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John W.
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Texas
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New Western Acquisitions (Reviews)

John W.
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Texas
Posted Aug 7 2012, 16:58

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.

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Jairo Garcia
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Murrieta, CA
11
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34
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Jairo Garcia
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Murrieta, CA
Replied Apr 12 2017, 09:01

@Salvatore Lentini

Hi Sal, I wanted to follow-up onyour post above. What was your experience with NWA? I am scheduled to meet with them today, however, after reading some of the reviews on here I am looking to cancel that meeting. It seems like they're strategy is to focus on new investors so I'd love to get the perspective of an experienced investor. Thanks!

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Salvatore Lentini
Pro Member
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Doylestown, PA
1,400
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Salvatore Lentini
Pro Member
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Doylestown, PA
Replied Apr 12 2017, 09:07

Trust the reviews you've read.  I don't want to bash any company publicly but based on my experience I will never buy a property from them.

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Jeri Schwartz
  • Pflugerville, TX
4
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Jeri Schwartz
  • Pflugerville, TX
Replied Jun 1 2017, 10:24

We have worked with Justin over at New Western Acquisitions in Austin, TX for the last year and have had nothing but positive experiences.  Great company.

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Mike Southward
  • Tampa, FL
1
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1
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Mike Southward
  • Tampa, FL
Replied Jun 5 2017, 13:43

OK, it pains me to say this as I thought I was dealing with a reputable company in New Western Acquisitions, but clearly I was not. I recently(May 5, 2017) went into contract with them(actually NWA was listed as Pinellas Properties LLC set up in the Tampa market). The contract states that any additions/changes to the home were properly permitted and inspected unless otherwise noted. Upon our initial inspection with the realtor from NWA, it was brought up that the lanai had been converted to living area. We later learned this addition had not been properly permitted and this fact was not disclosed on the contract. As you know, you get a quick inspect and ask for the money. Our bad for moving so fast, but again, felt we were dealing with a reputable company. Further, New Western(aka Pinellas Properties) had an inspection report from the seller they purchased the home from that revealed several other defects not disclosed(we received this report 5 days after the contract was executed and only after we threatened with a delay or cancel of the closing if we did not get an inspection on the home). Among those: a new roof constructed over the old roof that had not been permitted or inspected and an entire re-plumb of the home that had not been permitted or inspected. Based on these findings, we contacted the our rep and informed them we planned to cancel the contract, why we planned to cancel the contract(noting the specific defects in the home they had not previously disclosed) and expected the return of our deposit. Guess what? They refused! They said they were not aware of these items. Seriously?

So you say, tough luck Mike, that's the way it goes. To an extent, I get it. Don't agree and will pursue the proper channels.

However, it gets worse, after speaking to the realtor  from NWA/PP and informing him of our cancellation and the non-permitted changes, defects, etc... they turned right around and sold the home to someone else. Any bets on whether any of the information they now DEFINATELY knew was disclosed? That buyer also canceled and I assume NWA/PP kept their deposit as well. So ask yourself this before doing any business with these guys..."Is this really the type of organization I want to align with?". They were given several opportunities to operate in an ethical manner and in my opinion(I'll let you form your own), failed miserably.

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Michael Valerio
  • Wholesaler
  • Saint Petersburg, FL
37
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88
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Michael Valerio
  • Wholesaler
  • Saint Petersburg, FL
Replied Jun 5 2017, 14:51

Mike, It is never a good result for any parties involved when a transaction falls out. I understand that this can be frustrating, but we were disclosed as much information as you were. We try to be very clear throughout or 8 page addendum that we know very little (if anything at all) about the properties we sell beyond a visual inspection.This includes permitted additions and any other types of home modifications made to the home. My understanding is that a previous inspection was provided to you that the seller ordered several months ago.  I do not believe it was a seller's disclosure.  This was provided because you requested us to pursue any information the seller might have and we forwarded what was given to us.   I can also confirm that this property was not sold to another one of our investors.  Someone made a purchase agreement outside of us being involved.  We lost our deposit the same way you did.  It was an all around lose-lose situation when you decided that the property was a no go.  Again, my apologies for how this transaction turned out, but we try our very best to make it extremely clear that we have zero knowledge regarding the integrity of the property.  

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Chris Cain
  • Investor
  • Kennesaw, GA
1
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3
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Chris Cain
  • Investor
  • Kennesaw, GA
Replied Oct 3 2017, 08:44

Just my 2-cents:
Be very careful dealing with these guys.  You need to make sure you are comfortable with YOUR due diligence and don't let them rush you.  You need to remember that they make their money by turning properties fast.

