All Forum Posts by: Jon C.

Is this correct for all Freddie Mac properties? There is no seasoning restriction? So Fannie Mae is the only one doing this?

I'm not understanding what you are not understanding :D

All things being equal, a four bedroom house is worth more than a three bedroom house. If you want to buy a house that has three beds but all the sold properties in the area are four beds, you will need to adjust. It seems pretty straight forward to me. The big question is how much to adjust.

In my area, there are a lot of neighborhoods where half the homes have pools and half do not. I'm not sure how to adjust that since some people(like me) don't want a pool but I assume most poeple do. So I guess it adds value but how much?

How long are these expired listings noted on the MLS? I guess I'm asking if I should be looking at listings expired for 30, 60, 90 days or more.

Another question I have regarding looking for leads on the MLS: If I want to target old but active listings, is there a days on market that you find to be a sweet spot?

I am just now researching MLS listings and I see some that are on market for several hundred days. They usually appear nice and maybe had a few offers fall through. I get scared to present my own offer because I assume there must be something horrible that I don't know about. Otherwise, you'd think someone else would have already snatched up the place. Am I too paranoid and suffering from paralysis of analysis?

Each county has their own rules on probate. In general, you should look for the newspaper that publishes the legal notices. Its probably online at this point and find ones that mention a personal representative being assigned. If you can't find that then you'll need to go to your courthouse to find it.

There is a BP Probate group with a forum here. You should take a look at it for more info and sample letters.

I have used USLeadlist twice and Listsource once so I don't have a lot of experience with them.

Listsource is much cheaper but I did not get any leads from it. USLeadlist gets a new list every quarter and sells them three times. The first time I used them, I bought about 150 leads and got 7 calls. Unfortunately, none were motivated sellers, only tire kickers. The next quarter I bought about 200 leads for the same area. I got one call. No motivation. So my success has been zero so far.

Its basiclly the process of distributing the assets of a deceased person to the heirs.

When investors talk about probate investing, they are basically trying to find if a deceased person had property, then tries to get the heirs/executor to sell it to them at a discount. Its another way to find a motivated seller, like absentee owners, pre-forclosure, etc.

I was in Sean Terry's group but I couldn't afford it anymore. However, I got a lot out of him and his site.

The initial list I got was from US Lead List, who say they get new lists every three months and sell three times only. So I was able to be the first at most of the names. But I was still really disappointed in the lack of response. I can understand if there's competition but to not even get a call is more deflating, especially after I hand wrote all those yellow letters.

The absentee list was from List Source which I assumed was picked clean by everyone. Guess that's why they are so cheap compared to US Lead List. Anyway, I'm still plugging away. I just want that one deal so I know it works, especially when you hear about a fellow newbie who put out 50 bandit sings and got a deal within a month of starting.

Hi Brittany. I just got starting bidding on HUDs this week after listening to an interview with an experienced investor.

First, you need an agent that's approved to bid on HUDs. I found mine on craigslist. She has no problem making low offers often. I told her to bid on the same properties once a week til I get it or the property is sold. Some people bid every single day.

Second, based on the interview I heard, you will need proof of funds somehow and a depoist, which I believe is something like $500 if its below 50k, $100 if its over 50k. Not exactly sure on the numbers however.

Finally, HUDs have the same assignment restrictions as REOs. Can't do it.

As a new investor, I've been getting pretty frustrated by the lack of response from my marketing. I started with a list of older homeowners with equity. I sent out a total of around 300 yellow letters and got 7 calls. All were either tire kickers with no motivation or people telling me to remove them from my list.

I also put out 50 bandit signs twice over about a month time. 50 signs in one area, 50 signs in another area, 100 total. I got ONE call and it was from another investor. This was very disappointing since all I hear about is how well this method works.

Then I got 500 absentee leads and sent letters. I got FOUR calls. Two tire kickers wanting max value, one with zero interest, and one guy that was a possibility. I pursued him but he wasn't motivated enough with my offer.

I also started with probate leads. I get about 10 a week or so. I've gotten one call after 3 weeks or so and it was the closest I have gotten. The guy wanted to be done with the home, it was a mess in a decent area. Unfortunately, I was the third investor he spoke to, was already offered more than I thought was safe, but was still 10k under what he wanted.

Now I'm offering on Hud homes because that's free and at least I can get to the offer part, instead of the "what will you give me" part.

I am just starting to make offers on HUD properties and I don't trust my numbers since I am brand new and worry about overpaying. I wanted to see what other people came up with for ARV and their own offer price for WHOLESALE, based on their own internet research, espeically without actually touring the property. I am giving the full address because I am not bidding and its now in pending status.

22228 N 29TH DR Phoenix, AZ 85027