San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
Hey everyone,
So I sent out e-mails on Craigslist ads to possibly do a rent-to-own/lease purchase or buy their property with all cash. I got the following as a response:
I may sell on installment or option.
What is selling on installment? Also what did he mean by selling on option? Does that mean a lease option? What does this sound like to you?
I'm a new investor in the San Diego[solicitation removed]
My website is [removed]; my contact information is in there.
Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
14y
Hey Danny,
To sell on installment usually means that the person might carry the mortgage themselves (meaning no bank!).
This can be awesome, but usually if someone is offering to do this it means they know its going to be in their best interest to do so, which means they probably are going to want a larger down payment or want you to pay much more. Just keep that in mind. Usually sophisticated investors who try to take advantage of newbies will offer to do installments. So be careful.
Option: I'd say yeah, probably they are referring to a lease option. Same principle as above.
Both are great options, but usually if someone else is the one offering it - they are pros.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
14y
Brandon Turner, you are correct! I called this guy today and he is a licensed broker. I asked him if I could do a lease-option on his home and he said he might consider it.
He wants $1.2 million for his home, $3500 - $4500 for rent, and a $8000 - $10000 deposit. I'm not sure if his home is worth 1.2 in today's market. How do you determine a fair market value of his home before I meet up with him? I think I can make a great deal with him that I can profit on but I'm afraid he's asking for too much.
Real Estate Professional · San Jose, CA · Member since 2009 · 45 posts · 39 votes
14y
Danny,
it may work. Since he's a RE broker, he knows how to run a CMA. Ask him to run one for you to support his claim that his house is worth 1.2M. Just ask casually how he came up with $1.2M. Does he own this house free and clear?
Alternatively, you may even call any local RE agent and tell them you're doing marketing and have a lot of leads which you can't usually do deals with, and you want to send them these leads. RE agents love this. Go to Zillow, type in the subject property's address, in the right hand corner Zillow typically gives you the addresses of properties around your subject property, pick one closest to your subject property (in size, amenities etc..), give that address of that property to the RE agent and ask her to run a CMA for that property as though it were never sold. Hope this helps with your question about the value of your subject property. Good luck.
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
14y
Originally posted by Suzanna Lam:
... Since he's a RE broker, he knows how to run a CMA. Ask him to run one for you to support his claim that his house is worth 1.2M. Just ask casually how he came up with $1.2M. ...
This is a silly suggestion. When you ask the seller to show you the comparables, the seller is very likely to only include those that support the asking price, and is likely to EXCLUDE those that DO NOT support the asking price. In other words, expect the seller to skew this in the seller's favor. Hence why I say it is silly.
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
14y
Danny Chan More than likely if the property were worth what the broker is asking, he wouldn't be selling it. You can go onto the website socalmls.com and input the name of the city, on left side, scroll down, and check the box for active and solds, then do a search. If you know the location of the property, search by map, and look at other properties in the area that have sold.
If you want to see the property, go on to Google Earth, input the address, and then go to street view. These two things will let you see enough to know if you want to move forward.
There's no shortcut to doing thorough research yourself. In southern California, as you know, million dollar properties can be a tiny old fixer, or if further from coast, a nice house. Compare apples to apples.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
14y
Theresa K.: Hey! Thank you for helping me out. I tried sending you a message but BP froze up and wouldn't let me. Can you send me your e-mail address? Thanks again.
Steve Babiak & Karen M. : Thank you both for the tips! I'll keep you all updated!
Real Estate Broker · San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 104 posts · 20 votes
14y
Danny Chan: I emailed you some info on the subject property. Let me know if you didn't receive it.
For everyone else on the thread: property is 6 bed 4 bath 4065 SF
Sold comp: 4/4 3500 SF sold for $1.065M in Nov 2010.
Current active comps:
5/4 3370 SF listed for $915K on mkt for 1 week
3/4 3388 SF listed for $975K on mkt for 5 months
3/3 2705 SF listed for $939K on mkt for 4 months
As Karen M. said: "More than likely if the property were worth what the broker is asking, he wouldn't be selling it."
San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
14y
Theresa K.: Thank you again for the info!
When I talked to him on the phone, he sounded really confident that he could sell his home for $1.2. Since he's a broker, I asked him how he got to that number and he said he ran a CMA himself. With all of the information Theresa gave me, I doubt he could sell his home priced in this market. With that said, he said he wouldn't want to waste my time.
Thank you guys again for all the help! I really thought this was going to be my first deal! I'm going to keep trying and make it happen!