All Forum Posts by: Ashley Carter

Hi @Dawn R. - sent you an invitation to connect and a pm. Thx.

Amazing street and address. Very small unit, I've sold in that building before, that building seems to sell for less than others. Double check you dimensions, based on the floor plan available on the listing - it doesn't appear to be anywhere near 900sf. Also agree with other about rate of return being too low for an investor. The ideal buyer for this in someone who wants to owner-occupy for a year or 2 with small downpayment and move out keep it as a rental. Condition is nice, staging is great. Buyers are seeing not the value - only lever left to throw is keep moving pride until someone bites. Adjust in 3%-5% increments, anything less is meaningless to the buyers. If you've had over 12 showings at the current price with no offers - move the price to $275K. Good luck - IMO it's price.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Buffalo Grove.

Purchase price: $176,000
Cash invested: $50,000
Sale price: $293,500

Property was a single family home in need of full make-over. Remodeled kitchen, 2 bathrooms, floors, light fixtures, added add'l bedroom in basement, repaired deck and painted through-out.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was a solid single family home in a great community that simply needed updating and modernizing inside.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I am a Real eEstate Broker, so I found out about it from one of my colleagues. He represented the seller in the sale.

How did you finance this deal?

Paid cash and completed the work with cash, no financing involved.

How did you add value to the deal?

Like most flips, we wanted to add the most value by focusing on the "high return" items - kitchens, baths, floors, walls, lighting, painting and deck repair. We were fortunate that the property did not need much exterior or mechanical work. We focused on what the buyer would perceive as added value.

What was the outcome?

Profitable flip. Very happy with the outcome.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We took longer than we should have being "busy" with other things - other than that it went pretty much to plan.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Again, I am a Broker, so I handled the transaction. I have many trusted professionals that I use regularly.

Hi @Ryan Bird - just a terminology issue. Inside the industry, we call the buyer's agent the "selling broker" and the seller's agent the "listing broker".

So, the "sold by" would be the agent that represented the buyer and if it said "listed by" that would obviously be the agent representing the seller.

Hope that helps to clarify.

Ashley

Hi @Kirk Perecich - I don't know enough a out Velocity Banking to speak to that subject.

On the other question - should I pay down my mortgage with "some money just sitting in the bank making nothing"?

My polite, but firm answer is no. Absolutely not. For two reasons: 

1) if your current mortgage is a "amortized" loan (meaning you pay a portion of principle and interest every month) - EVEN IF you pay down a large chunk of that mortgage with the money you have in the bank it won't actually save you any money. Your payment is fixed for the life of the loan - it will reduce the amount you have to pay off at the end of the loan, but that doesn't really help you now or save you any money now.

2) if you tie up the money in your current property you are now reliant upon a lender to give you your money back (either via HELOC or cash out refi). Too much red tape and all financing has a cost associate with it not to mention the lead-times associated with loan approvals. AND not have the money on hand could cause you to miss an opportunity because you are not a "cash buyer" and able to move quickly to secure a good property.

IMO keep looking for deals all the time. Don't let the current market (being at a peak) keep you from making a smart buy. There are good deals ALL THE TIME. Yes there may be fewer of them and they may take longer to find, but there are out there. 

Be patient, keep your money in your account and be ready to pounce a solid deal.

Hope this helps!

Hi @Bijou Marguerite - I would echo what @Mark Reitman stated above and share my perspective as well. I've been Broker in the Chicago market since 2000. Mark is right - there are TWO "days on market" times in our local MLS.

- LMT (listing market time) - which is the days on market for the current listing. A broker can CANCEL a listing and turn around and re-activate it one minute later and a new MLS # is generated and assigned to that property and the LMT resets to 1 day. You DO NOT need a "justification" to cancel and re-list as you were lead to believe. The Broker only needs your direction as the owner - they should not do it without the client's knowledge and approval.

- MT (market time) - tracks the cumulative market time for ALL DAYS on market. The only exception is, as the Brokers have shared with you, if it off the market for 91 days or more then BOTH dates will reset to 0 days the next time you list if for sale.

DOES MAKRET TIME MATTER?

- In my opinion, maybe. 

a) The property could become "stale" and might be better served by taking it off and re-listing at a later date. However, as was stated, the buyer's agents can see BOTH the LMT and the MT dates if they care to look. 

b) Taking the property off with the market for the sole purpose of letting the clock re-set is not fooling anyone. In my opinion, that would be your opportunity to address any of the short-comings that the property might have; do you need to make repairs, clean, take new photos, more marketing exposure, easier access for property showings, re-lease a unit, adjust the price - any/all of these activities you would want to do WHILE you are off the market so that when you come back on you have a new "story to tell". 

Remember, buyers are buying VALUE. If they don't see the appropriate value they will take a pass and move on to another property OR wait for you to make a move (ie improve condition, lower the price, or re-lease for higher rental income).

My advice would be to identify which the items I listed above (make repairs, clean, take new photos, more marketing exposure, easier access for property showings, re-lease a unit, adjust the price) is holding your property back and address that and not take it off the market and wait for a better day. 

I hope this helps!

@conor m. Those neighborhoods are great. I'm not sure if you have engaged a mortgage lender yet, however, just remember that for an FHA loans to work on a condo the entire building needs to be "FHA approved". Generally speaking most condos in those areas are not already pre-approved with FHA however the buildings can become FHA approved. If you need a connection to a good lender shoot me message.

Hi @Matt - Try Huntington Bank - they have a lot of branches all over the Chicagoland area. They do limit the "combined loan to value" to 75%. So depending on how large you exiting loan is, it may/may not work. 

I have a contact there if you want her number, please LMK.

~Ashley