Buying Foreclosures Below Market-How The Numbers Work - New? Use Creative Financing

[Ken M.]

Buying an "Off Market" property with "Subject To" and "Wraps" & Selling "Lease / Option"

When buying a property to cash flow, you need to know what your expenses are. The following is one I actually purchased in Phoenix that was a pre-foreclosure. The seller and I negotiated the terms. I did not offer a number to him, he told me what he needed. This first portion is the end result. The following portions are how we got there. Click on images to enlarge.

The house was not suitable for the MLS. The seller had waited too long to fix the problem and just wanted out. He said he needed $10,000 so he could move back to his home state. So, this is how we put the deal together.

First, you determine ARV (After Repair Value) so you can see if this one is actually worth buying. In this case it’s worth $245,00 fixed up.,(ARV). 

You enter the Blue Numbers only, the rest are calculated. Enter the ARV (it's MLS value after it's all fixed up) on line 23, you get that number from looking at "comps". On line 24 you enter the payoff amount. We’ll take care of the arrears in a minute.

We always go through Escrow and Record, so we need to account for those costs. We Record because it’s the right thing to do and we want to know about any actions that come up against the property. Some people say don’t Record because of the Due On Sale clause, or to use a Land Trust to defeat the DOS which is bad information. If a lender wants to enforce a Due On Sale, a Land Trust violates the DOS anyway so it is ineffective in stopping the Due On Sale call.

Line 35 is always negotiable, but the seller needs enough to rent an apartment and move their belongs or they will become squatters which causes serious problems. There will be closing costs.

And of course, since this is a pre-foreclosure, the arrears have to be brought current.

Sometimes, a property will have a second loan or lien. Usually those can stay in place, but sometimes you have to pay those to buy the property. You can get the payoff amount from the lender. There is a specific process for doing that properly. If you are new, I would have someone help you with the process.

So, on this property, I paid line 37 $13,628 (which included $10,000 to the seller & closing costs $3,628), brought the loan current $10,597 line 48, took over the 2nd loan of $11,592 and took over the main mortgage of $118,145. I paid $153,862 and got a $245,000 property. But, I didn't need all $153,862, I only needed $24,225 to do so.

When you are new, looking for lenders & considering Fix & Flip, BRRRR, or rental, as a buyer, learn to ask the owner/seller to be one of your private lenders with creative financing. This works in Southern California (CA), AZ, WA, and GA & TX. Slight variations work elsewhere.