Flipper/Rehabber · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Doug Smith:
Hey Eric. Thanks for upgrading to Premium. You're right in that some of the ARVs are a joke. We are transparent about that on the site. With the volume of deals being posted, we simply don't have the manpower to pull comps do repair estimates on each deal. We suggest that you ignore ARVs and repair estimates that are posted by sellers and determine those numbers on your own. The typical investor who has success on our website determines the ARV/repairs on their own and then makes offers that are $5k to $10k below the sellers asking price. If these things are going to be a problem for you, please request a refund, and I'll gladly grant one. We only want happy members. Thanks again for your business! :-)
Yes, I realize you are upfront about this, but the fact is many people are attracted by those numbers that you admit can be a joke; and then when they see they are bogus, they get turned off to the legitimacy/honesty of the wholesalers posting.
IMO, it is in your best interests long term to figure out a way to police this. The best way is crowdsourcing. Let your premium members do the work for you.
Give them a system to vote or provide feedback or report abuse. A wholesaler posting fraudulent comps is just as abusive to your site and unethical as a buyer sidestepping a wholesaler to make a deal (something you address on your site).
Have a rating system for wholesalers so the good ones can be identified. THat gives them an incentive to be honest and legit.
Or simply give your wholesalers a more detailed form to fill out re the comps to show their work and then average the prices automatically.
Now, you can have props with notes indicating comps from 150-200K but they list the ARV as $250K. Or the opposite...one 150K property had 3 comps over $300K.
There are lots of things you can do without needing your own manpower to improve things.
Any site that allows bogus or misleading info on their site eventually loses credibility. It will be something you have to address to go to the next level IMO.
Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 91 posts · 22 votes
16y
Not to speak on Doug's behalf, but I would imagine it depends who the seller is. If the property was listed by a wholesaler, you probably won't be able to work out a wholesale deal because a wholesaler will only be looking for end-buyers. If the property was listed by the actual owner, then I would imagine yes, you could negotiate a wholesale deal if you will be able to provide that seller an end-buyer. It's also important to notice where it says:
Warning: The seller of this property may have this property under contract and plan to re-sell the property to you. If this is the case, any investor who attempts to go around the seller and buy directly from the owner will be permanently banned from MyHouseDeals.com.
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2009 · 71 posts · 38 votes
16y
Dan - For those that show $0 in repairs, you can interpret ARV as today's FMV (fair market value). For example, if a property shows an ARV of $200k, repairs of $0, and an asking price of $150k, then the numbers would indicate that they're selling a home worth $200k for $150k, most likely because they need a quick sale. However, I'm often skeptical of deals that show big equity and no repairs. Usually, the best deals are those that need the most work. It all boils down to pulling your own comps and doing your own on-site walkthrough to check for needed repairs.
Joseph and Dan - Yes, you can take a motivated seller lead from our site, put it under contract, and wholesale it on our site. It's been done plenty of times before, and I'm sure you can do it again. Wholesaling seems to work just as well in all markets, including LA. Please take note that you can do this with motivated seller leads, not wholesale deals, as E. Jacobs mentioned.
:pup: Doug Smith and E. Jacobs: The "Warning" that E. Jacobs points out-is this actually shown on some of the listings? I havent had time yet to scan through everything. Thanks
Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 91 posts · 22 votes
16y
Originally posted by Dan Krause:
:pup: Doug Smith and E. Jacobs: The "Warning" that E. Jacobs points out-is this actually shown on some of the listings? I havent had time yet to scan through everything. Thanks
If you are logged in, all you do is hit view details on a property and you will see that warning in the bottom right under the map. If you don't know what the warning means, you probably don't need to worry about it. It is saying that if you do come across a property that was listed by a wholesaler, not the homeowner, then it is not allowed (and highly unethical, on this website or anywhere else) to contact that homeowner directly to try and undercut the wholesaler they have already made an arrangement with. For example, someone wants to sell their house. The ARV is 100K. They sign a contract giving a wholesaler 30 days to buy it at 60K. That wholesaler then lists the property for 65K. What the warning is saying is that it is NOT okay to call up that homeowner and say hey, I'll offer you 63K and we will go around the wholesaler (so the owner makes an extra 3K and the buyer saves 2K). The seller would receive more and the buyer would pay less. However, the wholesaler would be screwed because they did all the work and were compensated nothing for it.
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2009 · 71 posts · 38 votes
16y
Hey Phil! We plan to expand nationwide, which includes Minneapolis, sometime over the next year. Until then, I would suggest that you ask some people at your local real estate investment club about the websites they use to get info on wholesale deals. Or you could ask other BP members in your area. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
Developer · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 11 posts · 17 votes
16y
Just to put in my 2 cents. MyHouseDeals is a good service. I have found numerous deals on the DC section of the site over the last 3+ years and more importantly, the staff has always been helpful in answering any questions that I may have had. Good stuff.
