Deal in the making?

Hello all!
My name is Nik Smith and I'm a new poster to this website, but long time lurker. I feel it's about time to take some action with my investing career! So I know of an extremely motivated out of state seller, who I know wouldn't mind getting rid of the house for cheap. Her brother passed away in the home, and she's the only family he's got. Now the house isn't in bad shape, it's actually in very nice shape. My question to you guys is, what can I do in this deal? I'm unsure on much info about the property, but the sister would like NOTHING to do with the home. She even offered a neighbor the rolls royce in the garage for free! I think she would have no problem assigning the contract to me, given that I'd find a buyer and get this house out from under her. I'm unsure about what's owed on the house and the details, just wondering if this sounds like a potential wholesale deal to you guys? I know the numbers really come into play, I'd go about contacting the woman, but I might be stepping on some toes in the process. But hey, if it's a great deal in the makings, I can always go for it right? No shame in that. Maybe even a sub2 deal? Any advice on how to go about getting the information, or what deal would be appropriate to the structure of the situation would be great.

Thanks an advance guys, can't tell you how much I enjoy reading this website, and how important this site is to me.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 11:34AM

Todd Bonner

Real Estate Investor · Littleton, Colorado

7 posts
53 Influence
1 Award

Icon_minipost Feb 08 '10, 10:57 PM

It seems that if she is really that motivated to get rid of it, then getting a 30-day option on it wouldn't be too difficult. In order to arrive at a purchase price, you would have to gather current info on the property (amount owed, etc.) and this period would give you a good amount of time to do your due diligence and find a buyer to assign the option contract to (include "and/or assigns" in the option contract to allow for this) for a decent fee.

Before pursuing, I would be sure that the property is not located in a rural area, because those are always harder to find investor-buyers for.

Hope that helps a bit.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 11:34AM

Jaremy Moritz

Real Estate Investor · Houston, Texas

122 posts
1431 Influence
2 Awards

Icon_minipost Feb 08 '10, 11:04 PM

Nik,

Sounds good so far, but until you gather more info about it you won't know if it's a deal or not. First step is to contact her and find out what's owed on it and what her objective is.

You mentioned having her assign the contract to you. What contract? If she inherited the house from her brother, there would only be a contract in place if she had agreed to sell it to someone. Find out if he had a will. If he did, did it go through probate.

About half of the houses I buy are inherited. Best thing to do is to call her, let her know what you do and how you can HELP her get rid of the house. Appeal to her feelings and her pain. The key is to let her know that you can help her get rid of the house quickly. If the numbers make sense, proceed and prosper!

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 11:34AM

Alex Joungblood

Real Estate Investor · Chesapeake, Virginia

20 posts
144 Influence
2 Awards

Icon_minipost Feb 08 '10, 11:33 PM

Hey Nik this definitely sounds like a wholesale deal....the situation where a seller doesnt really care what they get for the house they just want it gone is priceless!
You NEED to find out what is owed on the property to see if you even have a deal situation available to you.
Do you know how you get that info?? Just ask my friend.. lol
seriously ask for all the info you need and if they are truly motivated they will give it to you..
Find out what they owe on the property and what they want for the property
then ask them if they deliver that rolls royce for free because I may be interested...lol

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 11:34AM

Nik Smith

· Riverside, California

6 posts
30 Influence

Icon_minipost Feb 09 '10, 12:01 AM

Thanks for the help guys! I'll definitely be calling my friend today to attempt to get a hold of the lady.

I was planning on asking her these questions that I pulled from somebody on another topic:

"1. How long have you owned it? (equity)
2. What kind of condition is the property in? (equity)
3. When do you want to close? (motivation)
4. How much do you need to get for it? (motivation)"

"You mentioned having her assign the contract to you. What contract? If she inherited the house from her brother, there would only be a contract in place if she had agreed to sell it to someone. Find out if he had a will. If he did, did it go through probate."

So I simply just ask her these questions?

Also Todd, the home is not located in a rural area, it's actually a very upscale neighborhood where you don't see many vacant homes whatsoever.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 11:34AM

Jaremy Moritz

Real Estate Investor · Houston, Texas

122 posts
1431 Influence
2 Awards

Icon_minipost Feb 09 '10, 12:06 AM

You won't know unless you ask. :) Most sellers, when desperate, will divulge answers to anything you ask. If you approach her from a position of "helping" her instead of "I'm gonna make a bunch of money off her", you'll get a lot better results. So many new investors that I run across just don't get this concept.

FYI, people want to deal with people that they can relate to and trust. If you come off as a money-hungry jerk, you won't go very far.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 11:34AM