New Western Acquisitions (Reviews)
When inquiring about a property on craigslist, I spoke with someone from New Western Acquisitions. He wants to meet tomorrow..........Can anyone give me your thoughts if you have experience with them? what do they do? honest ect? do they want money? i have been to their website and know they have some presence here on bigger pockets, but I am looking for comments from 1st hand experience. Thanks for your help.
Soo,
I asked your agent Bryan over a week ago to put the listing together so that when the current listing expired he would have it ready to active. After over a week he still has not done so. After almost a week of my listing being expired, and after your numerous promise to do what you can to help me sell it, Bryan has told me he is too busy to get to the listing. He was busy with showings trying to get his commission. Obviously, your company's expression that you care to help does not translate into action. As a result, I've now had to extend her listing agreement.
I think it's disingenuous to suggest that the reason why the ARV hasn't held up is because of "future market conditions." Its only been 4 months since I bought the house. Moreover, the appraisal was done 2 days after the contract. A difference of $80000 between ARV and market value for a house that's only values at $260k is very significant.
You are also suggesting that giving me a discount and extending closing was a favor to me. I told you that if you had another buyer that you should let me out the contract. The truth is you gave me the "discount" and extension because it was in your interest to close the deal so you wouldn't lose your earnest money on the other end, as you admitted during one of our phone conversation.
an update since last post: this is a string of email received from Soo Cho today after he pledged to help me out in whatever way he can.
A. You should consider having an open house this weekend - Sunday would be the best day.
Soo: Please keep in mind that it is not Bryan’s responsibility to hold open houses for your house. All of our agents list properties for our investors strictly as a service. We don’t make a single dime for listing the deal and it does take a lot of the agent’s time specially during the negotiating process. As I stated before we are willing to help you sell the house but I have to draw the line in the sand somewhere. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
A. Just wanted to get in writing how serious you were about doing everything you can to help me sell the house. This is what I thought would happen...
After intimating I would take further action, this is what I got next
soo: If this is the angle that you want to take, I will have to take precautionary measures on my end also just to protect myself and contact our attorneys. I am sure you understand. At this point, there was no new listing agreement made with our brokerage and yourself on your property, so I am going to consider the property not a listing that we will have to work.
Bottom line, they cut me off because I'm a problem to them now. They don't care anything about anyone. All they care about is the next sale...
We have worked with New Western and their team for some time now. Whether it has been the incoming leads and purchasing rehab properties or sharing and discussing exit strategies and property details/value/thoughts, they have always been of great service for our company.
As a seller having little to no experience in the Real Estate market, I can see how they would misunderstand the process or what needs to be in place for a sale. New Western is a real estate brokerage firm that acquires and resells distressed property to make a profit. When they send out deals, they reflect the ARV from supporting comparables in the direct area, as well as their estimated rehab costs.
It is understood from above that several people have come to feel that their numbers were not matching by the end of a project, but that is in any case that the buyer did not complete a full assessment or incurred extra costs in the rehab budget. Your contractors may be higher in price if you are new to them, the work completed may not reflect its comparables. There are many factors as to why you may have made a lesser profit, the blame can in no way be put on the middle man. New Western simply provides you with a lead and their estimated numbers, it is and was your job to check them on your own as is any purchase or sale. In my opinion, it is very unwise to allow your image of the company to be flawed because a buyer has been irresponsible in their due diligence.
We have a very similar network, as a result, I've had the pleasure to speak to many satisfied partners and buyers having worked with New Western. This team has great value, varying solutions and desirable systems in place for a smooth transaction. I highly recommend their services!
Since purchasing the property I discussed above NW has sent me over 100 deals, maybe 200. Of those about 20 I performed in depth research on and from there maybe 3 I almost pulled the trigger on. Everyone's criteria is different and evolving. I look at the address and the sales price from the email and then I start my process. ARV's from wholesale email leads are like serving suggestions on nutrition facts. Supported by real data, sometimes accurate but usually not realistic. New investors should familarize themselves with the IABS document and know everyone's role before entering into any contract. Bottom line is do your homework. If your not sure then get some help.
Sorry to waste anyone's time but I have to know. Especially since I never new a whole wholesaling company would be profitable it seems like more pressure and competition to me!?
