All Forum Posts by: Philip Rowe

Maybe things are different in OH, but here in FL, a bank will not do a conventional mortgage on a house that is not C.O.ed (Certificate of Occupancy). They will still lend money, but you will more than likely have to get a contsruction loan.

Home building is usually a profitable business...you said the bank "bought the property back at $200 K". Dont you mean they foreclosed on the builder and took it back. Did they actually pay for it?

THere are a lot of questions left unanswered when evaluating this deal. But I see some RED FLAGS!!!
How much would the builder have made on the house after carrying costs of the loan, marketing, and realtor fees?
Did the builder buy the land as part of the loan? Thats important info when disecting the deal. If the land was owned free and clear and the house is in the 1500 to 2000 sq ft range than I would negotiate and pay as little as possilbe not $200 K.

From $200 k plus $60 K, you get $260, the house is worth $300, you are only getting it 13% off market value. That is not a good deal, especially since you have to finish the property.

Also, who is the builder? Has he built before? Is the house going to fall down in a few months after you move in? just things to consider.

You don't need to present your offer with comps and if a realtor already has the listing, you don't need to waite for an asking price if you are really going to offer.
Definantly you need your own Realtor who is good at negotiating.
But you will most certainly want to talk to a bank first before making an offer, becuase like i said the property won't qualify for a conventional mortgage.
also, you should get a better "Price" becuase you are going to take on the role of a builder, and builders build to make money not break even.

Okay for arguments sake we can say that 50% is HUGE. 35% off is considered to be a "Fire Sale" by lenders standards. At least the Hard Equity Lender that I network with.

I'm not familiar with the New Jersey market but I don't think 70% exists unless you are buying Bulk. Even then I'm not sure if they are out there. I think some bulk deals are selling at 50% of market value and then are split up where individual properties might close at 65% at absolute auctions. I'm really only familiar with South Florida so one of the bigger players on here would have to clarify that for you.

Originally posted by "Toby_Munk":

Is it correct that real estate taxes in Florida are 2%-3% of property value?

Yes, its true, and SAD. Legislation has proposed lots of resolutions but none of them seem to go through. They recently raised the homestead exemption but it doesn't much help investors. Insurance is also a killer here too, since the terrible hurricane season from a couple of years ago.

Pretty Funny!

It was only 1 month ago today that I asked "What is Bird-dogging?"

Now I have become the Bird Dog in my office. I've been learning fast and have found 3 properties that have closed since then. Now I just need my own investors and I'll need "bigger Pockets" to hold the added income.

I've said this like 10 times but one more won't hurt. Thanks Bigger Pockets and all of its users for sharing the information that has quickly helped me develop as an Agent in the REO market.

What is the name of the Company/Owner? I am in Hollywood, i would at least like to know who to look out for. That is an absolutely terrible situation. Sorry to hear about your problems. Business down here is soo shady its hard to trust ANYONE.

I would read the architecture forum. I would be curious to even see what type of discussions they would even have. It couldn't hurt. Doubt it would be too hard to create. Might as well encompass all aspects of Real Estate, Engineering would be the only other thing I could think of that isn't on here.

And I do have a few questions for structural engineer about load bearing walls.

[EDITED BY MODERATOR - NO DEALMAKING IN THIS FORUM]

I'm a Realtor in Hollywood. Hollywood is my expertise, but I am knowledgable in the surrounding cities as well (Aventura, Hallandale, Golden Beach, Dania, and a little in Pines and Miramar). I've recently been finding great deals in Hollywood, and have focused most of my attention here.

Seems like homeowners are ripping the applainces out before they get evicted so light to mid rehab is the norm so far. Positive cash flow from day one is rare but I am finding them. Currently I am working mostly with fix - flippers, but would rather have investors who are looking for buy and hold, and cash flow. (Trying not to solicit - but thats a part of networking?)

Moderator, if you need to edit this post, sorry.

Just because the Realtor has 65 properties doesn't mean she bought them at HUGE discounts. You still didn't tell us what you think HUGE is. I find maybe 1 or 2 properties a month that are HUGE discounts. Just recently though. I am a Realtor and it took me 2 months just to figure out where to look for the properties. Usually if they go on the MLS, by the time a Realtor finds them on there they are under contract or gone.

A good Realtor can find them. Also sometimes things don't look like a good deal, but when you make the offer at such a lowball price occasionally it actually gets accepted. We are making approx 20 to 30 offers a month on properties and 1 or 2 stick at the lowball offer. They are all cash offers with 10 day closings so I think that helps. I am in South Florida. Rental income homes go anywhere from upper $100 k's and up. The other day I found a property for $73,500. It was a 2/1 and 1/1 duplex with a pool in a so-so area. I found it before it was listed, and after I had the contract in 3 other offers came in. Luckily mine was full price all cash, and the first one recieved so we got it. Property needs anywhere from $9,000 to $25,000 worth of repairs (depending on exit strategy). I charged my buyer an additonal $5000 just to give them the exclusive opportunity to buy it from our pool of investors and she happily agreed to that.

The point is, this is the best deal I have found lately, and only 3 other offers were submitted so obivously there aren't a whole lot of realtors who know what I know. Back in the boom this house was sold for $289,000.

My advise, get a good realtor! I don't know how to tell you to find them, because I don't even know how to get the word out that "I'm the man" down here. If you figure it out, let me know.

I find the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac properties directly from their site. Go to www.hud.gov and on the right column there is a link "Homes for Sale" Click that and it will take you to a number of options for searching for Properties. Under Related Links are the site for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and you will also see several other links. Before I became a Realtor I used this to find good deals and now that I am focusing on this market again, I use it alot more now. You can find some good deals here too.

A good Realtor will know all of the REO listings in your area, but finding a good Realtor will be tricky. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have the asset management company listed with a phone number. Call them and they will give you the number to the Realtor that is handling that property. Usually those Realtors have listings from a lot of banks as well, so that will be a good place to start.