All Forum Posts by: Mark Gallagher

@Patrick Philip

We PREFER having a buyer with an agent. It's too awkward for us to yell at the person buying our house. Easier to yell at the agent if something isn't going right. We do however have our preferred lender offer them incentives to use them so we know the mortgage is air tight. The listing side however is a different story. If you are doing volume, find an agent who will slash their fee and hope they can capture the buyer. 

@Patrick Philip

There are so many variables here, everyone is providing great answers but we're missing the nuts and bolts of the equation here.

What's the market? Are you competing against people putting in granite? Is this super low end <$100K? Are you the only flipper? Are you selling to a landlord? Is the market super hot? Do you have enough spread to put in granite? We need more details to accurately answer your question. 

@Alex Babayev

What did you do with the tenants? Were they on month-to-month and you told them to leave? 

We put stainless appliances in our rentals and my calculations are if I can get at least $6/more per month over a 5 year useful life, it's a break-even. So if we can put in stainless and get $25/month higher rent, we're $19/month positive. 

@Kameron Fontenot

Most REO contracts are not assignable which means you would have to double close. Not sure what additional fees there are in Texas, but you'd have to record 2 deeds, etc. Long story short is that it's doable, especially in this type of market that's hot.

@Jay Hinrichs

@Leah Bonner

I don't have much to add here but do you have the $200K backing already lined up, or are you still looking? If you have those funds lined up, that would be a good foot in the door with a syndicator and I'm sure you could work out an agreement where they help you and get a piece of the action. 

@Clayton Crawford

In the age of the internet, digital photography, and Google Maps, I'm not even sure why you would need to physically look at 50-100 properties that "don't meet your criteria." You need to look at what your criteria are. If someone wants to look at more than 10 properties, I know something is wrong.

@Will Smith

What is it listed at?

@Lora P.

Insure numerous properties with them, never have filed a claim. Communication is great and quick. 

@Michael Stumpf

Yes, this is a bird's eye view. I would only add that people responding to direct mail typically aren't looking to have you do tons of inspections. They want to sell it as-is. If you're uncomfortable purchasing as-is, you could tell them you want to have an inspection, but you're not planning on asking for repairs, you just want it for your file.