1/10/2009
Would you guys believe me if I told you I got another offer accepted on Friday?
How 'bout two?
Well, that's what happened, and I ended up selling one of them in less than 30 minutes!
I don't know what the hell is going on, but it seems to me that the banks are finally waking up and smelling the sweet, putrid scent of looming disaster. I'm not kidding- it's like a free for all over here!
One of the houses was listed for 43.9k (which is already a pretty decent price, but not quite good enough). Anyway, I offered 30k on it right before the end of the year, and the bank only came down to 42k. I told the realtor 31.5 was the best I could do, and told her to call me back if they decide to drop the price. Well, she called me Friday morning and said, "You're not going to believe this, but the bank is willing to take your offer of 31.5k.... are you still interested?'' Hehehe.
The second deal, I am splitting with another wholesaler friend of mine. He called me early Friday and told me he had some inside info on a duplex that was about to have a drastic price reduction. He knows I have buyers in this area, so he asked if I wanted to joint venture on the deal, which, of course, I did... This deal was an absolute no-brainer, and I knew I could sell it to sans-ID buyer in a heartbeat, which I did. We ended up getting the duplex (it's concrete block, with 2, 2/1 units), for $21, 500! Even in the hood, this is a smokin' deal! We sold it for 29.5k, and everyone is happy. That's what I call easy money!!
So, now I have two houses to get rid of.
I still haven't sold the one that California Guy was supposed to buy, but I have an emergency back-up plan just in case.... One of my wholesaler friends has a buyer who will take it for 1k over what I have it under contract for. I will make almost nothing if I have to sell to him, but it is better than having to close on it myself, or worse yet- backing out of the deal. I haven't even really tried that hard to sell it, so I'm not too worried about it. Yet.
I put out 40 handwritten signs today (which was a huge pain in my ass), marketing the house that I just got under contract Friday. Tomorrow I will put out 40 more in the neighborhood where the house is that CG was supposed to buy.
The only calls I've had so far from the 40 I put out today were from people who, either: (A) couldn't speak English, or (B) Just got finished reading a Carelton Sheets course. That's the way it goes, though.... Sometimes you have to go through 50 annoying calls before you get to a gem...
Have a great rest of the weekend, y'all. Go make some offers!!
P.S.
I was having technical blog difficulties earlier. Sorry to those who were locked out.
P.P.S.
Me and the guy who are working the duplex deal are convinced that we are cursed when trying to do deals together- we've worked on about 5 deals over the last year and a half, and they have all crashed and burned for one reason or another. So, we decided that if this one actually closes, we are bringing a bottle of bubbly to the closing table to celebrate! Hehe.
P.P.P.S
No offense to any Carelton Sheets grads. That's how I got started, too. Seriously.
17 comments:
Congrats on the deals! I hope to have one done in the next 60 days.
Just out of curiosity-what do the Carelton Sheets grads have to say when they call?
Thanks Anonymous, and good luck with your first deal- get out there and make some offers, and you will be on your way..
About the Carelton Sheets grads- I just meant that there were a bunch of tire kickers that called..
It comes with the territory. :)
Way to go Steph!!
How much of a deposit are you offering on these deals?
Are you making the offers directly to the listing agent?
Hi Ericka,
1k earnest money on all 3 of these deals.
I usually make my offers through a friend of mine who is a realtor. Sometimes I will go directly through the listing agent, though.
Steph
Hi Stephanie. Congrats on all your hard work paying off for you. I was wondering if you could share your deal evaluation criteria and how you determine how much to offer on these bank owned properties.
Sweet Steph! Congrats and I just have to believe that this deal with your wholesaler friend is GOING TO CLOSE this time! Wow...can't believe a duplex was going for $21.5K there! I've been making offers in the $30-35K range here in Ft. Lauderdale but the banks haven't bit yet. I'm going to keep trying, but I did notice that only 3 properties in my target area have closed for that low in the past 4 months. I guess I should raise my offering price slightly..maybe $35-40K instead. The last property I closed on was $56.5K which was still a decent deal (not great but good) but honestly they should be selling even cheaper now. Eventually the banks are going to get with the program! Keep up the good work!
Hey Steph,
That is an awsome way to start the year... I was worried yesterday and thought that this became an exclusive club, and that I got black listed, but im glad to see that your still allowing little ol me in;) Also I know what you mean, I just got a property that was listed for 34K (ARV-75K) and I offered $11k, bank countered at $14K and I had it sold within a few hours...Swwweeet...
Also if you and your Murphy's partner (Murphy's Law) can close this thing you guys should corodinate a victory dance...
Anonymous- I don't use a formula or anything like that- I just know the neighborhoods really well, and I know exactly what my investors are looking for, and how much they will pay for houses in different areas. I know that probably isn't much help to you, but that's how I evaluate deals...
For example, on the duplex I just got- I don't even have a clue of what the retail value of that thing would be. No idea. I do know, that my buyer is looking for duplexes in the hood, and he wants to stay under 30k, so I knew right away that I had a deal at 21.5k.
I always try to get as much info from my investors as possible, so I know what type of deals to bring them..
Hope that helps..
Shae- I couldn't believe they dropped the duplex that low, either! I was shocked.
Keep hammering away with the offers!
Dustin- that 11k deal sounds SWEET! I need to start offering lower, I think...
Steph,
Have you come across any Deed restrictions in dealing with the REO's you have bought and sold? I saw a post on a board where the person mentions that in his state he cant resell it within 90 days for more then 25% over the purchase price. I believe it was a Fannie Mae REO
Yeah, Fannie Mae has a restriction. They are the only one that I know of though.
I've only done 1 Fannie deal, and the sales price to my buyer was within the limits of the restriction, so it was fine.
Steph
Steph,
Is there any way you can possibly post a blog about your past experiences in using bandit signs as part of your marketing?
Personally, I haven't used them since they are illegal to post them in my city. I hope you don't mind the request :-)
Thanks!
Hi Anonymous,
Do you mean using signs to find buyers or sellers?
I was actually going to write a post in the next day or so about using them to find buyers, as that is my favorite way to build my buyers list...
Steph
Sorry, I should have been clearer. I guess what I was trying to ask is- what is your overall opinion about using them? Also, do you really find them to be effective in finding both sellers and buyers? I shouldn't even comment since I have never used them, but I can't think of a more ancient method to find sellers and buyers. Im sure a more modern method exists.
I find more buyers using signs than anything else- hands down. They are a pain in the ass, but they produce great results, so I use the heck out of them.
As far as using them to find sellers- I'd rather chop both of my arms off and throw them on the bbq and eat them for dinner.
Steph
LOL! Steph, you are a trip. By the way, if you're looking for a laugh check out my blog post on Socks for Toilet Paper :-)
Lol, I think I get the message!
Thanks for the laugh
Sounds interesting, Shae- I will check it out..
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