Flip This Wholesaler

2/4/2009

Well, I took my Dad to the airport this morning, and now I am ready to get back to work. I haven't made a single offer in NINE DAYS, and I am starting to go through withdrawal. I'm not kidding.

I don't think I mentioned it in my last post, but I closed my first deal of '09 last week. I have another one closing today that I am working with my wholesaler friend, Lee, and then there is the duplex that should have closed last week... they are waiting on a payoff on some sort of lien, or something like that, so who knows when that one will close. Oh, and then there is the deal I'm going to lose money on, which I don't really want to talk about right now. Except to say that it would be really nice if the title company (Watson, who SUCKS) was not ready to close on the 10th, so I could cancel my contract and get my deposit back. That would be awesome, but I'm sure this will be the one time in a million that they are actually ready to close on schedule. Bastards.

Since I don't have any other deals of my own to sell right now, I called my buddy Lee (the one I am closing the deal with today), to see what he has available. I don't think there is a wholesaler in Tampa who does more volume than him, so I always go to him when I don't have any of my own deals to sell. I'll be marketing the living hell out of a few of his deals over the next couple of days, which will get my phone ringing again, and get me back into the swing of things, and hopefully make me some easy cashola.

Over and Out!

P.S.
If you went to Denny's yesterday for their free breakfast and didn't tip your server, you are an asshole.

1/3/2009

I got a counter offer today.

On a Saturday.

This is shocking.

I've never gotten a counter offer on a weekend before. Ever. I didn't even know that REO agents and banks worked on the weekends. It's hard enough getting an answer out of them on a weekday, let alone on a weekend. Again, I'm SHOCKED.

It's especially shocking because I've been offering on this stupid house for the last six months. The listing just expired with the (worthless) agent who's had it the whole time it's been on the market, and it was just relisted a few days ago with another guy. I've come to the conclusion over the last year of making offers, that the agent who had this house originally, does not like to make money. Either that or she is just stupid and lazy. Or, maybe all three. I've probably made over 100 offers on her listings since last summer, and I have NEVER, EVER, received a single response. I'm not kidding. And, these are not all low-ball offers, either.... For example, this house that I got a counter offer on today...I made an offer on it 2 weeks ago when she still had the listing.. I offered 8k below list, with a closing in 1 week (or maybe 10 days, I can't remember), all cash, no contingencies. And I got no response. Nothing. Crickets. So, I finally called her up a few days later and asked her if she got a counter from the bank, and also told her (in so many words), that I was willing to come up a little if they were willing to come down a little. So, she tells me she will call me right back, and then I never hear from her again. This was on a Friday afternoon that I called her, and so I waited until Monday afternoon, and when I still hadn't heard from her, I called again (twice), and left 2 messages, and then I sent 2 emails. No response. More crickets. This is unacceptable to me. Seriously. WE ARE 8K APART AND THIS HOUSE HAS BEEN LISTED FOR 6 MONTHS! WORK WITH ME HERE, YOU LAZY PIECE OF WORTHLESS REO AGENT.. Geeze...

Anyway, so the property came back on the market a few days ago, I made an offer on it yesterday, and I got a response back today. That's more like it.

I'm pretty sure California Guy will take it, but he's kind of been pissing me off lately and not giving me any feedback on the houses I send him. Maybe he wants to go find the deals on his own?? Have at it, Buddy. Look out for me and my cohorts, though, cause we'll probably beat you to the punch every single time. Hehe. Just kidding.. Not really.

10-4. Over and out.

