All Forum Posts by: Lian Shi

@Lian ShiThat sounds like a scam to me. Why would there be anything that is "registration"? If they are not advertising some sort of points as a fee, which is normal I believe just look at the regular banking system. They do it all the time. And if they can't tell you what this "registration" fee is for and in that amount, I personally would not engage and steer clear. Just my opinion.

How much is the fee?
If it is for appraisal, etc that could be legit.
If it is more than that, it could be a scam.

We just got our first newborn on 6th. We are enjoying new experience now.
Thank you very much and we will deginitely check your website. We have never been to any public auctions. Please put me in your mailing lists. I would greatly appreciate if you could give us some ideas.
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I am in Baltimore and have found that there are lots of potential good deals here.  You may want to attend public auctions. We do several hundred auctions a year, we have some coming up tomorrow, find my website and stop by.

I'd be glad to give you some ideas or put you on our mailing lists.

Charles

hi David and Joel,

  Thank you very much for your input which is very inspiring and encouraging. We have been working with an agent who brings us those off market deals but each time those deals was also exposed to other buyers. I know one agent can't represent another buyer. So these "off market " deals are actually just "off  mris" and available for investors. I guess my agent got these wholesale deals from his sources like anyone else does
     We only look for flipping right now so the numbers are very important for us as we can't afford to lose money. But as David sugguested that we should come in with the firm and highest offer and stay with it. We may get something like that so that we have more chance to lock it out instead of losing it in the bidding world. We should also do more marketing so that we may get deals directly from the sellers. So far we rely on the agent and a group of wholesalers and REO listed in mris. 
Thank you very much again.

Originally posted by @David Faulkner:

If you do choose to put a bid on a home in the open market that is very competitive, run your numbers and determine the price you would pay, put in that bid as your firm and final offer ... if they take it, great ... if they don't walk. Not saying you will get a deal this way, but at least you won't get worked up in the bidding war and over pay.

I agree with Joel that going off market may be your best bet to get a deal, though financing such a deal (as opposed to paying all cash) may prove challenging. When you call around asking brokers and agents for off market deals, make sure they know that you will put the offer in through them ... you want a deal and they want to double end their pocket listings, give them what they want to get what you want.

Either way, it is likely a numbers game ... the more you market/search, the more properties you find to offer on, the more offers you make, the more deals you get. Just be sure to stay true to your numbers and don't give up. Depending on if you plan to buy-and-hold or flip will determine how you run your numbers (cash flow or value add) ... I like to run both and have both sets of numbers work (one for plan A and one for plan B), combine them both in an IRR analysis and tweak parameters to optimize the strategy.

Originally posted by @Mike Sedlacek:

I found a great source to find off market deals.  I started calling handyman businesses first to get quotes for work I needed to get done. Then it dawned on me to start asking them for possible people that may be ready to sell thier homes. Guess what? I found a good deal in Portsmouth , Virginia where I have recently moved. I just bought a house that was going to be in probate from a family member that lived out of town. They had called this handyman to get some work down. I went to the house with him one morning and he introduced me to the family member. I looked over the house and made them an offer that got accepted.

The house was way out of date with old appliances, old bathroom with the 5 gallon toilet, broken garage door, bad smelly carpeting, interior with dark color paint, 1400 square foot house, 3 bedrooms, one bath, etc.. I paid $44,000 and the tax assessment is $156,000. The house next door, a 2 story, recently renovated, sold for $145,000. The house 7 doors in the opposite direction, also a 2 story and rehabbed, sold in April for $148,000. 

I expect to put in $20,000 in renovations plus another $3,000 clearing the lot and landscaping. The property hasn't been mowed in over a year with lots of overgrowth. Basically the house needs painting, flooring and simple updated of the bath and kitchen.

@Lian Shi

I would consider that normal if you are looking for very good deals. As a general rule good deals are not found, they are negotiated.