All Forum Posts by: Bruce Lynn

Good jobs....strong schools....medium rents....tight supply....wins 

I would change title companies or ask the underwriter to review the tax sale law.

Seems like you should be able to get title insurance after six months in this case, but they can be picky or uninformed, or they just want to be absolutely safe and not have any risk of claims.

One Idea is to rent it to the buyer for a year and then sell it to them next year.

This is the risk with tax sale properties that they can be trouble to resell.

Is the buyer paying cash or financing.  Financing could be an issue, but if cash, maybe they will take with the exception?  Or maybe you finance it for them for 1 year or 2 years and let them get refinanced after that.

Best zip codes can mean different things to different people.  I could tell you the highest appreciation is in the Park Cities, but then the minimum to get in is $1,000,000 and rents are probably in the 1/2% range.  That doesn't help you a lot if your budget is $100,000.   Since your question is pretty general, you might check out this article from DMN and Steve Brown who is our Real Estate reporter and a very good one in my opinion who has been doing it for a long time.  I think most of the time he is right on.  However there are lots of variables that can skew numbers too.   Here are some potential areas for you from some of these articles.

Flipping Zip Codes:

75216 Dallas

75224 Dallas

75241 Dallas

76106 Fort Worth

75232 Dallas

A Rated Zip Codes (maybe better for buy and hold or higher end flips):

75019 Coppell

76034 Colleyville

76092 Southlake

76226 Argyle

76244 Keller

75028 and 75022 Flower Mound

75078 Prosper.

75009 Celina

75454 Melissa

I'd call the tax assessor and see if the seller can set up payments.  Make one, and then pay the rest off at closing.   You might also talk to the law firm handling the sale.  Not sure about FL, but in TX it is pretty common properties get pulled from sale and put on payment plans or if it is under contract and about to be sold.

Don't try to time the market.  Buy smart.  There are always deals and strategies in up and down markets.

If you are borrowing...who has most of the risk....your lender, not you.  

Almost everyone I know who bought a small house in CA in the 1950s/1960s wish they would have had the money to buy a bigger house or more houses.

Lots of investors also probably would say that about Bay Area too any time in the past 10 years....wish they could have bought more.

Best thing to do is try to track down the heirs and make them an offer.

Just saw a place this week that had 20 years of back taxes and had not yet gone to foreclosure sale.

My thought is you can't buy a home with a VA loan that needs floors or is missing the sheetrock.

The general idea as that the home has to be "livable"....so they might be ok with dirty or stained carpet....but NOT ok with "no" carpet.  Some people will say they can live in a home with missing sheetrock, but that's not VAs idea.

If you like or want these types of homes that need more work then you want to see if you can qualify for a FHA 203k rehab loan or conventional rehab loan. That gives you the purchase price, plus rehab costs in one loan. Requires higher credit score, some down payment, and qualified contractors to do the work.

You should get with your lender and see if they can get you the VA inspection guidelines. Fixers normally don't work. The house typically has to be in good shape. They don't want you living in junk, they want you living in a decent place.

This might be a bit dated, but will give you an idea.
https://www.benefits.va.gov/roanoke/rlc/forms/ci_g...

Looks like Chapter 5 is where you want to go.

So if you just need cosmetics ...then that is a way to go.  If you're talking extensive work...structure, etc...maybe not so much.

If they are recorded...can he or you get a copy from the county clerk?

Watch the first time.  But know your numbers.  Network with people at the auction.  Ask people why they paid that much for properties you liked.   Ask why no one bids on properties you thought you liked.

Find out who the players are.

Know your numbers backwards and forwards, know your properties that you are interested in.  See if the auction numbers match your goals.

Bid next time if you like what you see.