All Forum Posts by: Kelvin Washington

What's going on BP?

I'm getting things rolling with my new wholesale business venture. I began my direct mail marketing on 4 Jan 12, by sending out 366 postcards to absentee owners. Lo and behold, by the 11th of Jan, I had received approximately 20 calls to my toll free number (half were hang-ups). I also got 6 via my squeeze page.

One gentleman in particular that left a message, wanted to part ways with 5 of the 6 investment properties that he owns. The properties' ages range from 1961-1980. He stated to me that he was soon to 79 years old, retired Army officer, well-off financially (says that he doesn't need the money), and was tired of managing the properties himself. He resides approximately an hour from all of his properties.

He also informed me that he would give me a deal that I wouldn't believe. At one point in time, he owned 36 properties. With that being said, he stated that he knows how the business goes and he knows that I'm not looking to lock the properties up at FMV. This past Thursday (19 Jan), I drove him around to look at 4 of his properties...3 had tenants and one was vacant. The tenants in one of his properties are living foul, inconsistent with making payments and are behind on their rent.

I'm interested in two of them with tenants and the vacant one. The problem is...I have no clue what to offer him for each property and he doesn't want to give an asking price. I had my RE agent to pull the COMPS on the vacant one and the smallest rental (still waiting on the other rental). He and family left this morning to visit Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. He will be back in two weeks and I want to have my ducks in a row when he returns.

I know that this post is getting long, so here is a break down on the two that I have the COMPS for:

Vacant
SFH
3/2
1,601 sq ft
Yr. 1973
Partial Basement
No more than $10K in repairs (appliances, counter tops, cabinets, sheet rock work, carpet and other small cosmetic work).
New roof and new tile in kitchen, bathroom, and basement.
He bought it in 1991 ($46K), sold it in 2005 ($80K), and bought it back in 2009 ($76.8K)

COMP#1
3/2
1,368 sq ft
Yr. 1972
Full Basement
Sold for $60K on 10/07/11

COMP#2
3/2.5
1,540 sq ft
Yr. 1968
Crawl
Sold for $40K on 10/07/11
Rental
SFH
3/1
975 sq ft
Yr. 1961
Full Basement
No repairs needed at the time
He bought it in 1977 (no price on county records), sold it in 2005 ($62K), and bought it back in 2009 ($59.4K)
Rent: $600/month
Rents in the area range from $700-$850

COMP#1
3/1
831 sq ft
Yr. 1957
Crawl
Sold for $66.5K on 10/05/11

COMP#2
3/1
1,052 sq ft
Yr. 1957
Crawl
Sold for $38K on 12/22/11

WHEW!!! That was a lot!!

Hi Na'Kiesha and Tivon,
I am also just getting started with wholesaling, but in the southern metro (Clayton/Henry County) Atlanta area. I'm always looking to collaborate and network with like minded people. Hopefully, we all can get together and share ideas and make this thing work!

Thanks Steve!
I'm about to call my agent and ask her to pull the Comps for me. The paying tenant is definitely a plus and I have a couple of landlords on my buyers list that may love to take this on.

Newbie here! I started my direct mail campaign on 4 Jan 12, by sending out 366 postcards to Absentee Owners. As of 7 Jan, I have received 20 calls; 7 messages; and 1 entry on my squeeze page...the remaining callers didn't leave a message.

I've spoken to some of the callers and one in particular is located in NH and she wants me to make her an offer based on the outside condition of the property. This is her reasoning for not wanting me to view the inside of the property...she doesn't want her tenant, or her property management company to know that she is wanting to sell the property.

Here are the numbers:
SFH; All brick in a nice neighborhood
3BR/1.5 BA
1,210 sq ft
Built: 1972
She paid: $29K for it in Aug 08
Tax Assessment: $75,992
Comps: (Trulia): $36K hi/$32K low
(Real Estate ABC) $60K/$34K
Rents for: $750/month. Tenant has been there for over 1 year and pays on time.

She also stated that she wants to sell because she lives too far away and she also has other properties here in GA. She informed me that if she likes my offer, I can gain further access to the property via the property management company.

My dilemma is...I'm not sure what to offer. I'm thinking of offering no more than $20K. Any questions or ideas from the Pros or Novices?

@Brad P. Is the formula that you just used in your comment, a common way to do an assessment on a property that is to wholesaled?

Thanks James!
I will look into them this morning.

Hello BP!
I'm trying to get the most accurate Comps for my due diligence, but I don't have access to the MLS and I don't want to bug my real estate agent. Does anyone know of a more efficient and accurate way of pulling Comps?

Thanks!

Well, my rental is a mixture of gas and electric. I put in a electric stove and electric water heater, but the furnace is still gas. My tenants were aware of the utilities and they had no problem getting everything connected. Depending upon the utility company, the deposit my be credited or refunded at the end of the contract.

I'm gonna look more into the rules for Texas and definitely Arizona. I've been a bit leery of purchasing online, but I may consider it in the near future. Thanks for the information and prompt replies!

When I purchased my rental in Spring 2010, I replaced the gas water heater with a brand new electric one. It didn't take my plumber long to install it and its been working like a charm!!