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. :)

9/26/2008

Just as I suspected, I got a call from Mrs. Hancock yesterday afternoon telling me that she only has half of the money she needs to give the hard money lender to bring her other loan current. This is after she swore to me that she had the money and would bring it in first thing yesterday. She goes on to say that she will for sure, for real this time, have it today (yeah, right). I just got off the phone with her, and now she is telling me she won't have it until Monday. Too bad we have to close Tuesday, Mrs. Hancock. This lady is a real piece of work, let me tell you. When I initially signed the contract with this lying idiot, she told me she had 20k cash saved up for a down payment. That quickly turned into "well, I don't actually have the 20k- my uncle does" and that turned into "my uncle is out of town and I don't know if I can get the money," and then "my uncle lost the money in a bad business deal, but I'm sure my sister will loan me the money." And, as it turns out, this lady doesn't even have a dime to her name and is already behind on a loan with this lender, who, now that I think about it, probably has no intention of writing her another loan and is just trying to get her to pay what she owes on the other one (which, by the way is $3200- up from the $700 she told me yesterday). I can't imagine anyone being dumb enough to loan this lady any more money when it's obvious that she's broke.

Oh, and then the absolute best part of our conversation today (and I saw this coming a mile away), was when she asked me if I would put up the rest of the money to bring her loan current! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Honestly, I had to put the phone down for about 10 seconds and find my happy place, because I was so close to blurting out "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME LADY?" and hanging up on her. Seriously, can you even imagine the nerve? Who does she think I am- the United States government? (zing!).

Well, I'm off to go look at some houses.

Have a fantastic weekend!!

P.S.
20 days until Steve's boot camp- be there or be square!

9/5/2008

Well, I closed the deal today that I was talking about in my last post. Apparently, offering a $250 bonus to the bank's closing agent for meeting the deadline, is quite effective. The best $250 I've ever spent. It might just be beginner's luck, though, but I've got another deal that's supposed to close on the 26th of this month, and this title company is notoriously S-L-O-W (same title company, and same lender as the infamous pink house deal), so we'll see if I can go 2 for 2. I'll keep you posted.

I think I got the deal that I was talking about yesterday (the one where there are 3 other offers on the table), but I'm not positive yet. The listing agent sent me an email at 4:45 asking for my proof of funds (which I already sent with my original offer), and that is usually a good sign. I left him a VM at 6 asking if I got the deal (I really wanted to have confirmation today so I can start marketing it this weekend), but I still haven't heard back. I imagine more offers came in today because this is a good deal at list price, so I will be pretty surprised if I actually get it.

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it yet, but I am flying back to Illinois next Thursday for my brother's wedding. I'll be staying for 5 days. If I get the deal I was just talking about under contract, I'd really, really like to have it sold by the time I leave, because the last thing I want to be doing while I'm in Illinois is stressing out about finding a buyer. I know it's a good deal though, so I should be OK....

Itte rasshai....

9/3/2008

How in the heck are we back in the "er" months again? Geeze, this year has really flown by, has it not?

Well, let's see...the property I was talking about yesterday where I got the good counter from the bank...I ending up having to resubmit the offer because of something about it still being under auction terms, and now it's not. Or something. I don't question any of the bank's nonsensical procedures anymore, I just follow along like a good little sheeple, do what they tell me, and keep low-balling the living crap out of them. Hehe.

The buyer for the house I just got under contract called me late this afternoon (on the verge of hysteria) to let me know that while she was at the property with her contractor, she noticed that the back door had been kicked in . She is afraid someone is going to vandalize the house before closing, since the lock is now broken, and anyone can just meander on in there and steal appliances, and copper, and what have you . So...I'll go check it out tomorrow morning and see if I can McGuyver the door shut, although, I'm pretty sure that's the listing agent's responsibility?

In other news, I bought this movie over the weekend, and have not been able to get this song/scene out of my head. It's my new favorite. I think the Monkees sang it originally, and this version (well, the one that kicks in after they start kissing) is by Wreckless Eric... Me likey...

Over and out. :)

8/28/2008

I had intentions of going to look at 5 houses today that I wanted to offer on, but I got a call from my friend Jeff just as I was heading out the door, asking if I wanted to go to Frenchy's for lunch...