@J Scott, @Gordon T., @Brandon Turner, @Josh Dorkin, @Eve W., @Timothy Joost
Good morning!. I care to hear your feedback?My name is Mike and I am an upcoming real estate investor. Upcoming because I have not gotten my feet wet yet, but have been doing the research, securing the knowledge from books and taking a real estate class. I feel at this rate I will get to the next level which is closing my first deal. I hate to waste your time with my real restate history, but I found BiggerPockets around 2 weeks ago which lead me to a website called Myhousedeals. Upon registering for an account I entered my phone number and someone from New Western contacted me and said that I requested to get contacted. Which I am pretty sure I did not. I am happy for some kind of help, but understand that all help may not be good help!!
My thought!!!...
Like if, I want to wholesale why would I network with these guys that obviously have it figured out already and are ultimately my competition. Don’t get me wrong doing a deal with NW over Joe Smo could be beneficial if they would be willing to split the deal with me or are just willing to let me experience a deal from start to end. But I feel that they will have fees that maybe disclosed but would evidently cut into the 50% deal. (Application fees, consultation, clearing titles, etc.) Would the risk be justified if only to secure my first deal I mean they are initially supplying the leads and suppose to follow through until the deal closes? (When reassigning the contract depending on the deal I won’t be able to tack that big of a fee onto the deal anyway).
My questions are as follows:?
- 1. Should I meet with them ?
- 2. Do you feel that as a wholesaler this avenue of approach would be beneficial?
- 3. Has anyone done done any more business with them since your first encounter?They say they have multiple agents on site maybe there are REI among their ranks.
I know it doesn’t hurt to go talk or network with people because you never know who you can meet, but I can be a push over sometimes and would want to leave knowing that I didn’t buy something I won’t use or get in a situation that may cause me money that I don’t have.
Sorry for the Long message, but any light or information you may be able to shed on this subject of New Western would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for you time,
Mike
@Michael Grant - I'm not sure what happened and I'm not up to speed with either company beyond both having members here on BP.
That said, it is common practice for companies in our industry to sell your information to 3rd parties or to partner with those 3rd parties.
We NEVER give member information to 3rd parties at BiggerPockets because I don't like the practice.
When you give up your email or phone number online, ALWAYS be sure to read the privacy policy of the company in question. They need to disclose what they are doing with your information.
@Michael Grant Welcome to BP. You have made a very wise decision by joining this site. If you are serious about real estate investing and want to be a wholesaler, rehabber, landlord, ect... then take some time and spend it reading this site. It is basically the best collection of real estate knowledge you will find anywhere. There are a number of experts on this site that will walk you through a deal step by step and will go way out of there way to help you. All you have to do is ask. If you are thinking about becoming a wholesaler then doing deals with NWA will not be beneficial. It would almost be impossible to wholesale a deal after you purchased it from them.
There are a couple of options available to acquire deals that you can wholesale. Direct mail marketing, driving for dollars and bandit signs.
The best way is direct mail marketing. It allows you to target the exact type of person, house and area you want. Driving for dollars is very time consuming and bandit signs are probably illegal.
Spend some time on this site and get to know who the real investors are. Depending on what you are looking to do find the individuals who are experts in that field on BP and connect with them. They would be more than happy to answer any question you have.
#3 Marketing Your Property Contributor
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#3 Marketing Your Property Contributor
- Flipper/Rehabber
- Arlington, TX
Dang, man. Welcome to real estate - which can be a lot riskier than people think.
As far as NWA goes, I know their CEO and other execs, have worked with them in the past, and I look forward to working with them in the future. Here in D/FW, they are a major player. I don't know anyone in their other offices around the county.
Now, given their business model, I don't think they are a fit - not AT ALL - for a wholesaler, because in essence they are a wholesaler of sorts. And a wholesaler selling to a wholesaler is the very definition of "no added value". Ultimately, there must be a CASH buyer. They try to package up deals and make it easier for cash investors to get into the game. For some (more passive investors), that can be a great fit.
On your deal, it's water under the bridge but when a hard money lender won't fund a deal, that's a huge red flag. I realize you were sucked into funding it in an effort to save your earnest money. In retrospect, perhaps you'd just take the loss.
I have seen deals like this where the ARV was WAY off. Often, there were not many good (similar) comps, or older comps had to be used, etc. Bad comps (including properties that are not similar enough to the subject property) will screw you.
