All Forum Posts by: Jonathan H.

Jim, my realtor just told me that the owner will sign any offer because he's filing for bankruptcy...and doesn't really care at this point. So I guess he's not going to be on the hook for anything. I feel like my only obstacle is going to get the bank to sign off. Properties aren't moving very well here...so I'd like to think my offer will be considered.

Thanks for your thoughts

Nate, I'm in the Reading area. I know the appreciation of properties here won't be nearly as good as Philly, but they're cheap, have decent cash flow, and I'm local. Speaking of which, my girlfriend lives in the Graduate Hospital area of Philly, property values are appreciating nicely there. Her apartment is for sale and tons of people are coming through.

Also, I like your advice on banks wanting money, not houses. I just met with my realtor and she echoed that statement...she told me to offer even lower than what I origianlly planned. I guess we'll see what happens

Thanks guys, I appreciate your thoughts. I'm going to see another property this afternoon, so I think I'm going to tell my realtor what my plans are for making an offer on the short sale.

Turns out that my realtor knows the seller of this particular property. Typical situation of where he over leveraged and then had a deal go bad...now everything is falling apart underneath him. It's too bad because apparently he's a good guy.

This will be my first investment propery, but I'm definitely not getting emotionally attached. I'm 26, so I feel like I have plenty of time. If I miss a deal, oh well, another one will come up...hopefully. Perhaps it will be a good thing for me to learn the ropes of a short sale while I'm getting started.

Anyway, thanks again

Alright, thanks for the info. I'll probably just stick with the plan then...and we'll see what happens.

Ok, so the listing agent makes up the asking price, not the bank or owner. That helps, thanks.

Perhaps I'll just submit my semi low ball offer and see what happens? Are there any consequences to offering substantially less than asking? I feel like the bank will just come back at me with figure much closer to what they are looking for, right?

Hi everyone,

My name is Jonathan and I'm from PA. I bought a home two years ago and have been doing really well renting out the other rooms in my house...which got me thinking about buying a rental property.

Long story short, I found a 4 unit property about 10 minutes from my house that is very tempting. I've crunched the numbers over and over again and the cash flow should be decent. I'm well in the clear considering both the 2% rule and the 50% rule. I got to see the property last week and it's in decent shape. New roof, seperate utilities (including heat), could use some updating inside, but it's totally livable. It's also fully occupied.

Anyway, this property is a short sale, which I have no experience with. I know that the owner needs to sign off on the deal and then the bank needs to approve, but how much lower than asking would you offer? Is there a percentage lower you would go with?

The numbers make sense at the current asking price, but I'm obviously going to come in way under that...because it's an investment and I'm looking for the best deal. I'm thinking of making my first offer at 33% off the asking. I would be afraid of insulting the owner if it was a normal deal. But he's already losing the house and I'm obviously not going to be worried about insulting the bank.

Thoughts?

Btw, thanks to everyone that contributes to this site. I have found it to be the single greatest resource I have used while considering real estate investments.