All Forum Posts by: Wendell De Guzman

I agree with you James Martin. I was able to wholesale a 24-unit apartment building (call it Building B). I got from a seller from whom bought another building from (call it Building A). Building A was listed but Building B was not.

To make the long story short, we put Building B under a land contract for $1 down and we take over the mortgage payment. We then flip that contract for a $20K profit and had our buyer take over the mortgage payments.

So, the lesson here is get in touch with the seller if you can (even for buildings that are listed). Ask them if they have other buildings (not listed in the MLS).

John Horner, I'm interested. Email me back, please?

Amanda Fox, focus your acquisition outside the MLS since your market is hot. Out of state landlords, vacant or abandoned homes and people in preforeclosure, bankruptcy and probate are good target sellers. Direct mail is one good way to reach them.

I met a software developer from the Philippines and I am impressed by this kid's talent. He is earning a pathetic wage as a "slave" of a tech company and I would like to help him generate an income stream commensurate with his talents. (and I can earn money also as his marketing partner)

So, let me ask you...the real estate investor.
If you can have an app or software for free that will help you in your real estate investing, what do you want this app or software to do?

I will give away this most wanted app or software to the first 100 BP people who will respond to this post or anyone who responds before July 1. I figured this will save me tons of time and money in market research...so it's win-win.

By the way, be as specific as possible.
Bad Example: "I want this app or software to help me raise capital for real estate deals".
GOOD Example: "I want this app or software to automatically generate a 20-page prospectus to help me raise capital for a multi-family apartment building."

Thanks and I look forward to your response.

Matt Devincenzo, I like how you think.
"Final" is not really final. In real estate, it's all negotiable.

Depending on your market, Bill Briscoe, you can play hardball and not really go higher than your maximum. Doing so will mean less profit for you.

Based on how you describe the situation, it does not hurt to counter back at $83,500 as your highest and best. That's how I would do it if I were in your shoes.

Steve Burk, you are right on. Marketing is first and foremost. Include in your plan activities to build your dream team:
1. real estate brokers who are investor-friendly
2. title company that understands wholesaling
3. real estate attorney to close your deal
4. transactional lender to fund your deal

Ethan Cole, I am from Chicago also. Welcome to BP.
What are your goals?
What help do you need in your real estate investing/business?
If you can wave a "magic wand" and wipe out your problems, what problems do you want to disappear?

Gash Nag,

Tough lessons learned. As a fellow landlord, I too was victimized by tenants from hell. Now, these are what I do:

1. Tenant screening - I have a point system I can share with you if you want but I avoid these scammers
2. Check Authorization - they give this to me and I can automatically write checks out of their bank account. No more chasing rents. I love it.
3. I tell the tenants, "We do not accept excuses - only cash"(if they are late with the rent). I immediately serve a 5-day late notice.
4. If they pay, I withdraw the late notice. If they don't, I give the file to the eviction attorney.

Bottomline: I do not listen to the tenants' sad stories. I tell them, it's our company procedure to issue the late notice and withdraw it only if they pay.

Jim Dineen, I agree: the 70% rule - repairs for rehabs does not work in all markets. For hotter markets, you have to raise that 75% or even 80%. For slower markets, the 70% rule was too high - decrease it down to 65% or even 60%.

What you should do is talk to your market. Talk to renovators or rehabbers in your market to find out what their formula is for buying. When I did that, that's the time I was able to wholesale deals.

Do the same with landlords to find out if the 2% rule works in your area.

Maryjoe Smith, also...since this is a probate situation, depending on the laws in your area, you might "redeem" the property but you won't get clear title on it until it goes through probate.

I agree with Steve Babiak though...based on the numbers and the fact that you have to raise the cash..that this does not seem like a deal worth pursuing.