All Forum Posts by: Brett Goldsmith

@Stephanie Simmons Did you mean you want to reach out to homeowners who's properties are in the foreclosure process? The only way to find people who are "already in the short sale process" would be to reach out to listed homes tagged as short sales on the open market.

If you are going to be the purchaser, you likely shouldn't be the one processing the deals for a few reasons. Keep in mind that if a property is a short sale it will be required to be listed and placed on the market by an agent. These deals need to be setup properly to avoid numerous forms of denials.

I'd consult with an attorney. You may need to offer to put them in an AIRBNB for a day, but I'm not sure how this works since it's not even inside their unit. I'd line my ducks up in a row to start building a case that they are causing you damages. Who knows, maybe one day you will need to take legal action against them. 

@Jacoby Atako Yeah, it can be tough to find truly a worthwhile opportunity without the proper deal flow. I think buying short sales can be great. Try to get a few low offers in on properties for review and hopefully at least one can get approved at a great price.

IMO the real money is made when you buy and then in the value add. Appreciation is the icing on the cake if you plan to hold long term.

If you are looking for cash flow plays, may want to look for small multi units to start off ( duplex, triplex, etc ) 

@Jacoby Atako with 100k cash you can find opportunities that will make you a lot more than Est. 20k profit on a flip. I know you were planning to do the BRRR strategy it appears. The ROI is good if it was at a larger price point. 10-20% ROI on a smaller deal can get swallowed up by one larger unknown issue. Slim margins even though ROI is good. Cash flow after refinance isn't that good either and you mentioned that you felt it wouldn't have much appreciation to go with the lower cash flow.

I personally wouldn't want to hold a property that barely cash flowed that I didn't think would appreciate well long term, so we are on the same page there. 

This is just from my own experience of what I've been able to find over the years for value add or cash flow plays.

I'd typically prefer a SFR that was a great deal, but I'd buy a condo if it made sense too. I'd rather buy a great condo deal than a ok sfr deal. At the end of the day it's all about the numbers and the specifics of the deal to me.

You can get reviewed for a short sale typically without putting any money into escrow. No reason typically to put money into escrow if a short sale is not officially approved with an approval letter to close. I think this often will void point 1.

I probably wouldn't buy this deal as I'm not walking into enough equity or a value add opportunity. Condo's do appreciate in the proper location.

I think you will find something you'll walk into more equity on or with better cash flow. 

@Rory Compton If your associate is current and if you are saying the home has equity, a short sale is likely not going to be an option. Hopefully they can structure some sort of break even sale with someone and get out from under this. If a break even sale isn't possible at a minimum, then the next logical step would be attempting a short sale. 

@Rory Compton Hey Rory, it would take me some time to elaborate on these topics that have been written about in detail on other sites. If you google Virginia deficiency laws you will likely the find to most of these questions. Is your associate current on the mortgage? If they are current often a short sale is not possible without being able to prove imminent default. Most borrowers who are in default face worse ramifications from foreclosure than short sales so it's a lesser evil. A decision to attempt to go short on a current mortgage with a solvent borrower is a more delicate situation, especially if they have other assets, are high income earbners, or  have substantial funds in the bank. 

Some states are stricter than others on what can be said, or who can perform what services to homeowners in distress. Most of them are implemented to prevent people from charging homeowners upfront for services or preying on them via other unscrupulous methods. Haven't heard of any Texas rules preventing investors from reaching out from my experience.

A short sale or foreclosure both have negative credit impact, potential deficiency judgment depending on state law or investor guidelines, and potential tax ramifications depending on a few factors.