All Forum Posts by: Yves Bourdeau

In my opinion, you have to have your funding in place before getting a deal under contract.  

Joe is right on point.  The 10x offers approach probably worked years ago and probably works if you're trying to wholesale off-market properties and get owners to sell their homes.  I also find that it makes your agent's life easier if you do the analysis and narrow down a list of properties for them to basically confirm.  I typically will search redfin and get a list of about 40 properties.  Then I will look at the comps in the area for resale and for rent.  That usually takes the list down to 15.  If the comps are spotty, I check the code map for the city and see what is happening in the area and on the block (redevelopment, vacant units, etc.).  That brings me down to about 8 properties.  

At that point, I look at the deeper look at the pictures and guestimate a rehab budget and a max allowable offer based on my criteria. That usually brings me down to 3 to 5 properties because some will be overpriced and the offer will be way too low and I don't want to waste anyone's time. Then I send those final 3 to 5 properties to the agent to confirm the ARV I calculated, the offer, and the ARV to make sure we are on the same page. I will also confirm my thoughts about future development or niches for the property.

Based on that list I ask my agent to rank them.  Based on that, I will get preapproval letters from my lender so the agent will already have them to go along with the offer.  So many properties are coming back on the market because the buyers can't close the deal.  I have found that having the preapproval ahead of time helps strengthen the offer and gives the seller more confidence that you can perform.

@Yves Bourdeau Where are you located? Canada or USA? If you're located in Canada, you need education on the guidelines for the Canadian mortgage default insurance. I am a licensed mortgage professional located in Canada and am knowledgeable about the guidelines.