Going forward, make sure you have a CLOSE relationship with a RE agent that knows you market like the back of their hand. Have them run your CMAs and never just accept the ARV offered by someone trying to sell you something.
I'm sure others here join me in hoping you get out of this deal without losing your shirt. So sorry to hear of the situation - I wish you the best possible outcome from here.
@John Hixen thanks for the advice, I thought the samething a wholesaler buying from a wholesaler pointless. I just adviced a plan of action where I think Im going to meet the guy I intially talked to from NW and just listen. I plan on being something bigger than a guppie in this Real Estate world and could eventually flip a house or 2 and can use them for leads if the numbers look right. I thank you for your feedback and been active on Bigger Pockets and trying to catch up on podcast
Thanks again
Mike
We bought about 8 properties through them in 2014, all rentals.
I analyzed probably 50+ other deals and passed on them, because the numbers weren't good (sometimes too high ARV estimate, sometimes too low rehab estimate).
I treat them like any other wholesaler...they are not bad people, but are trying to make a profit, so the key is to doing your own due diligence. And if it's a deal, then go for it.
As in the case of A Banks, a newbie investor I think it's pretty obvious she was taken advantage of. The ARV can't so far off, the hard money lender won't even lend on the deal. NWA group should realize these kind of acts will make it to the forums.
I had dealings with this company and their staff, so first hand knowledge. This company will not have your best interest at all. Buyer beware!!! They are only out for themselves and do some shady real estate transactions. In general not nice or respectable business people.
This company staff did not get back to me in a timely fashion. They exhibit poor communication skills. Once you hand them the money they are not interested in you at all and if you are not good at self investment you will be in trouble. This company doesn't work to help you or your interest. It is about their interest and making money not yours so do not be fooled by what they say initially.
My suggestion stay away from these guys and this company as you cannot believe a word they say. Good advice have a lawyer on hand when dealing with them. Make sure you can get funded before handing over a no-refundable deposit. They will play you if they can its easy money to them. Be careful with these guys at this company. On a 5 star scale I give them a 0.
Anonymous Sender-
I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with our company. It's difficult to comment on your experience or the situation since you haven't provided any information regarding the scenario. Communication is our number one priority and if you'd like to contact me [REMOVED].
It sounds like you may have had an issue with a non-refundable down payment and it is true.. we do require a non-refundable down payment to purchase one of our opportunities. We're very transparent about this in our initial meeting that we conduct prior to touring any properties.
We work on repeat business and always strive for our clients success which is why so many of our clients come back! If you feel your experience was unsatisfactory, I'd like the opportunity to make it right.
Thanks for sharing @Jason Stackhouse; They have had a couple people pinging me locally to come on in to sit down, sign disclosure docs like you are explaining, all to get added to the list available for purchase of 15-20 deals per month.
15 year Certified Appraiser, full disclosure.
I bought my first deal in 1999 from a wholesaler. The ARV was about $20000 off and the repairs were slightly off. I escaped that deal profiting $6500 when I was expecting $25,000. I ended up going to appraisal school because I never wanted that to happen to me again. I wanted to be an informed investor and it also turned into an Appraising and Consulting career for me.
I am not suggesting going to appraisal school but I am suggesting to always do your own due diligence especially on the ARV.
A free tip from an Appraisal Professional. ...If the sales provided to you to back up the wholesalers ARV are old (meaning six months or older) and the average rehab to final sale time period can range from 2 to 6 months, then that should cause you concen. Any wholesaler should be able to support their ARV with recent sales that will still be applicable to your property when you need it a few months down the road. It amazes me how many people don't think about that. I see posting for properties all the time where the comps provided are old, what we call "dated" sales and investors jump on the deal only to get a rude awakening when they list the property too high. It stays on the market forever and when they finally find a buyer the appraisal comes in lower.
Please Please do your own due diligence and form a great relationship with an Agent or an Certified Appraiser.
Buyer Beware. I have a good friend who is batttling to get her EMD of $20,000 back from New Western. It is a total mess and they intentionally prey on new investors. For anyone who wants more details just PM me.
I don't like having to pay double closing costs to buy their houses. I believe I read that you pay for their initial closing cost as well yours.