Recently they sent me a deal that looked like a 65/60/180. A rep at NW called me (I was driving) and we went through the details. It all sounded good. I remembered him emailing me this earlier and I ask him if the property was on the MLS. His response was no, there was a listing that expired in 2015 but nothing current. He had a contractor coming out to look at the property that day and once the contractor was done he would give me the rehab number. All sounded pretty good. I agreed to buy the house. Just FYI this was on a Saturday and NW requires you pay them the down payment (not earnest money because you lose it if you don't close) via wire or cashiers check. Because of this, i would not be able to bind the contract until monday.

I got home and started doing some research.  It turns out the house was active on the mls for 50K.  NW was selling it to me for 65K.  Not a huge deal but they told me they mark all their deals up 5K.  Next i start looking at comps.  There are 30 homes that have sold in that area in the last 6 months.  One of them sold for 180 and it was not really close to this house.  Their were three that were the same sf and the home NW was selling me that sold in the last 30 days for 135K.   So the real numbers ended up looking like 65/55/135.  

I ended up walking away from the deal.  My takeaways were this:  There are plenty of deals out there, there are plenty of trustworthy sellers, don't be pressured to make a decision you're not comfortable with, Do your OWN research, Don't deal with a company that makes you put down a non-refundable down payment.


All that being said, whoever buys this house might make money.  I don't know.  I was just not comfortable with what i felt like was a dishonest rep.

Good Luck

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Brad Campbell
  • Involved In Real Estate
  • Atlanta, GA
11
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Brad Campbell
  • Involved In Real Estate
  • Atlanta, GA
Replied Oct 3 2017, 10:01

Hi Chris,

I wanted to address your concerns with the property you purchased from us.  Full disclosure, I'm the general manager for our Woodstock office.  I'd like to make it clear that we make money from building sustainable working relationships with investors, agents, wholesalers etc, not by turning properties fast.  Properties sell quickly because you bought an investment property in the hottest zip code in Atlanta.  In fact, the property was resold to a client that has purchased 5 houses from us.  I regret if any dealing with a client we work with has less than a positive outcome and I'd welcome the chance to speak with you outside of this thread to address any specific concerns.

I'd like to point out that in such a competitive market it's very typical for me to put up non-refundable EM in order to acquire a property, in some cases 10% of purchase price.  We simply ask that our investors do the same when dealing with us.  I'd also like to point out that list price is not representative of acquisition price.  In GA, there are 2 listing services and this property happened to be listed on the less popular GAMLS.  

Any investor that has a bad experience in dealing with us is regrettable, however appx. 50% of the business we do is with repeat investors.  

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Chris Cain
  • Investor
  • Kennesaw, GA
1
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3
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Chris Cain
  • Investor
  • Kennesaw, GA
Replied Oct 3 2017, 10:33

Brad, 
Thanks for your reply.  I never said i had a bad experience.  I was disappointed with the  lack of honesty/transparency from the rep.  I chalk it up to a good learning experience.  I got out w/o any major damage and you sold the house to someone else.  I hope the investor who purchased it does well with it.  My number is on file at your office, so you can call me anytime to discuss.  

PS - The none refundable down payment (NOT EM) works really well for your company but its not in the best interest of the buyer.  

The purpose of this post is NOT to bash your company but to help future investors.

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Chris Cain
  • Investor
  • Kennesaw, GA
1
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3
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Chris Cain
  • Investor
  • Kennesaw, GA
Replied Oct 3 2017, 10:58

Also, With approximately 71,727 listings to date, GAMLS has about 40% more listings than FMLS does (approximately 51,535).  FMLS is primarily ITP but your team should have taken 5 min to check to see if the property was on the mls after i specifically ask.

The MLS data was taken from a report that metro brokers did back in 2016. The numbers have obviously changed some since then.

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James H.
  • Investor
  • Dallas, TX
62
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135
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James H.
  • Investor
  • Dallas, TX
Replied Oct 3 2017, 11:04

We decided not to work with them after they refused to meet with us except between 8am and 5pm on weekends.  We are landlords and have done a rehab.  But, they apparently did not want to work with us.

