Are There Any DEALS Out There ?

[Don Konipol]

Are There Any DEALS Out There?

Back almost 50 ago when I began investing in real estate there was scant information available about any property. What information was available was in PRINTED form; the local MLS put out a book updated MONTHLY that contained listings, with no pictures, no hard information, just the listing brokers description of the property and the asking price. In fact less than half the SFR were in areas covered by a MLS. "Pocket listing" were the norm as a listing broker/agent would try to sell the property themselves and it would only reach MLS if it couldn't be sold "in house".

Information available for commercial properties was even scantier, broker’s handling commercial listings produced teaser “information sheets” and much more elaborate “offering circulars”. The offering circulars were Only available to buyers who had been carefully vetted and or had “proven” their ability to close on purchases.

Anyone with INFORMATION held a vital role in this environment. If an individual investor could become a “favorite” of intermediaries who had information, or better yet had “control” of a deal, they’d have a steady supply of potential purchases below, and sometimes WAY below market value.

Which all makes me wonder, HOW does any investor find a DEAL (significantly below VALUE price) in a world where instant information is available to EVERYONE?

Many investors have given up on the notion of buying significantly below market value and concentrate on putting together a portfolio of income producing properties where the rent will increase over time, and with steady appreciation and amortization will accumulate wealth for “retirement”. Others chose to enter the world of “syndication” or fund management, where their knowledge, experience and efforts are rewarded with “fee income”, often in the form of some kind of “promote”.

Where I have been successful in say the last 20 years in obtaining “deals” has been in two categories. One is closing almost immediately purchasing with cash. I’ve obtained some truly sensational “discounts” by being able to close deals anywhere from 24 hours to 3 days.

The other category is property where information is readily available - but there exist other factors not recognized or incorrectly recognized by the investing public. Sometimes this is a result of what in the stock market would be considered “insider information”, but real estate is not subject to securities laws.

So, here’s my questions for anybody interested.

Do you still seek deals way below REAL market value? Have you been success in buying these?

Or, do you instead concentrate on putting together a portfolio of good properties, allowing cash flow, price appreciation, amortization and time to help reach your financial goals?

[Chris Seveney]

Quote from @Don Konipol:

Are There Any DEALS Out There?

Back almost 50 ago when I began investing in real estate there was scant information available about any property. What information was available was in PRINTED form; the local MLS put out a book updated MONTHLY that contained listings, with no pictures, no hard information, just the listing brokers description of the property and the asking price. In fact less than half the SFR were in areas covered by a MLS. "Pocket listing" were the norm as a listing broker/agent would try to sell the property themselves and it would only reach MLS if it couldn't be sold "in house".

Information available for commercial properties was even scantier, broker’s handling commercial listings produced teaser “information sheets” and much more elaborate “offering circulars”. The offering circulars were Only available to buyers who had been carefully vetted and or had “proven” their ability to close on purchases.

Anyone with INFORMATION held a vital role in this environment. If an individual investor could become a “favorite” of intermediaries who had information, or better yet had “control” of a deal, they’d have a steady supply of potential purchases below, and sometimes WAY below market value.

Which all makes me wonder, HOW does any investor find a DEAL (significantly below VALUE price) in a world where instant information is available to EVERYONE?

Many investors have given up on the notion of buying significantly below market value and concentrate on putting together a portfolio of income producing properties where the rent will increase over time, and with steady appreciation and amortization will accumulate wealth for “retirement”. Others chose to enter the world of “syndication” or fund management, where their knowledge, experience and efforts are rewarded with “fee income”, often in the form of some kind of “promote”.

Where I have been successful in say the last 20 years in obtaining “deals” has been in two categories. One is closing almost immediately purchasing with cash. I’ve obtained some truly sensational “discounts” by being able to close deals anywhere from 24 hours to 3 days.

The other category is property where information is readily available - but there exist other factors not recognized or incorrectly recognized by the investing public. Sometimes this is a result of what in the stock market would be considered “insider information”, but real estate is not subject to securities laws.

So, here’s my questions for anybody interested.

Do you still seek deals way below REAL market value? Have you been success in buying these?

Or, do you instead concentrate on putting together a portfolio of good properties, allowing cash flow, price appreciation, amortization and time to help reach your financial goals?

 Yes. We receive our deals from those we have done deals with in the past. Brokers, agents, attorneys, preservation companies etc. Also being in the non performing note space it is like sitting on top of the mountain being able to look down at deals as well as if we get a loan on a property that we may be able to take back, its instant equity. Last week we took back 11 properties and total equity in these properties was over $500k.