Specialist · Columbus, GA · Member since 2015 · 81 posts · 16 votes
Does anybody have experience in acquiring off market 2-4 unit multi-family deals? Any information regarding how the process works, to educational resources, and personal experiences would be extremely helpful! Thank you
Not sure about OR, but in CA, the county needs to have at least the owner's name and address in order to send out property tax bills. This information is public record, so you can get it from the county assessor's office. (In CA, the MLS also has access to this data available online for members.)
Once you have the owner's name and mailing address, it's usually pretty easy to find a way to get in touch via googling / facebooking.
Mostly I buy off the MLS but I have bought several off-market. Really the process is not a whole lot different.
In one case I was rehabbing a duplex I bought on the MLS and noticed the duplex next door was vacant and needed work. I looked the owner up on the county records and sent him a letter. He was a medical professional who had moved out of state and didn't want to spend any more money on repairs. His local realtor/property manager called me and we negotiated a price. He wrote up a contract and we closed a few weeks later.
The second time was an out of state owner who I had purchased other property from. They called and asked if I would be interested in a duplex and a quad they still owned here. On this one they had a property manager who did the paperwork.
Also once on a house, the owner contacted me because I had bought a different house just down the street and they had tried unsuccessfully to sell 6 months previously. They were retiring out of the area and just wanted to be rid of the house. He was doing all of the maintenance himself and just wanted to retire to his lake house. They gave me a good discount and held a note for 20% so it was 100% financed. There were no realtors involved, my lawyer wrote the contract and closed it.
Did you just go to your attorney and give them the information and let them draw up the contract and deliver it to the sellers?
How much did you have to do yourself?
Did the owners have representation or just dealt with you and your attorney?
I've found a FSBO and have been talking to the owner who wants to sell. I also have a closing attorney so I'm not sure if this is the right kind of attorney for off market deals like this.
Let me first say that what worked for me may not work for you because state laws are different. In Georgia attorneys perform closings and I know that's not true in other states where I've used title companies. A purchase & sale agreement I usually make an offer on is just a contract approved for that purpose by the Georgia Association of realtors. Each state has a standard form.
But the contract my lawyer wrote up was a very simple 1 page document that stated the terms we'd agreed to signed by me and then the seller stopped by their office and signed it. They did not have their own attorney.
Your closing attorney could probably provide you a standard contract or you could get one online. Make sure it complies with state law. Maybe try the Florida Association of realtors for one. You need to think about everything that would be in a standard contract if you're acting as your own real estate agent, earnest money and what happens to it in a dispute? Inspections? Contingencies for financing? What happens if they're not moved out by the closing date?
If you attend local real estate meet ups in your area you can also likely get a contract template from someone there.
I'm not a lawyer and provide no legal advice, this is just my experience.
Let me first say that what worked for me may not work for you because state laws are different. In Georgia attorneys perform closings and I know that's not true in other states where I've used title companies. A purchase & sale agreement I usually make an offer on is just a contract approved for that purpose by the Georgia Association of realtors. Each state has a standard form.
But the contract my lawyer wrote up was a very simple 1 page document that stated the terms we'd agreed to signed by me and then the seller stopped by their office and signed it. They did not have their own attorney.
Your closing attorney could probably provide you a standard contract or you could get one online. Make sure it complies with state law. Maybe try the Florida Association of realtors for one. You need to think about everything that would be in a standard contract if you're acting as your own real estate agent, earnest money and what happens to it in a dispute? Inspections? Contingencies for financing? What happens if they're not moved out by the closing date?
If you attend local real estate meet ups in your area you can also likely get a contract template from someone there.
I'm not a lawyer and provide no legal advice, this is just my experience.
Jeff this was what I was looking for as a start.
The closing attorney I have spoken with in the past about a foreclosure property. He was actually the attorney that did the closing when I bought my last property. I had an agent as did the sellers and they chose this attorney to do the closing.
1) For the contract I'll speak with him and see if this is doable and what I need to do. I would talk to the owner and tell them that I have a closing attorney and would write up an offer.
2) As for the content, I would likely look through my previous agreements to get the contingencies for financing, inspection period, etc.
3) This property the owner does not live in but has tenants, it's a duplex with a month 2 month and a year lease - according to the owner. I know this has to be confirmed but we aren't at that stage yet.
4) In your experience, what how did you handle the EM and handling disputes?
5) For FSBO how does one ensure each side is represented? I'm more concerned what I need to do but what of the sellers? Should I be concerned at all?
Not sure about OR, but in CA, the county needs to have at least the owner's name and address in order to send out property tax bills. This information is public record, so you can get it from the county assessor's office. (In CA, the MLS also has access to this data available online for members.)
Once you have the owner's name and mailing address, it's usually pretty easy to find a way to get in touch via googling / facebooking.
Another point is that once you become a player in a geographical area - people bring deals to you before they come on the market since they know you are active. We only have buildings in areas not where I live (since cap rates are too low in CA to buy anything) - so i have property management companies handling all of my properties in the various states. These guys are wired into the local neighborhoods they operate in. So if you have someone you work with and you let them know you'd be looking for XYZ type property, then they will keep their ears to the ground and look for new places for you - which potentially can include things not yet on the market. Their incentive is that they would manage this for you. that's how I've found about half of my 300 or so units we currently manage. Good luck!
Network, network, network and when you find someone who has information and/or manages MF, stay connected with them for helping you find MF. I connected with a man in another state when reviewing a MF, discovered he manages MF, has his own construction company for the rehab/make ready process, then decided to fly out to sit down with him for several hours of eye-to-eye on how we might create mutual value. I did not purchase the respective MF, which I credit him in helping me assess/pass on it. We are now working to potentially partner on a MF in 2016. I will have a property manager I now know is reliable, he can do the make-ready, and we share in the profits, or I buy it myself and know I have someone watching over it with ethics and values I can trust.