All Forum Posts by: Burt L.

I am in a similar position; I had a call back on a yellow letter, telling me that the house wasn't for sale, but that the seller had another house she would sell. I asked what price she had in mind and was told X dollars. Her former son in law - who lives there- will be showing me the house this weekend but it seems like a strong deal at the price mentioned.

In my state you dont have to disclose being a licensee until the first physical contact. How can I do this, without upsetting the situation? I'm sure some people are more experienced at doing this well than I am. It would have to be followed by the written disclosure with a contract as well.

In building lists at Listsouce, by far the most costly screen is the AVM at 50 cents per record. I spoke with a rep who said he is checking with his manager about giving something of price break, but said it is one of their premier screens. I am not a subsriber yet, and he said there is no price break that could be added to a reduction from being a monthly subscriber. Its either one or the other.

In doing mailings, it seems that AVM is an important screen in locating wholesale opportunities, as one wants to target the same price ranges that most rehabbers work.

Is there a way to get a better price, or even avoid this costly screen altogether? I have seen it mentioned here to select zip codes that are at 2/3 of the median price for an area, and presumably zip code screens cost less than AVM's using a polygon drawn on an area map. There seems to be variation within a zipcode though. Its also nice to have the AVM as a data point amongst the many property appraisal tools available, but there are less costly ways to get to the value.

The cost of the single AVM screen was 75% of the total cost of each record, which is huge. Equity or LTV screens etc are a great deal less. Screening by recorded date just doesn't work as old mortgages get cashout Refi's - as I've seen again and again - and there are recent cash purchases so free and clear doesnt work on its own either.

I'm quite open to other cost-reduction suggestions at Listsource or other providers as well. Hope I'm contributing something in this.

I appreciate the replies; it looks like the potential deal wont go, but thought I would add the follow-up information to the thread.

I spoke to a local real estate attorney about doing an option, and his analysis was that options aren't allowed in this state - colorado - as you are considered an "options dealer" and must be a real estate agent to do options. I hadn't heard this before, but have come to trust his view as he presents to many at REI meetings, etc. He added that if you are an agent, the RE commission takes a very dim view of options. He said he wont do options for clients, whether they are an agent or not.

The possibility of doing the Flex Option looked intriguing, and like something to add to my toolbox of deal possibilities.

As to this deal itself, the seller hasn't returned a couple of calls after sounding very motivated, and as one of the owners was in the hospital after what was believed to be a heart attack, I guess I'll leave it alone; its probably worth a follow-up at some point in the future.

I appreciate the inputs and the potentially useful concept of options.

I've been spending time learning how to build a list at Listsource, and am about to get to the Paypal part, where costs become irreversible. For one, I learned that you can't make a single list that includes both Free and Clear properties and a LTV debt search in the same list - despite what one phone rep told me.

I also learned that choosing "Last Recording Date" will include both MLS sales and FSBO's etc as CoreLogic doesn't pull anything from the MLS - according to another phone rep.

I wonder if there some well-earned suggestions on how to build stronger lists and keep the costs down by making fewer searches - before hitting the Submit Payment button that soon awaits myself and others.

I am working on a Free and Clear and LTV list (1-60%) since they can't be combined, but general list-building and buying suggestions are also appreciated.

There has been a substantial update to my business plan. I'm just looking for deals now..... and maybe there is something in the situation posted above.

Yes - Perhaps my business plan is too narrow in scope and I'll be stretching to reach back and kick myself afterwards. I was convinced I was stretching in the first course of action, though.

What type of deal would this somewhat 'thin" level of equity lend itself to - for the person I would assign my option to? I suspect the fate of the tenant/buyers would be in doubt and there would be unhappiness in their departure. The contract that was could be cancelled by either side with 30 days notice is in place, according to the owner.

In my marketing campaign I am coming across potential Sub-2 deals, which isn't what I am seeking as newbie, but I dont want to throw away leads that I can pass to others either.

In this scenario, the seller has said they would do a traditional sale for the amount of the debt as they don't want to be landlords anymore. The ARV is at 245K and the debt is 215K - including an adjustable first of 196K and a second of 19K. The first loan is tied to the 1 year Libor and adjusts in a couple of months. It has tenant buyers who are in the property and paying $200 per month over the rent towards a down payment, but dont have the credit now to close the deal. The agreement is cancellable with 30 days notice by either side, though the tenant/buyers would likely be unhappy.

One of the owners had a heart attack, and the spouse doesn't want to have to deal with it anymore. They had a long-term property manager for it, but that manager passed away a couple of years ago and they got the property back - as the spouse put it.

Its been suggested by a well-respected advisor that I find someone to partner with locally, put it up for sale and split the gain. Sub-2's weren't in my business plan and I don't have the contacts yet to pass deals to others that I come across.

If I offer this on a referral or "finders fee" basis, what is a reasonable value for passing it off? I don't know if I want to go off-track from my business plan, right out of the box. Experienced people likely look back and are disappointed in the deals they passed on, before adding those deal-types to their arsenal.

It become very clear lately that I need to have a digital camera to take interior photos with - beyond a smartphone- that I can then download and send to potential buyers.

I'm would like to know what digital cameras traveling property viewers take when going to view properties? I didn't find much in a search here, but did find a thread on the other things to take.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/56/topics/61204-what-prospecting-tools-do-you-carry-

I am not a big believer that a list provider could tell when a property is vacant or not, as people can move in and out at any time. A provider could tell you if the owners mailing address matches the property address and even a few of those might have their mail delivered somewhere else.

A building department may be able to report what properties are condemned, but that is about as far I think I can go. My experience with rentals is that whats vacant today could be filled tomorrow. I"m skeptical about the Melissa Data list on vacancies and would certainly call their customer service line for clarification.

I appreciate the reply, Bill Gulley. The areas that are tougher on permits are not the inner urban area, but in areas built in the 1950's and later - hadn't considered that some may not need permitting though the tougher areas also seem to have more stringent rules on when a permit is required.

Think I will still exclude the urban areas built at the turn of the last century though. The search list has provided so many more possible owners to mail to than the budget allows that some narrowing will be helpful. Wish this were "fishing in a barrel" but so be it.