Flip This Wholesaler

4/18/2008

Well, one of the REO deals I had going (the one where the listing agent forgot to send the contract to the title co. until 4 days before the closing, and who also told me to get a cashier's check for escrow made out to the wrong company, and then the title company FedExed the check back to the wrong address and someone else signed for it, and it was MIA for 5 days..... you know, that, one.. ) Well, anyway it closed yesterday! Woohoo! My first simultaneous close in the books. I got a call from the listing agent at 4:45 while I was on my way to the closing letting me know that the HUD was effed up. Hahaha. Shocking. It had something to do with the commission, but we got it figured out without having to get the title company to make a new HUD (which would have taken at least 3 weeks). What a pain in the ass this deal was, but at least it's OVER.

Now I'm stressing out over the other deal that is supposed to close Monday. The buyer sent me a text yesterday asking if we were still closing on time, and I sent him back a text telling him I was trying to get it done on time, but didn't know if the title company could do it by Monday. We've already extended the contract once, and I can tell he's kinda getting pissed.... So, the lady from the bank's title co. sent me an email earlier today letting me know that we could close it on Tuesday (the contract expires Monday). I called my buyer to see if that was OK, and I haven't heard back from him yet. It's not like him to not return my call, so, naturally, I'm imagining the worst case scenario- either he's dead, or he had a last minute change of mind, and is just going to bail. If he doesn't call back by tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to go into full-on panic mode. I have been harassing the listing agent and the people at the title co. for the last two weeks to get this thing closed ASAP. I can not even imagine not being able to close this on Monday, if they are ready. I will be exploring options B, C, D, and E if I don't hear back from him by noon tomorrow. Hopefully, I am just over reacting, though. Wouldn't be the first time....

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Deborah, who drove all the way up here from Venice to discuss working together. She's a newly licensed broker in FL, and I foresee us making a lot of money together....




And then John came over to celebrate the deal I just closed.......



Also, we decided that we are using the proceeds from the commission of this deal (he's my buyer's agent, if I haven't mentioned it before), to book flights to Costa Rica!! I can't freaking wait to go! My friend who moved down there last fall gave me the go ahead to come down anytime.... There's a small chance that once I get there, I won't come back, but I guess I'll ride that wave once I get to it (hehehehe).

P.S.
I bought a video camera for 50 bucks yesterday (I'm a bargain hunter, if you haven't noticed), so I'll soon be adding some video clips to my blog.

12/15/2007

Well, the deal closed yesterday without a hitch, which means that the number of deals I have done is officially in the double digits!! Woo hoo! I can still name them in order by street off the top of my head (because I am a dork): Northdale, Morning, Flora, Altman, Bowl, Sunrise (or Sunset, I forget), Jean, Kingston, Temple, Windsor, Trilby. I look forward to the day when I can't do that any longer.

We were unable to find a buyer for the other deal I was working on, so my friend is going to close on it himself and rehab it, which means I won't make any money, but it wasn't my lead to begin with, so I don't really care all that much. Win some, lose some.

Yesterday I had grandiose (did I spell that right?) plans of shooting off a bunch of offers, but the book I ordered from Amazon to take home and read over my Christmas vacation arrived, and I ended up reading the whole thing from cover to cover in one sitting. I started out saying I would just read the first couple of pages, and then, next thing I know it's 11pm, I'm finished with the book, and it's time for bed. Now I need a new book to read. Any suggestions? Something inspirational would be nice. Anyway, the book was very inspiring, even if you aren't into tennis, or dating Roger Federer like I am. I highly recommend it.

So, guess what I'm doing tonight? Anyone? I'm bartending! That's right, I'm dusting off the old bartending tins and going back in time. A friend of mine (who is the most phenomenal chef on the planet) is catering 3 parties tonight and needed an extra bartender. So, I'll be pouring martinis all evening (and most likely drinking them, too) at some mansion on Bayshore Blvd. $200 plus tips. Nice. Two of my other friends will be working there as well (we all used to be bartenders and/or servers in a past life), so it should be a good time. I'll try to take some pictures.