I just can't say no to Frenchy's- it's my very favorite beach restaurant. They have this amazing She Crab Soup that I could eat by the bucket(s) full, and the views are amazing, and they have lots of beer. That's a combination I just couldn't refuse. Also, it was gorgeous out today, and I've had a very productive week, soooo....off to Clearwater beach I went....

Meet Jeff


Beer #3


2 of the 15 pigeons that got to have a taste of my delicious Cajun
grouper sandwich (yes, I'm that person who feeds the birds and pisses everyone off :)


The view


I did manage to get some work done while I was there, and should be locking up that house I was talking about in my last post. The buyer I originally thought was going to take it (the guy I hunted down last week), was not interested, but another wholesaler who I do a lot of business with, put me in contact with one of her buyers, and she's "supposedly" going to bring me a deposit tomorrow. I have never had much luck with female buyers (except Crazy Caroline, but I'm pretty sure she is possessed by Satan, so she doesn't count), so I am not holding my breath. I don't know what the deal is, but every single female buyer I have ever come into contact with has been a complete waste of my time. Perhaps this one will be different, but, like I said, I'm not holding my breath. We shall see.....

8/21/2008

So, I've decided to try a new tactic to get the bank's title companies to get my deals closed on time: BRIBERY.

I'm going to try it out on both of the deals I have going right now and see what happens. Once the file gets assigned to a processor, when I call to introduce myself, I'm going to tell them I pay $200 if the deal gets closed on time. I think that should be incentive enough to get my deals pushed to the front of the line- don't you think?

I'll let you know how it goes over.....

Roger Dodger, 10-4, Over and Out.

P.S.
Let's keep this strategy on the DL. Wink wink.

8/13/2008

Well, the pink house deal is FINALLY closed! Geeze Louise, I never thought that thing would make it to the closing table....

I've got a few offers out right now, and plan to make a bunch more tomorrow. I'm going to just keep stacking up the deals for next month. Normally, since I've already got 2 lined up, I would put myself on cruise control right about now, but like I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to break that habit once and for all, and take things to the next level....

I noticed with the last batch of offers I made, that jacking the earnest money deposit up to 5k (as opposed to 1k), really seems to get the bank's attention. Couple that with a contingency free offer, and 7 day close (even though there's no chance in hell that they can get it done in a week), and you stand a pretty good chance of getting yourself a deal. I wouldn't recommend doing that, though, unless you have an end buyer in mind, or know that it's such a fantastic deal that there's no way you won't be able to sell it. Otherwise, you could seriously screw yourself, and nobody wants to do that.

Over and Out...

8/11/2008

I had a great weekend in St. Louis... Got to hang out with my nephew Trevor, who is the sweetest, most adorable little kid on the planet....









It was the perfect, lazy, weekend. We ate a lot, watched the Olympics (I love, love, love the Olympics), and played Ms. Pac Man for hours on end. I got my ass kicked.

I managed to get both of the houses I have under contract sold while I was away, even though I said I wasn't going to do any work while I was there. I also got another promising counter offer, and am waiting to hear back from the listing agent to see if they are going to take my counter. I doubt they will come down that far, but you never know.

The pink house deal will be officially closed tomorrow. It was ready to go today, but my buyer couldn't get to the bank in time to get cash, so he's going in tomorrow at 9:30 to sign. There were a few last minute "issues" that we had to deal with, but I don't feel like getting into details, as I just want this stupid pain in the ass deal to be over and done with....

My intent is for September to be my best month yet, and I've already got 2 deals lined up, so if I work my butt off for the next few weeks, I'm pretty sure I can accomplish that goal. To be honest, I have been doing some serious slacking off in between deals, and really only work hard when my funds are running low. That's a horrible habit to get into, but I will tell you, when you have pretty much lived month to month your entire adult life, it is harder than you might think to break yourself of that mentality. Old habits die hard, I guess. I'll get there, though. If I made it this far, I can do anything...

