All Forum Posts by: Dan Golden

Randolph Ellis,
I'm just getting started myself and I'm chasing my first deal. But I can tell you what I've found so far in response to your questions.
1. I found a local realtor that is hungry. Look for the ones advertising aggressively on Craigslist... we are currently filing papers to make me his unlicensed assistant which will give me realtor-level access to the MLS. There is much more information on the MLS than say, realtor.com. There is a $90 per quarter fee for this, paid to the MLS, not him. He's doing this for me because he's an investor and wants me to give him wholesale deals as well as spinning any short sale candidates to him as listing leads.
2. I have written the yellow letters. I've sent out about 300 so far and the calls are definitely coming in. No one extremely motivated yet, just a matter of time though. Where I live you can search property databases online. Find your state's real property database. I can search by owner mailing address state. Mailing addresses outside of my state are absentee owners. Free leads, just takes a little time to copy them. With the yellow letter... put a blank white piece of paper on top of a yellow piece and hold it up to a window so you can see the lines. Write out the body, your phone number and everything except the owner name. Then copy these on your printer and just write in the name each time you do a letter. MUCH faster this way. I have an excel sheet that has all my owners in it and I simply make the line bold for letters I've sent out.

Hope this helps...
Dan

I know the ballpark formula for what an investor will pay for a rehab property. Is there a similar formula based on annual rents to determine what a rental investor might be willing to pay?

Through various marketing strategies I have a few people willing to sell their homes and are open to offers... here's the rub. The homes are in great shape, they are free and clear, and the sellers aren't crazy about holding a note. So my question is this: should I even bother trying to get these deals under contract? and at what % of ARV would buyers be interested if no rehab needs to be done? I know this is probably a buyer-specific questions. I just hate throwing away someone willing to sell that has nothing but equity only because I can't get it at 50% of ARV...

any thoughts would be appreciated.

Danny,

Thank you for the reply. I have a realtor pulling comps to get a better idea of what the arv will be. The repairs are more like $5-10k. Closer to $5. Should I just low ball and see how willing they are to sell? Is there any other creative option besides a low cash offer?

Dan

Found an out of state owner that is military and hasn't been in the home for 6 years. Zillow has estimate at $171k. She owes $117 but wants $155 because they took $38 out of retirement to repair home after renters trashed it. Because of this bad experience she's not willing to hold a note. Any ideas where I can save this deal? Home needs next to no repairs, they had family keep an eye on it and have just been paying the mortgage for 6 years with it vacant. Do I just cash offer and try and flip it as a cash flow property?