BiggerPockets

The end investor will want a copy of the lease so make sure you get that along with a detailed list of repairs to be made.

One way around the picture issue, have the owner tell the tenant you are with the insurance company and you need a couple of pictures to verify the property for insurance purposes...or some other story along those lines.

As long as I've done all the necessary homework, I probably wouldn't be too skeptical just because the seller was a little weird.

However, it may be difficult for you to wholesale it without you closing on it first and getting the seller out of the picture completely. As a newbie, many investors may be hesitant to trust you without verifying with their own eyes. However, if you find an investor who is very familiar with that neighborhood, knows the values, rents, etc for the area, then they may be ok without seeing it.

You would probably need to target landlords who already own in that neighborhood and market to them.

Though I understand the complex nature of needing to keep the tenant comfortable with their position in the home, I would be hesitant to represent yourself as an insurance agent. Just me thinking here but making a false representation may backfire on you. You might consider just stating that you are there to perform an estimate on reparis/upgrades or something for the owner. That could easily transition into and offer being made to purchase the asset and go from there or, if you backed out the estimate was declined. Very simple.

As for the newbie sale, the key to any sale is a clear expression of confidence and professionalism. If you put together a very nice "sale package" including your pictures with a clear time stamp if at all possible to show it is a current picture and the details of the opportunity, express confidence in presentation and not mention anything about being new to the industry, the question may not even come up. Further, the fact that the property is currently rented gives the ability to indicate and inability to do a walk through of the property.

The low counter offer may simply be in an effort to close quickly and move on. Often sellers need fast cash for their own purposes. That said, just be sure to look closely at all the key parts of the property when you go through it. Look for any signs of recent repairs and repairs that are needed, then ask a lot of questions to the seller if there are any recent repairs as to what they were and why they were needed to understand the extent of the situation. If you can combine your walk through with an appraiser friend or something, that would be an awesome opportunity but also more difficult to explain to the tenant.

Good Luck!!

Rob, I've seen you reference the "weasal clause" in other postings too, for the newer investors, perhaps you can explain this clause a little bit so they understand what they are looking for in the contract and an example of what it should say. Just a thought. Good advise above and on other postings, tx.

Btw...looks like I won't be using the above weasel clause. I spoke with my attorney and he informed me I have to use the specfic approved contract for my area. This thing is 12 pages long. It has a property inspection addendum but it's for using a home inspector to find any faults with the property. Not sure it would work as a weasel clause. Any suggestions?

I agree with J Scott, contracts are not state mandated to my knowledge. There are "standard" contracts but an attorney should always be able to help you draft one that meets the requirements yet can still hold additional items to be more protective to you. A contract is a contract, period. If two parties come to terms on ANY agreement, it is binding and should hold up in the courts.

It sounds like collusion to me. According to my lawyer "The purchase offer that you have will not work in Monroe County. The Bar Association and the real estate Board have together reached agreement on the acceptable form for a purchase offer. Lawyers will not want to deal with an alien form that they are not familiar with."

After inspecting this contract further there is a space to write in a contingency. You think it's possible to drop my weasel clause in there. At this rate that will probably be shot down too. I am not too worried about unloading this deal but I would like to cover myself considering this is my first deal.

btw...really appreciate all the comments on this thread.

Is this attorney an independent one or one working with the title company? If independent, I would propose your offer and contracts to the title company and see what feedback you get. At the end of the day, it is the title company that will be the ultimate help here as they will simply not engage in a transfer that isn't compliant.

Perhaps you could list out all your contingencies in the available space, but, be sure you are protected at all costs. Last thing you need is to waste time and money fighting over a contract structure. If your buyers are wanting to move forward, this shows that they have money to spend and want to spend it. Use that momentum to redirect them to a better deal in a better location that is more flexible in putting these deals together. No deal is ever really easy, but, you do need to gage when it is too much. Check with the title company and if they'll proceed with the transfer as a double closing, using your contracts, then you can decide if the risk is managable to you or not (not managable being that in a claim issue, your attorney, if independent, will likely not represent it after advising not to use your contracts). Just my two cents.