This is my 1st post so I hope I’m posting in the right area. I build single family affordable homes in the Houston area. My market is first time home buyers with low to moderate income. The homes are listed with a realtor, placed bandit signs and we have also distributed flyers to local churches, community centers and businesses in the area. There have been some calls, but for the most part it is slow. The people that are interested have no down payment and bad credit (just my luck). Should I try marketing to investors? I’ve been reading the boards about rent to own but am not sure if that is the best option for me, because I need to pay off my loan with the bank and some cash in hand would be nice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Have you tried advertising the homes on Craigslist? I have had really good luck finding buyers on CL. Can’t beat the price, either. Make sure to upload pictures in the ad- it makes a difference.
Doing a lease option might not be a bad idea right now. You might not get the cash you were looking for right away vs selling outright, but you can still collect an option fee upfront.
You can also try backpage.com It’s very similar to Craigslist.
You and many other sellers are experiencing the results of the sub-prime lenders drying up. As mentioned by the previous post, looking at lease-option (rent to own) may be a great temporary solution. You can collect a least some money up front and hopefully your carrying costs are not too bad so you can offer fair market rent (although you can be a little higher if you credit some of the rent towards purchase price).
I will try backpage as well. I’ve been reading the boards to find out how the lease option could work for me being in Houston. I understand that it can be done with some creative paper work (still trying to figure that part out). Any thoughts on trying to find investors?