All Forum Posts by: Ivan Vargas

As a newbie you should stay away from auctions as they are sight unseen and the competition is pretty tough. If you actually win you probably overbid a pro which means you overpaid or bought the wrong kind that comes with a huge defaulted mortgage attached. Make sure you do your homework and learn the rules of the game before you go play with the pros.

REOs are also tough but if you have cash or some cash and a fast hard money lender you can make competitive offers. Ignore the asking price and work your numbers backwards. ARV-rehab+holding costs= purchase price. Learn how to inspect the house yourself and waive your inspection period, then inspect the property within 24 hours before you send the deposit. Usually the banks take a few days to accept an offer so your offer may have legally expired by the time they accept it so your not really on the hook until you submit the deposit.

Beware of savvy sellers. You could go wrong dealing with a distressed homeowner that knows more than you. So make sure you do all your due diligence if theirs no Realtors involved. 

As Wayne mentioned above, welcome to reality. Best of luck.

IMO Investor C is investing more than investors A&B. Without C there is no deal. If things go south C gets stuck with a mortgage payment and possible foreclosure while A&B can walk away. $210k is way more than $30k or $40k even if not out of pocket. A&B together have $70k but cannot buy the property without C's $210k (or qualification).

As far as a split I'd say C should get more than A&B, and of course B gets more than A. Since you mentioned the liability would be on C in the event of a vacancy, I'd say 50/30/20. Unless the mortgage payment gets covered from reserve funds or split 3 ways.

How much are houses in your market or where you are looking to invest. 10K will go a long way in certain markets. If you have been reading and educating yourself in here you may have learned how to get creative. Distressed properties can be purchased for minimal out of pocket sometimes. 

I will never forget my first deal back in 2002. I got a pre-foreclosure for 10k via QCD subject to the defaulted mortgage. It was worth 300k and the principal balance on the mortgage was only 175k. I cashed out refi for 200k to pay it off and used the 20k for repairs. Deals like that are hard to come by nowadays but you can still get creative. 

As for the listing agent sending you all the info yes that is normal. If he wants to sell he will cooperate with the buyer and provide any information he has available. Surely they pulled all that info from the county if its bank owned so he would only have to email it to you. 

Those violations are adding up daily. Especially the fence... at least $100/day for that one alone unless they removed the fence and cleaned up the garbage. I cannot speak for the discount since I have no experience with those negotiations but I would assume that it must be possible as long as you show that the problem has been corrected. 

What you need to confirm is whether the bank will convey clean title or if you will be buying subject to. If the liens are 100k and the purchase price is 100k seems like they won't be clearing those liens prior to closing.

Find owners name by address search: http://www.bcpa.net/RecAddr.asp

The seller may or may not clear all liens prior to closing. Have your agent put that in section 20 of your offer and see if they accept. If they don't want to cover that they won't accept your offer. Also ask for 10-15 day inspection period to make sure you get all the facts before you are fully committed to buying it. If it turns out the violation is for something minor fine but if its a sewage/sanitary code violation where you have to excavate and run new sewage pipes you may want to get out of the deal and get your deposit back. 

After closing, any violations will continue to accrue daily fines until corrected (in Palm Beach I've seen $100/day). So if you buy this property you'll need to hurry up and fix whatever it is or you'll rack up a lien pretty quick. If you get a lien they can foreclose on you just like a bank. Won't happen overnight, but add that to your rehab costs and it may not be that good of a deal.

@Lisa Stein I see it says 180 mph winds, are they Florida building code approved? Or Miami-Dade approved? 

What are the panels made of? What is a house built with these panels or kits classified as? I'm sure its not frame/siding but it isn't CBS either right? 

@Erica Muller that is scary sorry to hear that. I only thought of the cost to replace a window and never even imagined someone let alone a child getting hurt. Glad she's ok.

@Wayne Brooks maybe I'll come out on the course to meet you on the 4th. I find them both front and back yards I have a decorative collection. Mind you they have to fly over my neighbors and cross the street to land here, luckily we're screened in.

Definitely make sure its not a membership required community as it will be more difficult to sell. HOA is not a bad thing, some of the best deals in Palm Beach are in a gated community with HOA. Seems like you're the investor in this case, so consider what you can get for it retail and how long it will take you to sell factoring holding costs. Some people say golf views are a plus, I see it as a negative because the broken windows are on you. I don't face the golf course yet I find golf balls in my yard all the time.

Hi @Martha Blumel, the Hedrick Property over on Jog Rd. 9 acres, 33 single family homes. 

I believe its Brian Terry, Land Design South.