Account Closed
  • Wynnewood, PA
2
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2
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Account Closed
  • Wynnewood, PA
Replied Oct 3 2017, 11:06

Several years ago I posted a response about this company and its business practices. I have since heard from several individuals that privately contacted me asking me for help and what to do once they had already done business with them. Well folks if you did business with NWA then it is too late that is the reason for my earlier post as well as other's individual post. As you can see there are things this company does that are not above board if they did I would still be doing business with them. Any company trying to fix things by straightening out bad reviews online or telling you their great success or return customers online is not really a company you really want to do business with is it? No need to bash this company they do that all by themselves. I can't tell you how many people lose their deposit but I know of several who have lost it and NWA did not help them attain another property just took their money be aware and be very careful of this company many people are still being ripped off by them. 

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Marlon Long
  • Investor
  • Chester Springs, PA
20
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42
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Marlon Long
  • Investor
  • Chester Springs, PA
Replied Dec 27 2017, 13:50

I know this is late, but my encounter with NWA is recent and I had to share in hopes of being of value to someone here on the forum.

I just read thru 3 years of posts and responses of everyone's interactions with New Western Acquisitions.  I can say 1st hand that all of the negative feedback is absolutely warranted.  They prey on new investors and execute perfectly the "pump and dump" method.  I read @Tim G.'s post regarding how his friend was fighting to get her $20,000 EMD back. I just recently walked away from my EMD of $5000 because everything leading up to the closing table screamed RUN, RUN, RUN!!!!

I will never ever do a deal with them ever again just by how they operate. I will consider that that $5000 that i walked away from a very valuable lesson learned of the importance of due diligence. I ran my numbers and consulted with my contractors, but in the end, I realized that I was forcing the numbers to work and really not digging deep enough.

I had been analyzing deal, after deal, after deal and the itch to pull the trigger got too great and I moved on a deal with NWA in a really nice neighborhood in Philadelphia. But as i was getting all of my details together to present to my private lender, things started to uncover themselves. the rehab scope started to creep and the ARV numbers that I used were complete garbage because they were supplied by NWA. Not to mention the zoning requirements of the neighborhood wouldn't allow me to get approved for the rehab that I was planning without applying for a zoning variance.  Guess what that does to my rehab time table.   The biggest take away from the whole ordeal: -- only trust yourself in this business. You can always work towards building report with people and a working relationship, but trust yourself --VERIFY EVERYTHING!!!
-- Don't let anyone rush you into make a decision that doesn't involve their own money -- Stay positive, there's always tomorrow and the next deal
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Douglas Berman
  • PHILADELPHIA, PA
3
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1
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Douglas Berman
  • PHILADELPHIA, PA
Replied Apr 24 2018, 06:52

I tried working with NWA, but was never able to get my numbers to work.  They do indeed send 10-20 deals a month - at least in the Philadelphia area and for the opportunities that I scrutinized, it never made sense for me.   For example, I'd get a opportunity for a rehab with an acquisition cost of 145k.  Comps show 305-330k give or take.  By the time I add in closing costs, rehab expenses, soft costs (on the out), I'd be losing money.   This was case time and time again.   A while ago, for another opportunity I investigated, it was for a typical 2-story row home, the comps they provided showed homes in a gated community.  These gated community homes are not comparable.  I pointed this out to them and there is simply no denying it.  Another point is I always felt rushed, that I had to put a deposit down immediately, or I'd lose the deal.   In my opinion, this behavior is not something I'm comfortable with.   At the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to common sense.   These experiences, plus others led me to conclude that I'm going to spend my time working with agents/representatives who take the time to vet properties in which I can earn a living.  

As the previous posts suggest, do your own due diligence, run your own soft and hard costs, do your own comps, take time to understand building and zoning code.  

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Anthony Gonzales
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Philadelphia, PA
33
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33
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Anthony Gonzales
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Philadelphia, PA
Replied Apr 24 2018, 09:30

@Douglas Berman Doug- I appreciate the feedback about your experience with New Western. I know you and Simon had looked at a few of our deals and ultimately couldn't find one that worked out for your numbers. Every investor has their own formula and I completely agree that you have to do your own due diligence to assess if it's a good investment for you. I wish we had gotten the opportunity to get a deal done. We're simply another resource for investors to have opportunities brought to their feet, for free.

A lot of our buyers love the spreads and properties provided, but we certainly aren't a fit for everyone. Some buyers like the full service of a buyers agent, and I can respect that.

Again, I appreciate you sharing your experience and wish you the best of luck in your investing future!

