All Forum Posts by: Jerry R.

Lee county has very few entry level homes now available.

There are very few REO's now and most that do come on the market are HUD's or Fannies, thus no investors can buy them.

I am currently remodeling a home in SW Cape Coral. At each end of the street there is a new home being built.

Don hit the nail on the head.

Sounds like you are trying to secure a property for more than it's worth. You need to figure out what that house is really worth.

Also how do you plan on paying the mortgage? Are you gong to live there and pay it or are you going to find a tenant that will pay that amount? Is that a comparable market rent?

The seller does not have to agree to sell on a short sale, but if you could come up with a lender you could probably wrap up the property for a much lower price through a short sale and take possession of the home immediately. If the bank declines the short sale you are in no worse position than you are buying it full price.

As far as the commission goes, how long is the contract for? The seller should know the length of the contract. If it's almost over then you will have no problem as the house most like is not going to sell as it is over-priced. If it's a long contract, maybe the seller can pay the agent a smaller token of appreciation and terminate the listing. As others have said, you are not buying the property so no commission is due anyway.

Lots going on here. If you truly want to help your friend, then you need to think through what it is that will help the most. Buying an over-priced property subject to sounds risky to me unless it's for your own use and you are comfortable with the monthly payment.

Typical in Florida.

You don't know the closing costs until the HUD comes out. Wish it were spelled out on the standard contract used here, but unfortunately it's not. Also you are lucky to get the HUD more than a day or two before closing.

Also, Florida uses title companies to close and an attorney is not required.

Fees for closing range all over the place. Sometimes it's zero if seller pays all, other times it can be $500. I typically allow $500 if I am using the sellers title company.

If you complain sometimes you can get a lower fee, but don't count on it. Buying an REO gives all the control to the bank (or Freddie in this case).

If you use your own title company you will pay a lot more, but you get more control over closing and a more trustworthy examination of the deed.

Last thing if you plan on flipping the property right away you are always better using your own title company, preferably one that can record the deed instantly online of your county allows it.

They can sell homes for what they are currently worth with the restrictions that they put on them. It's very easy. They list and accept the best offer. REO's don't last long on the market these days. A mouse is worth what a house is worth. People are buying.

1. Very typical that a homepath home sells above list price here in SW Florida.
2. Tax records here are also all below current market price
3. Market prices in SW Florida are way up the last couple months
4. Someone else felt the property was worth it. Maybe they liked the extra garage and could not find a better comparable home for less.
5. You may be right that Fannie is taking advantage of a buyer by offering them the best financing deal and allowing them to way over pay. If that is the case this is the first I have heard of it. Also, if that is the case we should start seeing more of it soon.

Ryan is right when he says find a business partner with the mls access. You could also try to become an assistant to an agent to get the access. It's against the terms for an agent to share their mls access (at least where I am).

I know where I am, I need to submit a ton of offers to get one accepted, probably close to the same number you are submitting, it's hard to tell as I have not had an offer accepted in months.

A far as REO vs regular sale, it does not matter much if the numbers work. I'd rather take a regular sale over a REO if the price was right. I have never bought a retail home to wholesale yet, but my market is fierce.

Good luck and nice job getting an offer accepted.

Wow only $150-$200 per month?

I rent a pool home here in FL. It costs me $400 more per month than one without. Landlord pays maintenance which is the only way to go either as a landlord or a tenant.

Scott's right on the money.

It's good to know in advance what the current homes values are in the areas you are interested in. Then when you get new REO listings you will have an idea how realistic the price is. Some will start off listed high and will just need to sit for a while before the bank gives them up. Others will be listed more realistically and may go pending fast. Where I am that may be 1 day. This not not give a lot of time to research a bunch of comps to determine if I want to submit an offer.

So far have been paying cash on $45-$50K homes. As you already know that's for very low profit margin for me.

I have been doing a lot of scouting for new areas in SW Florida and hopefully found a new direction on homes a little more expensive such as $80-$90 all-in that would resell anywhere from $110 or $120K on the low end to maybe about $150K on the high end.

For this I would need a private lender at rates close to what J Scott is paying, maybe 15% without points.

I like the idea of an JV equity split deal, but keep getting scared by posts about violating security laws. I've been planning on meeting with an attorney on this.

Yes, all kitchen appliances. Only stainless on the nicer homes or if the decor requires it.