All Forum Posts by: Emily Snapp

I've lurked on the boards for several years, asked a few questions, but never really jumped in.  Well we finally purchased our first investment property!!  I'm so excited.  We were blessed with a GREAT DEAL and bought 5 residential lots in a development with the plans to resell or build spec homes (we have a lot to figure out first). We will also be building our own home on one of them.

While we were searching for the right investment, I came across several good deals but we don't have the ability to purchase them, now that we purchased the land.

I don't have the contacts, or the experience, to wholesale them.  They are off market and I believe they are great deals, but again, I lack the experience to be confident in my numbers.  

Suggestions?!

 We don’t feel that we would be starting over. They would forfeit the money they had paid down, which is profit for us. I don’t want that to happen to them by all means, but it would actually benefit us.

We are thinking the option fee should be 3.5-5% (open to feedback) and this would not be refunded if they do not follow through with the purchase.

Our home is under contract and the buyers are having trouble with their financing. We are considering converting our USDA loan to a conventional and doing a lease with option to purchase for them. They would have to buy it at the end of 12 months or we would need to sell to someone else. We do not see being able to do this long term (we think we will need our credit freed up for our primary residence).

The sale price is $154k, which (we feel) is very conservative. My question, should we increase the purchase price with the lease option? How much should we ask for the option fee? Comparable rent for $1300-$1400 in our area, but their mortgage payment would only have been $1150. Should we take that into account and try to keep their rent payment lower? How much of their rent each month should go towards the purchase price? 

Sorry! I probably should have done a better search before posting!

Thanks for all the replies.

I am a new investor, haven't even purchased my first property. I found a home in a great neighborhood that is vacant. The neighbor was out in the yard so I stopped and asked him about the house. He said it's been vacant for around a year, the elderly couple passed away. He said the kids keep the grass cut and thought the home might be in probate. Some of our counties records are online but not probate. How should I proceed? I'd like to find the owner and make an offer. The property is in Spartanburg South Carolina.

@Andrew Cordle This looks amazing. Also love your YouTube videos, very helpful!

@Dan Holden I'm in Spartanburg too. Lima One Capitol in Greenville is a hard money lender. They do want 20% down but they don't care who's money it is. You have to have a credit score of 600, or you need a co-borrower. I'm new to investing and haven't used them yet, but when we find a flip, this is who I plan to used. I've talked to them on the phone a few times and they are very helpful. I look forward to hearing how it's going!

Which podcast was this discussed on?

I'm much out of my comfort zone asking a question on this thread (I'm super super new, especially compared to all those here with big, thriving businesses!) But, this is something I'm SO curious about. I'm in South Carolina and offers are expected to be accompanied by Earnest Money. This is not problem to me if I'm just making an offer at a time, and waiting on a decision before offering on another property. But it seems like to do well, that you have to make MANY offers. So how do you handle EMD? Are you willing to have funds tied up every time you make an offer or do you make an offer without it?

@Marie S. Amazing advice, I was about to mail three letters to homes that were close by and in distress-- I'm going to trash them and start over with your approach. I really appriciate you sharing your expirience.