Doug Smith (or anyone): It is noted on the Myhousedeals website that 2 wholesalers cannot cut a deal (against one or the other) behind their backs. Sounds fair. Can 2 wholesalers conduct an agreed upon deal (by both wholesalers) without risk of losing their MyHouseDeals membership? Thanks, Dan :D :D
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2009 · 71 posts · 38 votes
16y
Hey Dan! Glad to see you're having some success with the site! Yes, 2 wholesalers can work out a deal to sell a property. The warning message you referenced is in place to protect wholesalers from being bypassed.
EBay+MyHouseDeals: Has anyone ever used MyHouseDeals to get sellers and assign contracts by posting the contract on Ebay? Ebay (Ebay auctions or classifieds) to use as a wholesaling tool? Dan
Flipper/Rehabber · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
I had heard alot of good things about this site and as a matter of fact, just joined Premium member today.
Spent an hour going through all the listings within 5 miles of my home and my first impression is that the Estimated ARV's are a complete joke.
I know this has nothing to do with the site and the sellers/wholesalers put up the ARV. But they are comical. At best they are cherry picked, more commonly they are too far away or too long ago or simply unrelated property (comping a 1921 bungalow with a 2003 condo). A couple of the comps were just totally invented. (verified by public records)
I guess they assume no one really checks, I don't know.
I found no deal even remotely worth looking at so far, but I'll keep checking.
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2009 · 71 posts · 38 votes
15y
Hey Eric. Thanks for upgrading to Premium. You're right in that some of the ARVs are a joke. We are transparent about that on the site. With the volume of deals being posted, we simply don't have the manpower to pull comps do repair estimates on each deal. We suggest that you ignore ARVs and repair estimates that are posted by sellers and determine those numbers on your own. The typical investor who has success on our website determines the ARV/repairs on their own and then makes offers that are $5k to $10k below the sellers asking price. If these things are going to be a problem for you, please request a refund, and I'll gladly grant one. We only want happy members. Thanks again for your business! :-)
Stone Mountain, GA · Member since 2010 · 267 posts · 72 votes
15y
Yes- This is a very good site for Atlanta Investors--I have seen many good deals--some homes are not in areas I like --however,
if you have patient and do some reserach ==specailly homes not sold for 30 to 60 days --and follow up-do some good comps and then make appointment to see the house and explain seller --nicely --be comfortable and
help ful -then may get good deal. Some homes -- good properties --and good deals -
are away from main city --so most investors do not pay attention --but if you can check out -- may get good deals.
Good Job Doug--I am impressed --Only 30 years young !!
Flipper/Rehabber · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Doug Smith:
Hey Eric. Thanks for upgrading to Premium. You're right in that some of the ARVs are a joke. We are transparent about that on the site. With the volume of deals being posted, we simply don't have the manpower to pull comps do repair estimates on each deal. We suggest that you ignore ARVs and repair estimates that are posted by sellers and determine those numbers on your own. The typical investor who has success on our website determines the ARV/repairs on their own and then makes offers that are $5k to $10k below the sellers asking price. If these things are going to be a problem for you, please request a refund, and I'll gladly grant one. We only want happy members. Thanks again for your business! :-)
Yes, I realize you are upfront about this, but the fact is many people are attracted by those numbers that you admit can be a joke; and then when they see they are bogus, they get turned off to the legitimacy/honesty of the wholesalers posting.
IMO, it is in your best interests long term to figure out a way to police this. The best way is crowdsourcing. Let your premium members do the work for you.
Give them a system to vote or provide feedback or report abuse. A wholesaler posting fraudulent comps is just as abusive to your site and unethical as a buyer sidestepping a wholesaler to make a deal (something you address on your site).
Have a rating system for wholesalers so the good ones can be identified. THat gives them an incentive to be honest and legit.
Or simply give your wholesalers a more detailed form to fill out re the comps to show their work and then average the prices automatically.
Now, you can have props with notes indicating comps from 150-200K but they list the ARV as $250K. Or the opposite...one 150K property had 3 comps over $300K.
There are lots of things you can do without needing your own manpower to improve things.
Any site that allows bogus or misleading info on their site eventually loses credibility. It will be something you have to address to go to the next level IMO.
Altus, OK · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 690 votes
15y
Well in retrospect even if you still got wholesalers posting the correct ARV you still want to do your due diligence and check to make sure the #'s are correct. Sometimes mistakes happen so you still need to verify the numbers.
Always do due diligence regardless that's the key to being a successful real estate entrepreneur.