All Forum Posts by: Robert M.

I have been using yellow letters to market to absentee owners and I want to expand my direct mail marketing campaign to owners who have been missing payments and have received a Notice of Default as I believe there is more motivation to sell.

I have been using traditional yellow letter message, "Hi I am Robert and I want to buy your house quickly for cash". Would this strategy work on owners who might have a looming foreclose in the near future? What should I include in my letter to market to these people?

This makes more sense to me. The 80% rule is what I was told as well. So my house is *supposedly* worth 360k, so 80% of that is 288k minus my mortgage of 225k leaves me with 63k. Which is about what the bank is quoting me. It sounds like I can open up a HELOC account at any bank and get the same or very similar terms. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I want to get started flipping houses and since I don't have the capital to purchase a house yet I was informed that I could potentially open up a HELOC against my home to provide me the necessary capital to finance a flip.

I went to my credit union and inquired how much I can borrow. They told me they would let me borrow up to 60k taking into consideration my current house value. This doesn't sound right so I went to another bank and they wanted to run my credit again and setup an appointment to talk to an underwriter to figure out how much my HELOC would be. I decided against running my credit to much and instead ask here and find out if there is anything I should know before opening a HELOC. Are all banks going to give me pretty much the same credit line amount and interest rate?

Current mortgage: 225k

Current home value: 360k

I want to get started flipping houses and since I don't have the capital to purchase a house yet I was informed that I could potentially open up a HELOC against my house to provide me the necessary capital to finance a flip.

I went to my credit union and inquired how much I can borrow. They told me they would let me borrow up to 60k taking into consideration my current house value. This doesn't sound right so I went to another bank and they wanted to run my credit again and setup an appointment to talk to an underwriter to figure out how much my HELOC would be. I decided against running my credit to much and instead ask here and find out if there is anything I should know before opening a HELOC. Are all banks going to give me pretty much the same credit line amount and interest rate?

Current mortgage: 225k

Current home value: 360k

As someone just starting his wholesale business in San Diego I was intrigued when I saw this property another person was wholesaling. Eager to learn, I went through the numbers and thought there was a typo because the numbers looked way off (i.e., selling at around 90% ARV). But then again I am still new so I wanted to verify my thoughts with the master mind group.

xxxx Swift Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

Estimated Resale Value (ARV): $430,000-$450,000.

Estimated Repairs: $30,000-$35,000 (for a full blown renovation. Should you wish to keep this as a rental property renovation costs would be approximately half of this).

YOUR WHOLESALE PRICE: Only $355,000

Potential Gross Profit: $40,000-$65,000

Thank you Dave for the advice!

Since the new year started we've received 5 calls. Three people wanting to get retail price for their homes, one tired landlord with tenants are trashing the place (need to call back) and one remove me from your list call.

The hardest part for me seems on my followup call after I finish researching their property online. I give them a low offer (70% ARV, minus 50k in estimated repairs and my wholesale commission). I usually get scoffed at and am told the house barely needs any repairs.

This January I started my mailing campaign in San Diego, California targeting absentee owners and I need help with my first caller. He sounds like a tired landlord on the phone, seems like he has an outdated house with tenants living there that are giving him grief. The seller said that the house needed some repairs and said he suspected that their might be foundation issue (I don't know why). I told him I would call him back after I researched the property. Help me figure out what to do next.

• Absentee owner
• Owes less than 300k in mortgage
• 5 bedroom 3 bathroom
• 3 Car Garage
• Built in the early 70s
• 2,700 sq ft
• Lot size 11,000 sq ft
• Online estimate around 1,000,000

I don't have access to the MLS so I ran comps using the Zillow sold and on sale listings. Zillow and other online websites estimate the house be worth around 1,000,000. But I can't know for sure.

All SOLD Houses within .5 miles

• 5bed / 3bath / House 2780 sq ft. / Lot 10,500 / Garage 3 car/ Built 1971 / Sold for $1,010,000 on 10/2013
• 5bed / 3bath / House 2780 sq ft. / Lot 11,500 / Garage 3 car/ Built 1970 / Sold for $949,000 on 9/2013
• 5bed / 3bath / House 2340 sq ft. / Lot 14,00/ Garage 3 car/ Built 1970 / Sold for $935,000 on 10/2013
• 6bed / 3bath / House 2780 sq ft. / Lot 8,750 / Garage 3 car/ Built 1970 / Sold for $600,000 on 10/2013
• 6bed / 4bath / House 3350 sq ft. / Lot 9,200 / Garage 3 car/ Built 1970 / Sold for $876,00 on 10/2013

Houses on SALE within .5 miles

• 5bed / 3bath / House 2325 sq ft. / Lot 8,900 / Garage 3 car/ Built 1972 / selling for $999,000

Since this is my first call I would really appreciate some guidance on what to do next.

1. Should I make him a soft offer over the phone contingent on how much repairs the house needs?
2. If I make an offer over the phone how should I calculate it?
3. Or should I just make an appointment to go view the house and make an offer there after seeing the damages?

I am in the San Diego market where houses are pretty expensive and I am finding it difficult to afford the down payment on a 2nd home. I have had my current home since April 2009 and short sold an upside down condo in Feb 2011.

I want to buy another house right now while the prices/interest rates are low. Problem is that due to my short sale I need to come up with 20% down payment or wait until Feb 2014 to be eligible for a 10% down payment.

My brother is in the market for purchasing his first home and we are leaning towards multi-family properties (2-4 units). Is it possible for him to apply for an FHA loan as a owner occupant and I be a cosigner on the loan?

@Braden C. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I had no idea that setting up an account over the phone instead of over the internet was so much cheaper. It effectively halves my costs to get this direct mailing campaign ball rolling.