All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Hey Dave,
One thing that is happening alot in my area (at least the worst neighborhoods) is thieves breaking into vacant foreclosed houses and stealing the copper pipes, and selling it by the pound to scrap dealers. I know several rehabbers who get their properties going and then have a setback because some pond scum steals their copper. You might consider offering to re-install copper piping or, better yet, the alternative materials. Just a thought. Good luck, Mike

Welcome Clayton,
It sounds like you have a good plan in plaec. Also, with prices that low, it should be alot of fun buying over the winter for you. Check out all the forums, you will find them interesting and informative. Let us know if you need any help! Good luck, Mike

Of course these people are in a heightened state of mind, and can be potentially hostile, so I would be careful about just showing up at their door. Also, sometimes, probably rarely, the wife is not aware the house is in foreclosure proceedings - wouldn't want to walk into that!

But usually, depending on where in the process you are entering their lives, they could be resigned to the inevitable, but are not sure what to do next. Some have tried to sell it already, some are knowledgeable, some are clueless of the process. I find that if I know the process really well, then I can at least explain it to them, and they feel more at ease then.

So, if you are just calling them from your list, you won't know what stage they are in, so I would just call, introduce yourself, and say that you are a real estate investor, and would like to consider buying their house. Simple as that. If they hate investors it means someone has been too pushy and they think all investors are like this. If you are cool and just come across as an informed investor, then you could be a solution to them and they will help you, hoping you will in fact buy their home.

I always ask them what they would most like to see happen, and then they will tell me if they want to just move on, or of they would rather stay if there is a way. You want the ones who are resigned and want to move on with their lives. You then have the solution for them, let you buy the house with any method you think works for the situation - short sale, subject to, new financing, whatever. They will probably cooperate with you.

As far as questions, ask:

How many payments is the house behind and for how much?
How much do they owe (first and second loans, liens, etc.)
What kind of loans are they (HELOC, ARM, fixed, etc.)
How much do they think the house is worth (they'll tell you the tax assessment or what it was worth a few years ago, which is just anecdotal info)
What repairs are needed?

You will be able to get an idea of whether you want to contiinue. You can always delay your decision by saying you need to do some more research on their home and see if it is one you can buy, and will get back to them. then you can run your numbers and se it it works for you.
Good luck, Mike

Katrina, I would suggest going to your local real estate investment club and asking other investors who they use for an attorney and title company. Both need to be investor-savvy and willing to work with you on creative deals. That's what I did and it saved alot of time calling companies who are only interested in working conventionally. Mike

If they end up declining your highest offer, then you can tell them that your offer will remain open for a period of time, and then let them think about it. They may call you back and accept.

Yes, you will get many responses from people who want all cash retail for their properties. Like the others said, formulate about five or ten questions that will screen them out, including:

-Why are you selling?
How much do you want for your house? What do you think the market value is?
-Is the house behind on payments, and if so how many and for how much?
-does the house need any repairs?
-Have you listed the house with a Realtor?
-What are youi plannning to do if the house sells? Do you need all cash, or can you wait for your money?

At some point during this cocnversation you will learn most of what you want to know. If there is no equity and they are in foreclosure, they may be short sale projects. If they are moving and motivasted, they may say they need full price, but will take less, or give you creative financing in order to get away from making two payments. I usually tell them that I am an investor, and need to buy houses at prices that make sense to me. If the situation warrants, I make an offer through a letter of intent, which spells out the low price I am offering, and maybe an option for a slightly higher price but with great terms (or both a low price and terms :lol: )

Good luck, Mike

Check out the Real Estate Tools section and links on the left side of the BiggerPockets home page. On it there is a link to every (or most) counties in the various states. Look up the tax assessor site and most areas you can obtain the information on a house by address. Then it will usually have the current owners name and a mailing address. You can then look up the name in various sources such as 411.com or whitepages.com. You can pay for a search, just do a google search for "people search", but try first on the free sites. Also, takes more time, but I have gotten out of the car and knowcked on the doors of the neighbors on each side. Usually they will tell you something about the guy who moved, as long as you don't act like you are from the bank! :lol:
Good luck, Mike

I guess I was asking if a deal can be done without having to qualilfy to a lender (for the first half of the deal as you said) and thereby receiving the proof of funds required by the foerclosing lender.

Hey Katrina,
You are correct that they are not all good deals. In my area for instance,
most of the leads I get from preforeclosures are homeowners who are either upside down, due to getting second liens or HELOCs, and also the market value of their home went down as much as 20%. So, they are pretty much just short sale opportunities. If they have equity, I can wholesale or pay the back payments and take the eded subject to.

Alot of the wholesaling gurus act like there is this huge equity potential to grab and wholesale the deal to other investors. Maybe this exists in some areas. You could check into the tax assessors website of your county (See the link at the left side of the BiggerPockets home page) and get somewhat of an idea as to the tax value and in some cass what they paid originally. Otherwise you may have to call them with a short list of qualifying questions to screen out the ones you can't work with. Good luck, Mike

Randy,

As others have said, don't be too hasty in thinking that a mentor can automatically guarantee riches to you. It will always still come down to your hard work and learning the business by doing. I have read hundreds of books and forums until I think I could almost write a book myself :lol: .

It is natural to think that a mentor could give you the short cut you need to make it all happen, to guide you through and show you the way. And, if you had the right mentor, more like one of the investors Mike Oh suggested, reather than a guru-type mentopr, that could be very helpful. but you will learn just as much by reading all the posts in the forums on this site (for free), asking alot of questions of us and of the investors in your REI club, formulating a plan and taking action in order to learn by doing. Good luck, Mike