All Forum Posts by: Hattie Dizmond

Got it.  DFW is an ultra-competitive market right now.

Hey...I used to live in Amarillo and heard about some of these plans recently.  Is this on the North side, out by the loop?

It's a solid strategy. There's no one way to get into the game. Read Brandon Turner's back story. He started out with buy & hold. And, read his entire description of the BRRRR strategy. That's exactly what you're talking about doing. There are very few truly new ideas, so you might as well leverage the knowledge and experience of others who've already been there and done that. Besides...if Brandon can do it...well...you know!!!

LMAO

I'm not aware of any recent legislation or litigation in NC that would eliminate wholesaling as a viable exit strategy.  So, in order to wholesale the property, unless you plan to do a simultaneous closing, which is where a lot of the issues can develop, unless you actually have the funds &/or mortgage approved to close yourself, you can simply write the contract as an assignable contract.  (i.e.  Buyer Name...Richard Land or as assigns)

As for a contract to use, you're going to hear 900 different answers on this one.  There are people who use a simple one page contract.  There are others who have a contract full of clauses that enable them to get out of the deal.  You don't need all those clauses, unless you don't know what you're doing on the analysis side.  My partners and I have chosen to take a much different approach.  We use the standard Texas Real Estate Commission sales contract.  Most everyone in Texas who have bought a property is familiar with the contract.  It has enough flexibility to allow us reasonable escapes, should the inspection reveal something unexpected.  It also has flexibility to write in special terms, but it doesn't create a document that protects only the buyer.  It's fair.  We've never had an objection to that contract.

Therefore, my recommendation is that you use the standard NC contract and just ensure you use the available section to ensure you have a reasonable inspection period.  We write in 10-business days.  That gives us or our investor buyer time to get the inspection and then follow up with any specialists (i.e. structural engineers and foundation repair companies...it's North Texas!) and renegotiate the purchase price, if anything is found that skews the numbers.

Good luck.

@Sam Hager

Speaking from someone who originally got sucked in via a "free" Fortune Builders event and had to get a refund, I will suggest that their list of "lenders" is precisely what Fortune Builders provides, which is really nothing more than a listing of Accredited Investors. As for the "curated" listing of REO's and foreclosures...speaking as someone who spent 20-years in large corporate banking...that list doesn't exist. They say it does, but it doesn't. They have the same information you can buy from a list source. Depending on your state, any list may be suspect. Fortune Builders as well as another software based service said they could get me a listing of pre-foreclosures in Texas. That's interesting, because Texas is a non-judicial foreclosure state. Nothing about foreclosure in Texas is actually public, until the auction notice is posted, and there's no requirement that it be posted far enough in advance to give you a serious opportunity to get anything done.

REI is not a cookie cutter industry. You can't take a cookie cutter approach to it. It isn't McDonalds. There are activities within an REI business that you can take systems, which have been developed by others, and use them to systemize your business. But, your approach to REI, your market, your goals, etc. are just that...yours. You need to figure out what will work for you, within some more general guidelines of mistakes and successes already made and/or achieved by others.

IMHO ;-)

I ran the numbers using a 30-year fixed rate w/ 20% down and 4.5% interest.  Here are the other parameters I used...

$15k rehab (it's always more than you think)

$400 annual taxes (have no idea what the tax rate is where you are)

10% vacancy

5% OpEx

10% CapEx

10% PM

Those are pretty conservative numbers, which is the way I roll!

Using those numbers it still cash flows at $540/mo.  So, in Texas that would be a big win.  The question for you is does that meet your minimum criteria?  If it does, then I would think it's a good deal.

@Simon Cox

I second everything @Alberto Camacho just said.  We just concluded a 6-mo campaign.  It produced 1 deal.  When you account for the time value of money, we basically broke even...not what I would consider a success.  98% of the calls received from the campaign were people asking to be removed from the list.  What I heard over and over again was that these people were receiving 5 - 15 letters per week.  We've put the breaks on DM, at least for now.  The DFW area is saturated. 

With all that said, I do recommend farming a specific area.  And, if you're looking to flip, I recommend you anchor your target areas around the best schools.  It will make your exit easier and help you get the best price on the exit.  Just my 2 cents.

Personally, I find that an offer is one thing, but a contract and EMD check in hand is a totally different thing. Of course, he could still say he wants to gauge other interest. You have a couple of options then...1) write your contract with an expiration date...if not accepted by x, the contract is void, or 2) have an option contract in hand to give the guy. With an option contract you are simply securing the right to purchase the property at a specified price for a specified period of time. The guy is free to attempt to find a higher offer, but you can write it so you get the right to match any higher, written offer he receives.

Again, my experience has been that a signed contract in hand speaks loudly. 

Good luck. 

I'm looking to connect with investors who are doing high-end flips (ARV's north of $1mm) in the North Dallas (what I refer to as the private school zone) area.

Reply here or feel free to PM me.

 Oh. You said it was in the Canyon Creek area of Richardson. That's one of the 3 premier elementary schools in RISD. But, it's a big area. Properties that feed Canyon Creek ES are uber desirable.