to 100% on wholesales if you have the end buyer lined up and can close with them within a day or. But they usually charge a pretty good fee so you need to make sure there is enough money for your fee and theirs.

Another way is to add the buyer's name to the contract you have with the bank and quit claim the deed to them at closing and take your assignment fee that way.

I personally don't do vacant lots or land because I don't have buyers that are looking for those so it would be hard for me to get rid of. If you have buyers for lots and land then definately pursue them.

Stephanie

Yes that is true. I have had someone who was able to put $50k down though (he was a very experienced rehabber). But in most cases they will probably only be able to come up with a smaller amount.

Stephanie

I know Grand Forks very well. My best friend lives there and I have family about 20 minutes from there in Minnesota and in Fargo as well. I know how bad the winters are too so I feel for you!!

I have thought about buying some investment properties in the area. How is the cash flow? Are all your units fully rented? Are you currently looking to buy more properties?

Thanks,
Stephanie

Thanks, Mr. Investor.

I am up front with the seller right away. I tell them I work with a network of investors and I may not actually close on the property but will probably end up passing it on to someone that is more familiar with that area (or part of town).

I have had them ask me if I worked for a profit. Of course I do so I just say yes but the end buyer is the one that pays me and there will be no charge to them.

I have dealt with a lot of very unrealistic and difficult sellers. If they are uncooperative just explain they will get their agreed upon money on the same closing date that was set.

Hope this helps!
Stephanie

Here is the deal -

I have a first postion lien on a property under contract.
The house is in good condition but just needs some updating. The
house is owned free and clear but has two liens on it. The first lien
(which is what I have under contract) is for around $34,000 from the City of Tacoma, WA. The second lien is for Medicaid for around $266,000.

The house is tax assessed at $155,800 for 2009 (and probably worth $125k-$135k ARV). I would like to assign the contract to someone that is interested in buying it and either foreclosing to wipe out the second lien or possibly working something out with Medicaid. (Knowing that they would be wiped out
completely, they would probably sell the lien to you for a huge
discount.)

I have it under contract at $30,000 as that is the lowest the city of
Tacoma is able to go. I can assign it to someone for just a $1,000
assignment fee.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? Is this a good deal? Any input would be great.

Just as a side note - Tacoma, WA is flooded with investors looking to rehab properties and it is very easy to assign a contract on a house that is available in most parts of it (including the area this house is in). I know that this house would go really fast if I were doing a regular wholesale on it at $75k-$85k.

Thank you in advance for all your help.
Stephanie

I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking about how to explain assigning the contract to your buyer and that you will not be the actual purchaser?

I usually wholesale subject-to's. Most of the time they are easiest to sell since the buyer generally doesn't have to worry about financing or having enough cash to buy. If you are able to cash flow quite a bit and there is lots of equity I would suggest keeping it yourself though.

To determine what to wholesale it at, I just basically do what I do with any other property and base it off comps and repairs needed. I just add my fee on and have the buyer put down that and any amount of payments the owner is behind on (and if they have tons of equity and are getting something out of it, their money too).

You should find that if the price is right (and maybe even a little higher than most deals because of the terms) subject-to's and anything with owner financing will be the easiest to get rid of.

Hope this helps!
Stephanie

Just out of curiousity - what parts of MN and ND? I am very familiar with that area.

How is the rental market there?

Stephanie