Flip This Wholesaler

11/11/2008

Sorry for not posting much lately........ things have really picked up for me in the last month, and I have have been swamped. I've been going at it full speed ahead, and the results I am getting are well worth the hard work I'm putting in...... I've closed 2 deals in the last 2 weeks, and have 4 more scheduled to close in the next 30 days!

I've been making offers like crazy, and also marketing like crazy for new buyers. I put out 25 signs on Saturday and 25 more today. My phone has been ringing off the hook, and I have found several new buyers as a result.

Today I went and looked at 7 houses while I was putting signs out. I also compiled a list of 23 numbers to call from "for rent" signs I passed while I was en route to the 7 houses (see how I killed 3 birds with one stone?). I will make those calls first thing tomorrow morning.

I have seriously struck gold with the new buyers I've found over the last few weeks. I have 3 cash investors who call me every day to see if I have any new deals, and these guys are serious investors who are buying right now, and want to buy lots and lots o' houses, and they have the money to do so. I know that there are many more buyers out there like these guys, so I am marketing my ass off to find them.

There is no stopping me at this point.

I am going to kick this market's ass and take lots of names while I'm at it...

Gute Nacht!

P.S.
Happy Veterans Day!

10/1/2008

I got sick of waiting to hear from the people at the bank's title company about what was going on with my deal that was supposed to close last week, so, yesterday I decided to call them every single hour on the hour until I got a straight answer. This strategy turned out to be quite effective, and I finally got through to the attorney who has been blowing me off for several weeks now, and who I started referring to as "Air Quotes Stacey", due to the fact that I sincerely started to question whether or not she actually existed.... Every single time I called/emailed she was out of the office, on the other line, in a meeting, painting her toenails, eating lunch, etc.. The thought crossed my mind that maybe "Stacy" was code for something over at The Law Offices of Bakalar & Topouzis...something like: "You're screwed and your deal ain't never gonna close, so STOP CALLING OUR OFFICE EVERY DAMN DAY!" Or something along those lines. So, anyway "Stacy" explained what the hold up was and said they are just waiting on some documentation from another attorney, and should have what they need by Friday. I have no faith in that actually happening, but you never know. Maybe the REO gods will throw me a bone on this one.

What else? I just got a counter on one of my offers from yesterday. Listed at 100k, I offered 60k, and they came down to 80k right off the bat. That's a good sign....

And that's all for now, folks...

P.S.
I forgot to say that I told the listing agent I want a lower price if this goes past the 15th of this month. She didn't seem to have a problem with that, and I don't think the bank will either, particularly since I put this under contract in JULY. Another wholesaler told me about this little trick, and has made lots o' money using it. :)

6/26/2007

I get quite a few emails from readers asking questions about wholesaling REOs. One of these days, I will put up a FAQ section on this blog, but until then, I thought I would start posting a few of the more commonly asked questions in case there are others out there who might be wondering the same thing.

So, here we go..

Hi Steph,

My name is Frank from NJ, and I am new to wholesaling . I have some short sale , and wholesale training but still looking for the first deal. I read about your transaction on reibrain.com and was just curious. I have asked a few investors in forums about wholesaling reo's. I have so many in my area and would really love to be able to wholesale the ones I find to be good deals. Anyway from what they have told me lenders will not approve of assignment contracts. So basically I would have to buy the house and then find an end buyer like one of my investors and do a double close . I really would rather flip the contract then put out my money first as you can understand. Can you give me any tips as to how you are assigning these reo properties without any problems from the lender? Continued good luck steph and thanks in advance.


Hi Frank,

You are correct in that (most) banks will not let you assign REOs. There are many ways to get around this, though, and still be able to wholesale them. What I am doing is using a simultaneous close. Basically, the closing between me and the bank and then between my buyer and me takes place at the same time, and both transactions are funded with my buyer's funds, so I don't have to come to the table with any money. Many title companies will not do this, but some will. What I would do is find the active wholesalers in your area and ask them who they are using as a title company. That is how I found mine.

You can also buy the property in an LLC or a land trust, and then sell your rights to your buyer at closing. I have never used this technique, although, this is the method my mentor, Steve Cook, teaches. Here is an article written by Steve that explains it in greater detail......

Another way is to have your buyer added on to your contract with the bank, and then after closing, give your buyer a quit claim deed in exchange for your fee. I would not recommend doing this, though, unless your buyer is someone you know and trust. I have only done it this way a few times, and it was with a buyer I have worked with several times before, and there was a mutual trust there...

Finally, as you mentioned, you can borrow the money for the first transaction, close on it with your funds, and then resell to your buyer right after the first closing (double close). There are quite a few companies who will lend money for this type of transaction. My recommendation is CashForMyClosing.com. They will also provide you with a free proof of funds letter to submit with your REO and short sale offers. If this is the route you are going to take, you would just have to take the extra costs into account when you are structuring your offer.

Anyway, those are the ways I know of to wholesale REOs. There are a few more hoops to jump through, but it's really not that big of a deal once you start doing them.

Hope that helps,
Steph