All Forum Posts by: Kyle B.

@Max N

I'm not sure as to the legality of you being required to buy the property or not. I've heard of wholesalers having to back out of a contract because they never found a buyer. I'm sure there is a way to add to the fine print of the contract that it is contingent on you finding an end buyer.

With that being said, in terms of business ethics, I recommend you be upfront with your intentions with the sellers. I recently was in a similar situation where I was in negotiations with the owners of a property. I made an offer and by the time the came back to me with a counter offer (about a week later), I was already under contract with a different home. I told the sellers that I would accept their counter, but let them know it's contingent on finding a financial partner for the deal since my own money was now going into a different deal. They had no qualms with this whatsoever. That's the benefit of dealing with motivated sellers - they really want to sell their house. I can't say it will play out like that every time, but being upfront with the sellers is your best policy in my opinion. Plus you'll avoid that awkward phone call when you have to tell the sellers you can no longer purchase their home.

@David Schwalb

I've just started sending out letters as well and luckily have only gotten one angry call back. Apparently she was going to tell her whole network of friends and family never to do business with me. Funny thing was, I asked what her name was or the property address so I would remove them from my mailing list, but she refused to do so. Luckily I was able to Google her phone number and figure out who she was... otherwise she would have ended up with another letter from me.

I just realized my profile only includes my last name initial... kind of ironic given what I just posted. Probably should get that changed, haha.

@Drew Farnese

Keep in mind, you are not going to be able to create motivation in these sellers. Brian L is correct, you need to keep it simple. Just mention the important items: they can sell in as is condition, you make cash offers, you can close quickly.

Also, I sign off with my first and last name. I think that builds credibility. In any other context, you would include this if you're sending someone a letter without every having met them (as opposed to just your first name).

This might also be a given to you, but at the very least, hand write the envelopes. Every handwritten letter at least gets opened.

Hope this helps.

@Jacob Villalobos

I am neither a seasoned investor nor from SoCal... I'd take you up on your offer if I were though. Nothing wrong with using this approach. I've used it myself in meeting with people I hope to learn from. Definitely go to that meetup mentioned in one of the posts. Nothing wrong with asking on a website, but you will make a much stronger impression if you come across face to face with someone as well spoken with a strong desire. If you connect well with someone in person, then I think they'd be much more willing to be taken out for a free lunch. It's all about networking, and the most effective way to do this is in person.

Hope this helps.

@sharlisa elzy,

I invest in Lake County, IN and look up information on a property's owner all the time. I use the county's tax assessor's website which allows me to input an address and get the owner's name and mailing address. I am not familiar with Cook County, IL, but I would imagine they have a similar website, so I would spend some time researching this.

@Bill Gulley

Great, thanks for your feedback!

@bill gulley

Thanks for the feedback. That is the route I'm going to pursue. I ended up using a 1-page purchase agreement from BP that seems concise and straightforward. I had a question though in terms of the closing costs. The language in the contract reads this for the items:

"Buyer will pay the cost of the transfer tax, recording fees on deed of conveyance and deed of trust, all associated loan fees, Buyer’s closing attorney fees, and mortgage’s title insurance policy and owner’s insurance policy.

Seller to pay off all existing loans and liens on the Property and their recording costs, all Seller’s closing and attorney’s fees, Realtor commissions, fee for preparation of deed, title search or abstract, and notary fee on deed."

My proposed agreement to the sellers was that we each pay the "traditional" closing costs that a buyer and seller is responsible for on a standard transaction. My question is does the above language encompass this, or is it weighted to the buyer or seller paying a disproportionate amount of the costs.

Somewhat of a complicated question, but hopefully someone has experience with this. Thanks!

Hey BP,

I just had a verbal offer accepted on an off market property. My next step is to email a purchase agreement to the sellers so they can pass it along to their attorney for review before signing. This is my first time purchasing an off market property so I was hoping to get some advice on what purchase contract to use. I feel stupid asking, but is the template BP offers sufficient (I imagine it would be) or are there other templates for a contract agreement people would recommend? FYI - I don't plan on wholesaling this but rehabbing myself.

Thanks,

Kyle

@michael beninati,

Nothing wrong with investing with the idea of appreciation. I think the most important thing is to have a long term perspective. I would never purchase a fix and flip and hope I get to my targeted ROI due to market appreciation, but it is definitely something to consider when you expect to hold the property for a long time. I don't know anything about your target market, but investors purchase real estate all the time for long-term appreciation without much concern for cash flow. I'm thinking of extremely well developed and desirable areas such as Manhattan and certain areas of Chicago where I'm from. I doubt your market is comparable to these though, so it's important you have a strong "thesis" for market growth where you're looking to purchase. Essentially it comes down to investment objectives - if your goal is not immediate cash flow and you're bullish on the market then I think you could definitely justify that purchase.

Hope this helps.