All Forum Posts by: Michael Woodward

@Evan Myers , I'm always careful not to burn any bridges so I think you should proceed cautiously. Since the listing agent is the boss of your agent, you will just need to ask them how often they're willing to submit your offer. I'm sure they want to sell it as much as you want to buy it so I think they will agree to work with you on it. Adding a new Realtor at this point will probably just make things more difficult for you.

The bank that's selling it is obviously in no hurry to sell it so it's hard to say how they'll handle your multiple offers. If they intend to wait another 120 days to make another price drop then they might just ignore your multiple offers.....but don't let that bother you....just keep submitting your offers until they relent or you change your mind.

I think you indicated that you're new to investing so, for your sake, I want to strongly encourage you to study your market as much as possible. You need as much knowledge as possible to succeed in this business. If you take too many short cuts with your education, you will likely find yourself in big trouble. Also, you'll hear it said over and over on Biggerpockets to make absolutely sure you know your exit strategy. Hopefully you have several exit strategies. Read as much Biggerpockets as you can!

@Evan Myers , If your Realtor will agree to do this....I would set a schedule to submit the same low offer every couple weeks. Be persistent but don't let the pressure cause you to offer more than you're comfortable with. A bad deal can cost you years to recover from. Stick to your guns. It sounds like you're in the driver's seat since it's been on the market so long......which by the way is also another reason to be cautious.

If your Realtor won't agree to do that, I would contact the Realtor that's listing it and ask them to do it. Good luck.

Awesome @Brian Burke ! I hope you christened the pool with a big cannonball!

@Joshua Dorkin , Thanks. Works great for me.

@J Scott , Sorry for the spam J. I had to see if this worked for your name because I know it worked in the past. What I did to get the @ to pull up your name was type "@J S"......with a space between the J and S.

@Aaron Beatty , I don't think the major lenders have a mechanism for doing this kind of thing. My understanding of it is that they have a long line of people in the foreclosure process that do their small part and send it on to the next person. None of them are capable (or authorized) to negotiate a direct sale. The person at the very end of the paper trail will contact a local realtor and make arrangements to sell it. I would imagine that they have rules to prevent any short cuts to the process. No one wants to stir up a stink that would attract government regulators.

Maybe you could try your local (small) banks. I don't mean the Bank of America's with a local branch but a locally owned and operated bank. If you can track down the decision-maker, they might be willing to talk about properties they have in the foreclosure pipeline. Good luck!

@Brett O , I'm a recovering DIY'er and can relate completely to your desire to stop doing the work yourself. The last time I remodeled a house myself, I remember telling myself.....out loud..."this SUCKS!" Everything took forever to finish and I went home soar and tired every day. I started to hate the business.

Eventually, I realized that the reason I was doing the work myself was because I didn't know anyone that I trusted to do the work. The obvious solution was to go to work looking for the right person to do the work so I could get back to working ON my business instead of working IN my business. It was the best thing I could have done. Now I'm really enjoying the business again.

It took me about four months to find the right contractor but I'm extremely thankful that I took the time to do it. You might have to fire a few contractors along the way but it will be worth it in the end. I have an incredible contractor now that does EVERYTHING including buying and delivering all of the materials. I meet him at my houses once a week to check progress and give him a check. Now I put less than 10 hours in my projects.

To make the business model work though, you will have to adjust your purchase price point. ARV never changes so if it's going to cost you an extra $15k to complete the project, you obviously have to buy the house for $15k less than you would if you did the work yourself. Don't let that bother you though. It took me a while to realize the enormity of opportunities that it opened up. I couldn't be happier that I've made the transition. Now it feels like a business instead of a job.

I've done some research into buying from the courthouse but I haven't actually done one yet..... partly because of the risk with the things you mentioned. I know that it can be done "safely" but it will take a lot of due diligence on your part. I talked to my local title company about doing a pre-sale title search. I think they quoted something like $150 to do a title search that would reveal any outstanding liens. That should be enough protection for you assuming you've done all of the normal due diligence on the property itself.

I think it's a good idea.....especially since properties are so hard to find through the normal channels right now. I analyzed a property a few years ago and followed it through the courthouse sale. It was a decent (but small) 2 br/1bth house in a low-income (but clean) neighborhood. It sold for $11,001. I talked to the buyer and got his phone number so I could follow up with him later. I called him a week later to see if he was interested in selling it to me and he told me that he just sold it for $22,000. I thought...wow, this guy just made $11,000 in one week and didn't do anything to the house. That hooked me on the idea.

Like all of real estate though, you have to be VERY, VERY careful. Good luck!

Dave Martel, I can see why you feel that my post was one-sided. I was focused on the perspective from my "side of the table" and didn't tell the other half of the story.

I agree that contractors have significant risk as well. I have a great contractor that I'm extremely happy with. He typically has outstanding balances of $10k - $20k with customers that slow/no-pay. It really makes things difficult for him so I make sure that anytime he needs payment on my projects, I'm right there to take care of it.

It's unfortunate that people don't treat others fairly and ethically all the time but it's just the way it is I guess.

Best to you and your business!

Ibrahim S....sorry to make my lengthy reply even longer but I meant to include that I only pay for work after it's complete. We agree ahead of time what will be done and what the price of each item will be and I pay him the moment it's finished. If he quoted the roof at $5000, then I bring him a check for $5000 the same day he finished it.....ok, I'm done.

Ibrahim S, I'm by no means the most experienced person at this business but I've rehabbed 15 houses and built six new houses and have NEVER given a contractor (or sub) a deposit.... I don't think anyone has ever even asked for one......in fact, last year I offered to pay a contractor before he completed a project and he turned me down. He said (quote), "I don't pay my subs ahead of work-completed and I don't think you should either".

I think it would be a huge mistake to give him any sizable deposit. He's never at as much risk as you are because you can't run away with his money. He always has the option to put a lien on your house if you don't pay. You obviously can't load up your house and drive away in the middle of the night so his risk is small.

In my opinion, if a contractor has to ask for money up front then he probably isn't managing his money properly. If he's robbing Peter to pay Paul then you could be the guy that gets left out in the cold if something happens to his business....or if he decides to make his boat payment instead of buying your drywall......I actually saw some of that kind of thing when the market collapsed in 2008.

The other major problem that paying deposits creates is that it eliminates the driving motivation for the contractor to get your job done quickly or on budget. Most contractors are notoriously difficult to get good, quick service from so you need him to have LOTS of skin in the game.

If you come to a loggerhead and you still really want to use him, ask him to use an escrow agent that will serve as the middleman. That way you're both protected. If he won't do that either....find someone else!

.....my two cents.....

Good luck!