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Replied Jul 26 2018, 12:15

SELLERS BEWARE! Agent with New Western Acquisitions (Dallas/Collin County area) gives sellers a contract to buy below market for cash, as-is condition, and quick close. Buyer in contract is another company affiliated with New Western. They quickly assign their rights to another buyer/investor with different terms. Instead of our transaction being per the terms of the original contract, we were delayed three weeks due to lender financing of the new buyer that New Western assigned rights to purchase. We assumed New Western would close with us per the terms of the contract, and then resell the property. Not the case! The entire transaction was a charade and dishonest. Have sold numerous investment properties and will NEVER deal with this company again. SCAM ALERT!

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Cliff T.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco, CA
42
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213
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Cliff T.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco, CA
Replied Sep 5 2018, 09:05

Bumping this back up. Anyone have recent experiences with NWA in the Philly area?

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Replied Sep 5 2018, 17:23

Here has been my experience thus far with New Western Acquisition. I am a new to the game but have been doing my due diligence. I have recently viewed two properties in the Dallas area and was informed by the agent (sales person), rehab is minimal. One property, he did not even view it himself and the place needed a total rehab and they claim to have contracted it slightly lower than they listed though it needed an additional 20K of work, I would love to meet this investor who purchased the property. Went to another, claims a 20k rehab and foundation was in good condition. Not at all, foundation was a complete mess which adds at least another 10k to the rehab and does not make numbers work. Most of their ARVs are high and they claim to compare apples to apples but that is not how the appraisal game works. 

I met with another agent in another DFW office and they have their ARV using higher sqft due to an addition made by current owner which cannot be used for appraisal purposes. Does not make numbers work.

Basically, I am told one thing and research is showing me their numbers are off. 

Their numbers are ideal for investors that do not have holding and hard money costs, which unfortunately I have.

Wish it was working out better with them because they are fast, responsive and cordial. They just need to do a better review of their numbers.

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Kevin Eikov
  • Havertown, PA
2
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3
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Kevin Eikov
  • Havertown, PA
Replied Sep 6 2018, 07:39

To Cliff Tsang   I did my very best to try to discourage people from dealing with NWA in the Philadelphia area not sure why you would want to make a deal with them as you seem to be from the San Francisco area.  There is a post from Marlon Long of Chester Springs speaking about NWA he would have used the Philadelphia location. The post is 8 months old. If you utilize this company in Philadelphia I believe you will regret it. They are dishonest to a fault and in the beginning you will think they will treat you like gold. The most dishonest group of individuals I have met in the business world. Do not Trust them on any level go somewhere else. There are other companies out there. These are con men and will say whatever it takes to make the sale or deal not to be trusted stay away.

If you really wish to know I did purchase a property from them and I made out ok but not because of them I had to acquire the services of a lawyer. If your a new investor just plain stay away if you are a seasoned investor I don't think I have to say anything past reviews say it all. 

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Gregory H.
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Philadelphia, PA
367
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451
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Gregory H.
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Philadelphia, PA
Replied Sep 6 2018, 18:00

Let's sum this up ... NWA is a company of sophisticated investors/brokers out to make as much money for THEMSELVES as possible. If you're a sophisticated, deep-pocketed investor who can go toe-to-toe with them and use them as one of many sources for your deals, then by all means, go for it.

If you are a first-time or inexperienced investor, an out-of-state investor, an investor working with limited liquidity (under $1M) ... don't get near these people, they're out of your league. You should legally have to be an "accredited" investor to get near these guys.

Account Closed
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Richardson, TX
161
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511
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Account Closed
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Richardson, TX
Replied Sep 7 2018, 10:41

@Gregory H. Sophisticated investor? I don't think so. Deep-pocketed, most definitely. Best case scenario you're paying 85 cents on the dollar and maybe up to 90. That is of course, assuming their numbers are accurate. I know for a fact they sometimes cherry pick comps. A sophisticated investor wouldn't pay that much for deals like these. I'd much rather just invest on amazon stock rather than putting all that work into a property. If you have a six figure job and you're well capitalized, I can see how a few of these deals can work from a buy and hold perspective. You'd still receive pretty mediocre returns but it might be worth it for people who don't have time to search for more profitable deals.

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Gregory H.
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Philadelphia, PA
367
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451
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Gregory H.
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Philadelphia, PA
Replied Sep 7 2018, 15:08

@Account Closed Exactly, a sophisticated investor would know the NWA numbers are BS so they'd use their own ... meaning they'd pass on most of the offers, but that doesn't mean NWA has NOTHING to offer someone who knows what they're doing.

