All Forum Posts by: Andy Goodell

does anyone know what red and yellow dots on houses mean? i have been watching a property down the street from me, a duplex that has been vacant for some time now, i did some research and got a hold of the deceased owners girlfriend and she said that the bank had already taken possession. This one has a yellow dot that looks to be maybe a little bigger than a half dollar on the front porch pillar. i have seen this on other properties as well, one boarded up with the same yellow but also a red one next to it. wondering if it is city or bank markings. . .? any info would be great as i couldn't find anything in my web searches

I am new to real estate wholesaling and foreclosure/ pre-foreclosure sales. I have found a property in the Rochester NY area in a very nice community that has been vacant according to the neighbors for years. I contacted the town to get owner info, contacted the owner and offered to purchase the property from them. They then told me that they had surrendered the property to the bank a few years back. The "owner" then contacted me and said that the bank is owed nothing on the property because of their private mortgage insurance. I then contacted the bank and they told me that it is not in the foreclosure or short sale process and i should contact the "owner" to purchase the property. My question is does the bank only have control of the property and the "owner" still holds title? also there are judgements against the property, how do i go about continuing to advance on this property and not get completely screwed if the "owner" has massive liens against the property that will put me upside down on this? any additional information about how to go about this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

i totally agree with tom, my house is 1910 and i have a duplex built in 1920, they really do not build them like that anymore. also looking at an 1870's to add to my properties.

Great info from you all and thank you. This "short sale" has been any thing but that but for the price should be more than worth the wait. I have a closing date for Friday 7/25 finally! I have been really busy with work and put this on the back burner waiting for the bank and resigning extension after extension. I really look forward to getting into this place and learning from everyone. Thanks again!

Excellent. Thank you all for the replies and info. I can't wait to get the keys and get some good tenants in there.

Ok so I've been doing some research and finally found a property, a short sale for just over half of the assessed value. My question is what are people doing with duplexes that only have one HVAC and one hot water unit? Are you charging a fixed or variable rate per month/ tenant? After closing I will have the top unit rented with a long time tenant covering all mortgage and tax costs. This property needs little to nothing as it has vinyl siding and a newer roof only thing i will be doing is painting and cleaning the second unit to rent it. I look forward to hearing what everyone is doing with their investments and hope to learn from everyone.