Also I have had them pitch a house in a flood zone for $20K more than my agent had it listed for and argue with me that it was not in a flood zone. The rep. finally agreed after reviewing the flood map I referred him to. I know they sell a lot of properties but there is way too much hype and I'm too old to deal with it.
I purchased a home from these guys back in February. (The Philadelphia location) I just got in two weeks ago which is now end of April. There were renters in the property at the time of purchase and I was told by Western Acquisition's that they saw a signed lease for their next rental and just needed some more time to get out as I did not wish to buy with renters in it. I gave them seven more days based on what these guys said.
Long story short they left me with the renters in there and I had to get a lawyer to start eviction process. If these guys were upfront I would have waited until the seller got the renters out but because I believed what they were saying to me I trusted their word. There word is MUD.
Also on the initial sellers sheet it stated clearly that the windows were new throughout. It turns out the windows are at least 10 years old or older and need replacement. Plus the selling rep agent also told me to my face yes the windows are new when I questioned him about it as several were cracked. He explained that was just the old storm windows that were left in. A complete lie a Temple grad as well how sad.
One last note I was told that an initial 5K would be used as a hold for the property as a non refundable deposit check. I was told the day of the sale they needed 10K. This company is not very upfront and is only for the seller. They do not have any investors rights or business in mind. Be very, very, careful with these people as they will do what they have to for their best interest.
My advice go somewhere else and do not use them period. Also have a lawyer present at any and all sittings with these folks. They cannot be trusted on any level.
For the non seasoned investor just stay away!!! And be very careful as this company is nothing but trouble!!!
Kevin-
I'm sorry you were unhappy with the service we provided. There's always risk in real estate which, especially when you're dealing with tenants. There's only so much we can control but we did go above and beyond to get the tenants out and keep good communication throughout the process. If you have any recommendations on how this could have been handled better, please give me a call and lets discuss it. We always strive to improve our skills and customer satisfaction is our #1 priority!
As for the information about the windows, we inspected the property (as always) and found the windows to be in great shape. The sellers also informed us they were new.
The down payment amounts are typically $5k, $7.5K or $10K depending on the purchase price and how much we have out on our acquisition. This particular house you purchased was a very desirable and higher priced property (which is why do many people bid on it) and we include the down payment amount in our marketing email.
Again, your satisfaction is our #1 priority and I'll personally see to making sure we have a positive end result. Please feel free to reach out to me if there is anything else I can clarify or help with.
Anthony,
Yes your right there is risk when dealing with tenets that is why I would have not done the deal knowing they were still in there. I wanted different financing and only needed a few more days and instead of doing good by me (your supposed customer) you decided to assure me that you saw a signed lease from the renters and that they were already starting to move out all based on your word. A complete and total fabrication of the truth to get what you wanted not me. I see no customer satisfaction in that.
I have no desire to call you to discuss anything last time we spoke you yelled and screamed at me and I will not be spoken to or treated like that by anyone. Another strong point not to do business with these people. They are only interested in their own bottom line of making money. Customer satisfaction is nonexistent from this buyer and investor.
The windows are not new and if that is from your inspection then again folks stay away from these people as they don't know what they are looking at or talking about. I have positive proof the windows are old from an expert in the business who actually made the windows that are in there so I know they are over 10 years old because the company went out of business 10 years ago. That is based on his professional expert opinion.
So very interesting that customer satisfaction is your # 1 goal as this customer is not happy with your company polices or your staff. Many fabrications are made up as you go along to just make things seem a certain way to get what you and the seller want.
And finally I find it interesting you claim to have gotten the tenets out. Why would I hire an attorney to start eviction proceedings if you got the tenets out again another outright fabrication of the truth.
Like I say fellow investors stay away from these people nothing they are claiming in their post is even slightly true. Want to see my proof contact me I will show you just how old the windows are with further proof of the initial write up of this property. Along with my lawyer's fees and the proceedings he took to evict the tenets.
Also why write to me on here after the damage is done. If you want to satisfy me at this point pay the lawyer's fees however, this post will stay. I am 100% so not satisfied with you or your companies business practices and encourage anyone investor or buyer to stay far away.
Ok, Anthony it's your turn.....
Bigger Pockets put me into contact with them a few days ago. Today they sent me an e-mail. There was a huge red flag in the e-mail to me.
They wanted to meet with me to explain how their contract works. Are they lawyers? The person that sent me the e-mails is not. Were they going to have their lawyer give me legally advice? Why could this not have been done in writing?