8/4/2008

Since it looks like the pink house deal is just not going to close-EVER, and because my buyer is coming back from the Bahamas Thursday thinking that we are going to close on Friday, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and made 5 offers on other properties in the same neighborhood. I offered 5k earnest money on all of them, and to close by the end of the week. If I get any of these at the prices I offered, they will all be better deals then the pink house (It was a good deal a month and a half ago, but now, not so much), and I know my buyer will be pleased. In case you're wondering what will happen if they all get accepted, I can pretty much guarantee that isn't going to happen as these offers are LOW, LOW, LOW. If it does happen, well, I'm sure I'll figure something out. No risk, no reward.

The other deal I just got under contract has had a lot of interest, but no contract yet. I've got no worries whatsoever about selling this thing, and I have until Sept. 9th to find a buyer, which is an ETERNITY. I'm holding out for a big payday on this one since I have the extra time.

I spent all day yesterday looking at houses and looking for new buyers. I found 2 more cash buyers (landlords), by calling "for rent" signs. I'm telling you- this is a FANTASTIC way to find new buyers. Every time you go to look at a house, if you just take a few extra minutes to drive around the neighborhood and call some signs, you will have a whole bunch of new buyers before you know it. Trust me- it works.

I'm off to bed.

Over and out.

7/30/2008

The pink house deal FINALLY got assigned to a closer at the title company, so there should be no reason for it not to close this Friday (famous last words). We also told the listing agent as well as the title company that if it doesn't close by Friday, we are pulling the plug and walking away. So, we'll see what happens. We decided that we are going to have a party when/if this stupid thing finally closes.

I'm still 2k away from the bank on the other deal that I have been working on. They're at 44k, and I want it at 42k. I'm pretty sure I can wholesale it for 49k, but the buyer I had in mind for it can't commit 100%, so I'm just going to ignore the bank for a little bit and see if they will come down to 42k. I think they will. They've already come down 12k, why not 2 more?

I almost had another deal sold to McHotterson, but the wholesalers who have it under contract are holding out for more (which, I don't think they're gonna get). Oh well. I would have taken his offer all day long (and twice on Sunday) if it were me. I'm all about the quick nickel...

Happy Wednesday!

7/27/2008

The deal with McHotterson closed Friday. He brought his girlfriend along to the closing. She seriously looks like a walking, talking barbie doll, and I secretly wanted to punch her in the face a little bit. But that's just between you and me. Hehe.

The deal that was supposed to close 5 years ago, is finally (for serious this time), for REAL, going to be ready to close next week. I got the good news right before I got the call from my buyer letting me know that he may not be able to buy it now because he is having a really hard time getting financing on the house he bought from me a month or so ago. He bought it with cash, and is trying to get his cash back out of it, but is having a really hard time doing so..... Hilarious, isn't it?? Now that the idiots at the bank finally have their shit together (a month and a half later), my buyer can't get the cash to buy it. HAHAHAHA. Hilarious!! So......after talking to Steve Cook about it, he advised me (for probably the 100th time), to get my ass out on the streets (I'm paraphrasing here, btw) and find a local lender who I can bring my buyers to. Honestly, he has been telling me to do this for the last six months or so, and I still haven't done it. If any of you guys from Flippinghomes.com are reading this, you know that Nate has been bringing all of his buyers to a few of the local lenders he has built relationships with, and he is doing very, very, well. So, that's my mission for this coming week- find a few small, local banks who I can bring my buyers to. I can't say I'm really looking forward to it, because I know there will be a lot of rejection involved in the process, but I know that it will be well worth my time once I get it done. I guess you could say that I'm in a comfort zone right now, and I need to get out of it and make some adjustments.

Oh yeah- the deal I closed on Friday with McHotterson was listed by one of the agents who I have now closed 4 deals with. I put in an offer on another of his properties on Thursday, and he called me Saturday to tell me that he's pretty sure he can get it pushed through. He also told me that he really likes doing business with me. Hehehehe.. Anyway, I will find out tomorrow if the bank is going to take my offer, and if so, I already have a buyer lined up for it. Good stuff.

