All Forum Posts by: John Vo
John Vo has started 16 posts and replied 99 times.
Post: Am I missing something?

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
@Valli Smith Would you care to share who those wholesalers are that has those kind of deals? I would like to get on their email list.
@Chuck Webb Interesting idea. I'll have to look into that. Thanks!
@Shital Thakkar Yeah, looks like the MLS is the way to go if I keep seeing these kind of deals from my wholesaler sources. Either that or start doing mail advertising myself to find these deals....
Post: Am I missing something?

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
@Christine Kankowski I don't know of any property in Houston that has a 1% tax...if only those kind of properties exist! Taxes are comparable to each other for the properties that I look at, but I agree that it is a factor to consider. I guess this is the state of the Houston market..too much competition and not enough supply.
Post: Background checking contractors, inspectors, and more

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
Post: Am I missing something?

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
Post: Am I missing something?

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
I've been analyzing deals from both wholesalers and the MLS in this Houston market,and I'm stumped. So I have to ask the BP community to chime in with their opinions. I've looked at a property on the MLS yesterday that I'm considering to buy and rent out, as well as a property from a wholesaler. Here's a general description of both property. I'll list it as property A and property B.
Property A: MLS listing. Build in 2004, 3 bed/ 2 bath, 2 car garage, approximately 1200 sqft. Needs new carpet, some paint and possibly a new AC. I estimate repair to be about $7000. Property is locate in a B/C neighborhood and good school district. List price of $125,000. Potential rental price of $1300/ month.
Property B: Wholesale deal. Build in late 1970s, 3 bed/2 bath, 2 car garage, approximately 1600 sqft, need new carpet, possibly new roof, has some foundation issue, and require general update through the property as stated on the flyer. My repair estimate by looking through pictures and the description is about $20,000. Property is locate in a C neighborhood and a good school district. List price of $90,000. My comps place the property value of around $120,000 after repair. Wholesaler has the ARV of the property at $130K. Potential rental price of $1300/ month.
If I buy property A using conventional loan with 20% down payment, 5% of purchase price as closing cost estimate and $7K in repair, I'm looking at out of pocket cash of approximately $30K. Estimate time to close and repair is 2 months, conservatively.
If I buy property B using a HML, it looks like I have to put out approximately $24K if the HML will finance 75% of ARV. The $24K includes closing cost, holding cost of 3 months at 8% interest rate, origination fee, appraisals, etc... Cost to refinance the short term bridge loan into a long term mortgage was not calculated. Estimate of 2-3 month to complete repair after closing, conservatively.
Here's where I'm stumped and scratching my head...why would anyone go through the trouble of purchasing a deal like this from the wholesaler and go through the long repairs, headaches of refinancing, etc... in this market when you could easily put out a little bit more and buy it straight off the MLS. I see deals like these for quite some times now in the Houston market from a lot of wholesalers.
Am I calculating something wrong?
Is this just the way the current market is?
What would you do?
Post: Warranty Deed No Title Insurance Florida

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
Post: Warranty Deed No Title Insurance Florida

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
Post: Moolah List...Scrupulous Private Money Lenders?

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
Post: Going to auction in Houston - Rosenberg - Sugar Land need advice

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
@Mark M. I went to the Harris County Auction last month. Considering that it was my first time there, it all seemed like a mad house to me. You have sheriff auction from all five precints, trustees auction, and people from auctions.com there. If this is your first time, I would recommend hooking up with the meetup.com group there. Link is here
https://www.meetup.com/Houston-Beginner-Real-Estat...
Linda will give you a tour of the place and what's it about without the bs. Of course she'll give you the education pitch at the end of the tour, but the tour itself is worth the pitch at the end.
Careful not to get caught up in the hype...I personally witness some crazy bids that I didn't understand where they were coming from. I don't know if they got caught up in the bidding process or they have a fix strategy that I couldn't figure out.
Post: Buyer pays part of broker fee?

- Investor
- Houston, TX
- Posts 99
- Votes 56
@Kevin Eldridge The first rule of real estate is that everything is negotiable that means yes even a buyer agreement contract is negotiable. With that said, a good agent is worth their weight in gold and will steer you into the right investment property and bring you the right deals. Is your working relationship good with that agent? Is that agent knowledgeable about investment strategies as well as what your criteria are for your investment properties?