If for some reason, you decide to deal with them. Record every word they say. My lawyers say the e-mail makes them concerned about real estate agents practicing law without a license or their lawyers not properly disclosing conflicts of interest.
@Account Closed
I apologize if one of my associates turned you off or alarmed you about working with our company in any way. Please allow me to clarify why we like to meet our investors face to face prior to adding them to our distribution list.
I agree with you in the fact that "explain how our contracts work" was a poor choice of words because in no way are we trying to offer you any sort of legal advice or council. Our deals are quality with plenty of profit for investors so they typically sell within 24-48 hours of being released. The last few deals we released here in ATL has sold in less than 4 hours. The way we structure our deals is standard across the board and certain aspects are fairly specific (who pays closing costs, due diligence periods, closing attorneys we use, what we require from you to consider the property sold, etc). We believe in full disclosure so we choose to explain this all up front so their are no surprises. That way, when a deal does come across that fits your criteria, you are able to make a decision in a timely manner as you already know what to expect at the closing table. We even provide a copy of the contract we use during the meeting so that you can take it back to your attorney for review and get back to us if you have any questions or concerns regarding them.
The second, and most important reason I choose to meet with investors is simply this: we value our relationships. We put a priority on building a relationship with a client/investor above that of just making a sale. I learned very early on in my career that my success directly correlates to the success of my investors and try to do everything in my power to make sure my clients are satisfied (the amount of repeat business and referrals I receive is evidence of that). It's impossible to do this without sitting down to listen to my investors and understand their needs, investment strategy, preferred pricepoints/areas and limitations. During the meeting I also open it up to the investor to ask any questions about myself or the company because any real investor should have the desire to qualify the person they are working with. On top of all this, it just feels right to be able to meet face to face with the person you are dealing with and shake hands. I guess i'm kind of old school and prefer to build relationships on something more substantial than a text message or email.
If you're looking for someone to just get your email address and send you a bunch of crap that doesn't make sense to you (or any investor for that matter) that is not us. But if you are looking to work directly with someone who understands your needs, thinks of you as soon as we come across something that might work for you, and picks up the phone and calls you... that is where we come in.
If you are still open to the opportunity of working with us and seeing what we have to offer, please let me know. I can provide you with my personal referrals (a few of which are BP members) or put you in touch with someone in your respective market who can do the same.
SHORT VERSION: poor choice of words, sorry for the mix-up. I like to make sure my investors are not aliens/robots before I meet them at a property.
We believe in doing one thing and doing it very well, playing lawyer is definitely not it.
Gordon. The agent Luis de la Fuente has started harassing me by e-mail now. I have forwarded the entire email chain to his broker. I have also warned him that I will file complaints with TREC and any Realtor Association his broker is a member of if I get another e-mail from him.
If I get another e-mail from Luis I will also send a complaint to the broker via certified mail just to make sure TREC will follow their rules and hold responsible for the actions of his sponsored agent.
By the way, the "poor choice of words" was part of form e-mail response.
BE AWARE WHEN DEALING WITH NEW WESTERN...I'm in the Philly market and have met with NWA about a year or so ago and was placed on their buyers list. However, about a month later, when I questioned the #'s on a few of their deals, they got upset and in turn, removed me completely from their list.
Now, if you are going to deal with them, which I wouldn't recommend, you should know about the following:
1) They do take multiple NON-REFUNDABLE deposits on the same deal and will tell you they will apply it on another deal - problem with that is who knows how long it will take to find another deal that you like but all the while, they have your $5,000
2) You should know that if you are buying a property from them, you will be paying all of their closing costs on the A-B transaction as well as all the closing costs on the B-C transaction. You'll notice they don't fully explain this portion of the deal when going over the details with you. Depending on the sale price, this could add another few thousand to your costs to purchase.
3) I'm sure you will notice but 80-90% of the deals they send are already listed on the MLS (which they told me none of their deals will be MLS properties when I met with them).
4) AGAIN, BE CAREFUL as I've spoken to numerous investors, mainly newcomers, who have had bad experiences with this company.
For NWA - if you'd like to contact me to discuss this and try to tell your side of the story, please feel free to do so.
Thank you,
Jason Stackhouse
Stack Investments, LLC
484-467-6288 (cell)