All Forum Posts by: Ingrid Nagy

I have to agree to an extent with Gregory. Many professionals have been recommending offering 80-82% of market value or the banks won't budge. To an extent this is true with some banks that have guidelines in place to this effect. It depends upon the property, how long it's been on the market, and how badly the bank wants it off the books. I think that the acceptance ratio will change as the recession worsens.

I myself would finish the nursing degree, get a job in your field to qualify for financing, to have steady cash flow, and start investing that $100K savings in real estate. It's a buyers market and the perfect opportunity to get your feet wet at a good time with a steady job to fall back on.

I have a high school education but started working as a property manager when I was in my early 20's watching and learning from the big boys. That job gave me the hands on experience where I learned the ins and outs first hand and made the contacts I needed. I watched my bosses make killings in investment real estate and also lose their shirts. There were no specialized courses offered back then. I couldn't decide whether I liked residential or commercial so I obtained both a CPM & CCIM. The designations are useful when you are looking for full-time employment in the field and do give you an edge on other job seekers in the real estate management field. They give you the basis for real estate investment but the true lessons come from your desire, research, determination and how you apply the common sense mathematical skills to this field.

When I decided to start investing 20+ yrs ago I saw it as a means to financial independence in the future. I'm not a flipper. I like to buy, hold and lease. I decided long ago that commercial was a great field to "work" in full time but not a great field to invest it (for me). To me, it takes a lot of savings to begin and when there is a vacancy, that vacancy can last a long time and quite possibly bankrupt you. You need quite a bit of reserve to keep afloat in commercial.

I started buying small condos, foreclosure units, for cash during market downturns like now. I fixed them, rented them and kept them, slowly graduating up to multi-family dwellings. The law of supply/demand has a lesser effect during market corrections like now. Everyone needs apartments - the cheaper they are - the more people who can afford them and you in turn have a lesser exposure to cash flow loss and pulling from your pocket to meet monthly expenses.

I'm starting to write a book here which was not my intention LOL. The point I was making was its your hoices and your own efforts that will help you succeed in investment real estate, not your degree. I relied on the full-time job to help me save and to carry me through the "rough" times when the market was down. After 20 years I'm up to 54 units and almost ready to finally give up that security blanket I call a full-time job. Best of luck to you! Ingrid

I'm not a person to flip - more of an investor to buy, fix, hold and lease.

The town I'm looking in is St. Cloud. Do you possibly know anyone around there?? Thanks. INgrid

I'm looking at REO's in a certain town in Florida. I've been working with several agents that I met along the way and asked them to send me any REO listings for one town that I'd like to buy in. Each one sends me a weekly list and the list differs from one agent to another. Is there a better way for me to research this? Unfortunately I'm from the North so I have to rely upon these realtors for the information and only get down there once a month to actually visit the properties for a couple of days at most.

I put in an offer of $80K on a $95K listing. I waited one week and the agent told me two other offers were coming in and to give him my highest and best. My offer was a cash offer closing in 10 days. The bank contracted with another purchaser for OVER the asking price but it was a financed offer. This has happened to me twice in the last month.

Hi everyone, I'm an investor from NJ looking for my little old place in Florida, St. Cloud area actually. I love REO properties and have had success with them in NJ. Am looking for a single family home in St. Cloud with some potential for the future. Condition irrelevant, work needed irrelevant. Willing to buy for cash and close in 10 days. Any of you know of a property in this quaint little town, give me a shout!!

Best to everyone!

Ingrid [email protected]

Hi all, I've been looking at a single family 4/2 home 8 yrs old in an HOA in the Orlando area. The current asking price is 95K, REO owned and vacant. It appears to need cosmetic work but not much more. The last REO deal I did was in 1996 so I'm not up on the latest trends and the positions of banks nowadays. Similar homes are currently up for sale from 120-140 but nothing seems to be moving. Prices are dropping about $5K per month on average.

This particular home was acquired in 2006 for $275K. Owner did a no money down deal, defaulted and now the bank has it. It was previously listed for 90 days at $129K with another realtor. The current realtor picked up the listing at an asking of $95K.

I made a verbal offer of $65K cash closing in 10 days. The realtor laughed and said that is the value of the land, blah, blah, blah. If she was even to present such an offer she is fearful that the bank will pull the listing and put the house up on the auction block. I've never heard of such a thing but not wanting to offend anyone I let it lie.

I didn't think that my offer was that unreasonable but what do I know about current market conditions eh? In 1996 I bought two condos for $30K each from an REO, rented them and sold them 9 yrs later for $160K each. Am I still dreaming of 1996 or have things changed from the last cyclical downturn??

Ingrid

Thanks everyone for the posts. They are all very informative. Unfortunately, this was a property in a great location. Before I got any futher it went under contract. Thanks again!

Hi, I am considering putting an offer in on a home in FL that is listed for $120K as a short sale. The property was previously listed for $160K with no bites. In reviewing the tax and owners records no Lis Pendens appears to have been filed but I've been told by my realtor it is a short sale. I was told that the process to obtain an answer or counteroffer would take 60 days. The realtor also told me that the offer would be handled by a "short sale company" who specializes in negotiating short sales with the lenders. For this service, the seller pays a portion of the "fee" and I would be responsible for the balance (I'm told $1,000). I am hesitant about this as I've never heard of a fee being charged in these situations. Is this something new?? I googled short sales and did find some sites that listed short sale companies. I was just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar.

Thanks for reading. Ingrid

Hi I'm new here and have been working on a small REO home to purchase in Florida. The lender Nationstar Mortgage took title in Sept of 2007. They listed the home for sale and it has been on the market for the past 9 months, each month lowering the asking price by about $5K. The current asking price is $81K and I offered $50K cash. The house is completely gutted of kitchen cabinets, appliances, HVAC units etc. The bank countered at $79K through the realtor. The house is not moving - no one is making any offers. Any suggestions???

Ingrid :D