And that's all I've got, folks.

Well, except this picture of Jim wearing his new hat....



Handsome little devil, isn't he?

7/18/2008

Well, the deal I have with McHotterson that is supposed to close on the 24th, is most likely not going to close on the 24th. Even though I get to pick my own title company, the bank still has their (incompetent) title company run a lien search. I really don't even understand it at all, to be quite honest with you. My title company already did the title work and is ready to close, but I guess I am still at the mercy of Watson fucking Title. I really hate them, and the lady I spoke to today deserves to be punched in the face for how RUDE she was to me. I'm not kidding, this lady was such an asshole, I almost hung up on her. The lady handling the file at my title company also spoke to her and told me she bit her head off when she tried to get a closing date out of her. They haven't even ordered the lien search yet, which takes them 5-10 days, so who knows if we will even get this closed this month. McHotterson ain't gonna be too happy, especially since he is leaving the country for a month the first week of August, and I already told him we could most likely close it early. Dang.

Yesterday I had a little get together with a bunch of local wholesalers. I won lunch for 15 people at the Thai restaurant behind where I live, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to do some networking. Actually, it wasn't really a "free" lunch, as we had to sit through a presentation by a financial planner, and then offer up our phone numbers and email addresses. A few hours after the lunch I got a call from the guy who did the presentation, and got trapped on the phone with him for 15 minutes, and somehow suckered into a meeting with him next week. I should have just told him I wasn't interested, but I'm really bad at rejecting people face to face (or on the phone). Also, I felt sorry for this guy, as he seemed really uncomfortable giving the presentation, and I kind of felt like I owed him something since he paid for lunch. Yes, I know, I am a big fat SUCKER.

A friend of mine called me a little bit ago and told me to go out on my balcony and check out the moon. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but it was pretty cool in person- all yellow and glow-y......



Happy Friday!

7/15/2008

The deal that was supposed to close last Monday, then Wednesday, then yesterday, funded today, so it's officially closed, finally. One of the wholesalers that I met about a month ago and who I have become fast friends with, is the one who brought me the buyer on this deal, and the deal that closed Friday was one that he had under contract and I brought him the buyer.... Soooooo...... we decided to head out to the beach to celebrate closing our first 2 deals together. We had a good time....



Meet Dave.


Rain in the distance...


Peace.

Everything is on track for the two deals that are supposed to close next week. Spoke to my new buyer today (I will refer to him as McHotterson from here on out), and he is ready to close early if possible, and, since my title company is handling the closing, we should definitely be able to get it done early. He also asked me to find him another deal before the beginning of next month, which, as you can imagine, was music to my ears. Sweet, delicious music......

7/13/2008

Sorry for being a bad blogger. I've been doing some rethinking of my plans/goals over the last few days, and also getting some things taken care of that I've been procrastinating doing for too long. You know how that goes.

Anyway, I've got all kinds of stuff to talk about......

Let's see..... the deal that was supposed to close Monday, and then Wednesday, is not closing until tomorrow (supposedly), because the idiot mortgage joker, I mean broker, is a moron. First he "misplaced" the inspection report that was done two weeks ago and didn't "find" it again until Monday (my guess is it was sitting underneath an empty bag of Fritos in the backseat of his SUV), then he tells all of us Tuesday evening that everything is good to go and we are closing Weds. at 2pm. I ended up getting a call from the girl at the title co at around noon Wednesday telling me that the hard money lender is not ready to fund the deal yet. It's a long, more involved story that I don't feel like rehashing right now, but I will say that I once again learned another valuable lesson on this deal, so, the way I look at it, it was worth the hassle because now I am that much wiser. How's that for a positive attitude?.

The other deal that was supposed to close Friday...closed Friday......so, that's good news.