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Anthony Gonzales
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Philadelphia, PA
33
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33
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Anthony Gonzales
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Philadelphia, PA
Replied Sep 12 2018, 14:04

@Gregory H. I'd sum it up quite differently! I'm the broker of NWA in Philadelphia and I wouldn't say you needed to be a deep-pocketed investor or someone ready to go toe-to-toe. We're not a sophisticated group of evil profit seekers.. We're a brokerage of licensed agents skilled in finding great investment property for our clients. We're just a  free source of investment deals for buyers to choose from. We sell to not only some of the biggest investors in Philly but new investors as well. We're full service and will spend as much of our time/resources as needed to ensure our investors are successful. A majority of our deals sell to repeat investors and we price them at competitive prices which is why 90% of our deals sell within a few hours of coming available. I don't show we've ever done business but we'd love the opportunity. If you've already formed your opinion, that's okay too. We're not a fit for every investor and that's okay. We do have several profitable relationships with some of your fellow agents at KW-Center City!

@Account Closed 85-90 cents on the dollar?! Sounds like you're talking about deals in red-hot Richardson, TX. Out here in Philly we sell at 65-75 cents on the dollar, even in the hottest areas. When I was in the Texas market last in '09-'14 we were selling around the same percentage but I know the supply/demand has made it a LOT more competitive. If you're looking for deals with more meat on the bone, I suggest you check out the Philly market! We work with sever out of state investors. 

Just for reference- The W. Philly deal we put out this morning (already sold) was 98k Purchase, 75k Rehab and a $240k ARV. 72%.

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Andrew Lawton
  • Lithonia, GA
0
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6
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Andrew Lawton
  • Lithonia, GA
Replied Oct 16 2018, 12:39

I too have my own issues....I used their Lender and was approved throughout the entire process. My credit was ran twice and was still approved, then on closing date... I was told I that the lenders would not approve the contract based on High ARV's they were using from NWA. When the deal fell through, I lost my down payment.

Stay clear from companies that ask for that high down payment and not willing to negotiate.

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Jeremy Durham
  • Attorney
  • Franklin
4
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14
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Jeremy Durham
  • Attorney
  • Franklin
Replied Feb 19 2019, 10:36

I'm having to sue these guys.  They told me that they only take certified funds, and that the "smart investors" park $5,000 earnest money with them so they are able to simply execute an electronic contract on their phone and secure a deal before other investors (it's competitive to find deals, so this made sense).  I did this and they STILL give the deal to someone who submitted a regular check on Presidents Day.  

The crazy thing is, I had TWICE asked for return of my earnest money (without success), and when I do go ahead and try to use it to buy a deal, they didn't even let me.  This leaves me scratching my head at why they ever took my earnest money in the first place.  What benefit did it provide me (besides the benefit to them of me having an added incentive to buy a property because they had my earnest money)?

In my opinion, these people are frauds.  Making matters worse, their agent contacted me on here.  Literally the first person I met from Bigger Pockets ,and I'm having to sue him. Sucks.

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Mat Farmer
  • Nashville, TN
25
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46
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Mat Farmer
  • Nashville, TN
Replied Feb 19 2019, 12:02

@Jeremy Durham - I am the Principal Broker & General Manager for New Western Acquisitions in Nashville.  I would be happy to explain this further offline if needed, but wanted to go ahead and address some of the claims you made on here.

A down payment in the form of fully certified funds are required for us to sign and fully "bind" an offer from a buyer.  However, with the thought of good business practices in mind and keeping strong investor relationships, we do hold the right to allow certain leniencies if a property is made available on a bank holiday (with the commitment that the investor will deliver certified funds by a specified time the following day) - this decision was made yesterday and fully communicated to all interested parties.  Were you to have submitted a signed offer for the property prior to the investor who purchased the deal, we likely would not be having this conversation.  However, if an investor has received a commitment from us (after providing completed offer and non-certified down payment) that the property is theirs pending delivery of certified funds by the following morning, it would be very bad business to renege on that commitment simply because another investor is interested.  I do hope you can understand that.

As for the claim regarding your down payment on file being withheld from you - with all due respect, this is simply not true.  It was communicated to you on February 7th by your Sales Agent, upon your request, that this down payment was available for pick up at our office (this typically being the preferred method as most investors do not want to wait for the mail).  Then, following the disagreement that arose over the aforementioned property yesterday when you intended to use that same down payment to purchase the property, you reaffirmed your desire to have the down payment returned.  At this point we figured it best to simply mail it and not await you retrieving it.  However with it being President's Day, it was not able to be mailed out until today.

I find it unfortunate that the timing of another investor's purchase and the means in which it was allowed has caused such discord.  I do hope a relationship can be salvaged here going forward, and I wish you the best in your real estate investing business regardless.