All Forum Posts by: Shane M

Thanks for the info, the more I thought about the other "As Is" properties the more I realized this one (although not listed as such) will probably be an as is sale. I did use some of the free resources listed on this site for comps and there have been various sales for between 90 and 100K over the last 6-12 months. There has also been one for 45K..... ouch

So I'm thinking this isn't really a great deal after all, which does bum me out, but fortunately I know not to fall in love with a property.

Looks like I'm back to looking

Mark - I am actually not to far from you in Michigan, perhaps I'll PM you with the details if you want to check it out.

Thanks guys!

And apparently it has been on the market for about a month, they do have it listed as SHORTSALE APPROVED instead of just SHORTSALE which I understand is not the same thing.

Which does that mean they don't have room to negotiate because the bank has to sell it at that minimum?

Okay price for the Short sale is 79K, first comp I checked in the neighborhood is listed at 119K (but has a non-attached two car garage), house contructed in 71. The deal house was constructed in 1970.

After checking some other listings in the neighborhood online there are a few other properties going for 85-100K being sold "AS IS" in the same neighborhood (opposite side of sub). The deal house I'm looking at is not listed "as is", and is actually leased out right now (so im assuming it is habitable). It has some paint flecks and minor cosmetic blemishes outside as well.

Hey everyone, just gotto say I am soaking up everything I can on this site and will hopefully be providing what insight I can to others as well, but I digress!

I am looking at my first deal, it is a short-sale about 70-80% of market value! I'm trying to get in contact with the owner to take a tour and make sure there are no major problems, but with the short-sale situation it appears that the owners just need to get out! The short-sale is supposedly already approved (with 24-hour notice), which I guess is my first question because I thought they typically needed a month? In addition to that I was thinking about:

1) Getting an FHA mortgage and living in it for a bit, then renting it out afterward.
2) How I would go about renting the property out after I moved, I currently have an LLC taxed as sole-proprietor, would I just have the tenant cut my business a check instead of me personally?
3) I don't have the cash to put down 20% for a mortgage for an investment property, but I was thinking since it is ALREADY below market value, I could just flip it right off the bat. The RE books I have read about this say it is possible but I don't see it actually going through unless I actually have the money ready to go from the bank. I have to pay the owners before I re-list it don't I? And in the meantime I can just live in it?

Also, since this looks like it is a real deal (I've been looking for months at something in my price range), should I lock up the owner by making a conditional offer of some sort with a deposit that doesn't allow them to sell to someone else?

My FICO is about 730 right now, with about 30K of outstanding student loan debt, I shouldn't have a problem getting approved for the mortgage.

Any advice, suggestions, etc would be appreciated.

Originally posted by Joseph Vasallo:

use business credit cards (that require tax id #) and it won't drop your fico because the card won't show in your personal credit report.

Good point, business cards will not show up on your personal credit report, but they do typically require a personal guarantee in which case if you ever had a late/missed payment they would ding your personal credit as well. If your business has solid enough credit on its own, then you may be able to get a card without a personal guarantee, but building business credit takes time and strategic effort.

They have some good credit building guides for businesses: http://creditboards.com