Oh, I FINALLY got a closing date for the deal that was supposed to close last month (the pink house) where they sold the property off to another lender (or something like that- I still am not exactly sure of what transpired) at the last minute. That one is closing the 25th of this month (again, supposedly), and I am making an extra grand on it because my wholesaler friend who has it under contract told the bank that he wanted it cheaper because values are dropping by the month- so, they gave him the discount. He is 2 for 2 with this little trick, so keep that in mind in case it happens to you.

The deal I just got under contract that I am selling to my new buyer that I found last month is scheduled to close on the 24th. This is the first Fannie Mae property I've wholesaled, and I guess I missed the memo about them letting the buyer pick the title company (and also "letting" the buyer pay all closing costs- oops). I can't tell you how nice it will be to actually be in control of the closing for once and not have to depend on some random title company in Ft. Lauderdale that I can never get a hold of, and that could care less whether my deal closes on time or 1 month from on time.

I have a few other stories to tell- like how the new buyer I found last month who I met at Starbucks Friday for the first time is seriously, by far, the most handsome man that I have ever seen in my entire life (I hope Roger is not reading this), and also how I won lunch for 15 people at the Thai restaurant behind Skypoint....but, this post is getting long, and it's getting late, so I will save it for another day.

I'll leave you with some pics I took today when Jim and I went to Davis Island. There was a dolphin frolicking in the water not far from shore, which made my day. I think Jim had a good time, too...


Jim. 1 second before taking off after a squirrel.


Yes, that's a cruise ship in the background- if you click on
it you can see better.


God, I love that dog.

7/8/2008

Well, I've got good news and I've got bad news.......First the bad news- as I'm sure you heard, my man R-Fed lost Wimbledon Sunday, which I was very, very disappointed about. One of the best tennis matches I've ever seen, though. That Nadal is a crafty little bastard....

And now the good news- remember that buyer I found last month by dropping my card off at his rehab? Well, we've been talking quite a bit since then, and I've been making lots of offers on properties in the neighborhoods that he said he was interested in... Anyway, last Thursday I sent him by one of the REOs that just came on the market that is listed by the agent who gave me that pocket listing a while back. Long story short, the agent just called and told me they are taking my offer (he said they had multiple offers, but he is pushing mine through, hehehe), and my new buyer is going to take it from me! SWEET. I'm meeting him tomorrow (in person for the first time) to sign the contract and get his deposit.

The deal that was supposed to close yesterday is closing tomorrow instead- something about the hard money lender being a pain in the ass. Also, the deal that was supposed to close on the 25th of this month (the one where I climbed in the window and cut my arm), got moved up to this Friday instead (shocking, I know), which is a good thing because the other deal that I am selling to this same buyer that was supposed to close last month, is still not ready to close, and my buyer was going to start looking for something else this week because he wants a house NOW but now that this other deal is going to close early, it won't be a big deal if the other one is delayed another week or so. Wow- how's that for a run-on sentence? Sorry about that.

That's it for today.

Over and out....

6/27/2008

Well, as it turns out, my window climbing adventures were not done in vain, because my buyer is going to go ahead and take that property from me. I'm meeting him later this afternoon to get everything signed and get his deposit. Sweet. This is the same buyer who is buying the other one that was supposed to close a few weeks ago where we are STILL waiting on the new lender to let us close. Hopefully we can get it done by the end of next week, but I'm not holding my breath. Apparently they are in no hurry to get this piece of crap house, in all of it's pink glory, off of their books.

Pretty, ain't she? You should see the inside. It's like a maze. And one of the rooms has brown shag carpet on the walls. Niiiiiiice. That's how we roll here in Tampa..

Anyway, as it stands, I've got 3 deals scheduled to close next month. Of course, I'm at the mercy of the banks and their incompetent title companies, so I'm not counting my chickens until they are fully hatched and sitting in my bank account. See- I'm learning..... Look Mom, no hands!

OK, gotta run- my on-again boyfriend is flying me out to Wimbledon to watch him kick some ass!! He plays much better when I'm there, ya know?