Speaking of pictures, here are some of the Busch Gardens outing......









¡Adios Amigos!

11/20/2007

So, I went to meet my new favorite cash buyer at Starbucks yesterday. From the few times we spoke on the phone before meeting, I could tell we were going to hit it off. What a nice guy. We sat and talked on the patio for a half hour or so. He's been in the business since the 80's, and is doing quite well for himself. I tried to ask as many questions as I could without being too annoying. Man, I can't tell you how nice it is to sit and talk to someone about real estate without them going off about how the market sucks, how real estate sucks, how the guy on CNN or Oprah, or whoever told them that real estate is now a bad investment. It gets old after awhile. This guy is going to town right now- snapping up bargains, pulling some cash out, and holding on for the long haul. I've only been in this business full time for a year, and even I can see what a great buying opportunity this market is presenting for those who can pull their heads out of the media's ass, grow some balls, and think for themselves.

Anywho, I got the contract signed, got a 2k deposit, and we are closing tomorrow! How do you like that? I've got roughly 15 minutes of work into this deal, if that. It pays to network. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in a prior post, but I found this buyer by driving around my farm area and calling all of the "for rent" signs, talking to the landlords, and asking if they were looking to buy more properties in the neighborhood. Here's a link to the post I made on Flippinghomes.com yesterday that explains the deal in a little more detail.

I guess the other deal I was working on is dead. Unless, maybe, the listing agent died, or has been kidnapped or something, and that's why he does not answer his phone or return voicemails. He's also not returning calls from the title company, which is pissing me off, because they have my 1k deposit and I can't get it back until they talk to him and find out if I submitted the required documentation within the 7 day inspection period (which I did).

Remember that deal that I lost out on to the other investor a few weeks ago? Well, apparently he did not close on it, because I looked it up on the mls last week, and the listing is expired. So, I sent the out of state owners one of my generic "I'm looking for a home in Hillsborough County" letters, and they called yesterday. We talked for a few minutes on the phone, and I told him I would get back with him today with an offer. This could be a good one. We'll see.

I told my friend John last night that if I don't get a deal wholesaled off of the mls by the end of the year, I am going to gouge my eyes out with a spoon. I guess I better get moving.

11/10/07

So, I was over at my friend John's house today making up some handwritten signs, and all of a sudden he says, "Steph! Steph! Hurry, come check this out!" I go over to the window and look out on the patio, and there's a decent sized hawk sitting smack dab in the middle of the patio with a decent sized blue jay in it's talons. It just sat there and looked at us with it's wings outstretched over the blue jay for the longest time. Finally it took off into a nearby tree and did whatever it is that hawks do to dead blue jays before they eat them. All I know is all of a sudden it started raining blue jay feathers. Poor little guy.

I got my signs out. Not 20, but 10. Not only did John come with me to put them out, he actually did the dirty work for me. A good friend, indeed.

Not getting much action on this property which is getting me a teense worried. The only call I got today was from a Carleton Sheets graduate that wanted to know, "Hmm, sounds like a nice place, do you mind me asking you why are you selling it?" Before she could get to the "If I could offer you all cash and close quickly, what's the least amount you could take" line, I just came right out and asked if she was a cash buyer. Not so much. Saved myself at least ten minutes answering questions about fruit trees and the like. Gotta give her credit, though, at least she's getting out there and doing something.

I'm still waiting for my ad to go live on Rehablist. Last time it took them 4 days to get it posted. I usually get a pretty good response from there, so it would be nice if my ad was actually active before my contract runs out.

Oh, before I forget, Steve Cook wrote an excellent article over on the flippinghomes.com blog. Steve has been one of the biggest inspirations to me in my investing endeavors. A rare breed in this business, for sure.