Frisco, TX · Member since 2014 · 23 posts · 3 votes
DFW newbie. I have my funding, I have my down payment, now I need a house!
Big problem! It seems in my market, every thing out there has some big money group squatting it with contingency offers etc. Everything else is already rehabbed and maxed out! I have MLS feeds coming but the day they appear they have "active contingencies". Am I wrong to think that these are someone squatting the house with only half intention of buying?
HOW DO I FIND A HOME!? Looking under 100k fixer upper
Have you read up on the posts about "Driving For Dollars" to find motivated sellers, and/or marketing to the same? I'm not deeply involved in the REI scene yet, but I assume that due to the popularity of REI these days, the good deals are already going to be snatched up by the time it hits MLS.
What have you done to find properties besides looking at MLS listings?
@Joe Kalis Good question! I have driven all over the area. What I have not done is contact any sellers directly or send out mailers or anything. Am I too small for that? I can only afford one of these at a time...
Keep in mind making an offer is not actually a commitment. Make as many offers and contact as many owners as you can, you can always tell them you bought a property and are no longer interested. As for dealing in your market, my suggestions would be either to invest in another market or to start studying the principles of wholesaling. Even if you don't intend to become a wholesaler, wholesaling principles are built around finding profitable deals that no one else has found, so learning these principles could be ideal for your situation.
@Scott Lunn , are you too small to send out a letter? A stamp costs $0.49 for first class, I think $0.34 for a postcard. I mailed 2 hand written letters to potential sellers a few months ago and one called back. I just started working on my own marketing campaign. Laptop on lap, printer going. Just started, spent about $100.00 so far. How much is the next deal worth to you?
@Scott Lunn - here's my take...and me being someone who probably wouldn't even know everything I would need to do if I had a motivated seller ready to roll.
If you do some active marketing and find more properties than you can handle, you can find someone in these forums in your area that you can partner with. Whether you don't have enough money, expertise, or time....that's basically what wholesaling is, anyways. If you get good enough to find multiple properties, I guarantee you there's people here that would be glad to split the deal with you and show you how the process works, or put up the funds!
Bottom line, NEVER, in any business, be afraid of not being able to handle too much business. That's the best problem you could ever have! :-)
Sometimes it just takes time. I remember spending over 5 months with funding and evaluating deal after deal and getting outbid before some friends and I finally landed our first house. Funny is that afterwards we had a good 5 months of finding stuff.
Consider getting the MLS expireds daily for the county call them ask why it did not sell. Ask if they are still interested. What's the lowest price they would take can they go lower? If you could buy for cash and close quickly what would the price be?
The MLS is only one source of deals. In a HOT market, you are competing with homeowners and speculators - these groups drive up prices to levels that don't make sense for the real investors like us.
The solution: you have to have MULTIPLE WAYS to find deals. I have 15 lead sources. I manage it as a real business and I get leads & deals EVERY WEEK. You can learn a lot by following what happens in my real estate business here:
How's it going Scott? I work full-time for a company that acquires new properties every week, I think I would be able to help you find exactly what you are looking for. Shoot me an email if you would like and I can give you a call so we can talk more about the criteria of the houses you are looking for. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Great! We are looking for homes under under 90k in the Garland, Rowlett Area or Denton and Colin County. I don't mind paying a wholesaler but there just needs to be some "meat left on the bone" so to speak...
Just be aware of Garland city requirement. Last time I heard the city requires landlord to have house inspected by city before the property can be leased to new tenants. Not sure if things has changed but would be good to double check on that.
[Any experts in this area, please correct me if I get my info wrong]
I feel your pain but what I have learned is you gotta be patient when looking for the deal but quick to act when you find it. Don't let the frustration turn you in to an emotional buyer (of a bad deal). You have to start working more lead streams. Waiting on MLS deals everyday in our current market is tough. Like I said, I feel your pain. Currently I have cash, credit, reasonable experience, but finding deals so far has been tough. Guess what, I have to do more. I just started my first direct mail campaign, I drive for dollars, I check the MLS multiple times per day. I am about to start sending letters to expired listings, putting in back up offers (about 1/3 of accepted offers do not make it to closing). I am also about to step up my networking game (with other investors, wholesalers, RE Agents). Basically, I am saying you have to "get your hustle on" when one way is not working. I choose to get my hustle on and I know you will to. Good Luck!!