I am not sure if this is in the correct place but have any of you bought and sold properties out of your immediate area? For example I live in SE VA but want to branch out and market to all of Va. Lets say I get a motivated seller with a property 5hours away, I want to get it under contract and assign that contract to an investor. Is this viable?
I think it’s viable. You will run into two challenges.
- Can you get buyers
- Do your resources for comping values extend to anywhere in VA
When I first started doing this in 2003 that is all I did. It was very seldom that I found these deals in my area.
Why can’t it work?
It certainly can be done :bobble… You just need to be able to research the property, if you can have someone in the area take a look at it for you and contract it.
I would fax back and forth documentation, however, I always told the seller that I needed the original sent to me via united states postal services.
Many times I even got it overnighted to me with key in envelope.
I could careless if your in New Jersey and they are in California. It doesn’t matter. All that matter is that they sign on the “dotted” line.
At the time I had three young children so I would arrange the deal via phone and internet, sitting in front of my computer with my jammy’s n slipper’s on.
What are you waiting for??? Git 'errrr done!!!
What about all the values & repair estimates, Millions? How would you get a buyer outside your local list?
I don’t get many leads outside my area because I only market for leads in my area. But, I have had a few. I even tried to work one. I guess I just don’t understand how you estimate repairs and get good values? I have access to MLS, but it only covers about 10 counties surrounding me. How do you get a good comp value in areas where you don’t have access to such tools?
I would be interested in doing this, it was just such a huge step for me to even do anything in my area (getting over all the first time jitters, etc)…just seems going outside your comfort zone this much would be overwhelming.
When I first started out in the business I would always get a pretty good estimate from the seller. For starters most of the property that I acquired was in excellent condition. I’ve always had a savvy about finding newer homes with little or no work needed. In the small cases where there was some fix up work it was mainly minor work, however, in some situations this was not always the case. In the even that the roof needed to be fixed or any other costly repair was needed the seller was pretty much upfront.
From the “get go” you need to ask your sellers are there any major repairs needed and if so what. Once they have disclosed this information you then ask them have they gotten any estimates. If they say yes, ask them if they have it in written and if so, have them fax it to you.
65% or more sellers will not have a written estimate. If they do not you can request them get one. At this point you do not want to slow down the process of them signing the contract, however, in the contract you may want to have a “weasel out clause” stating that it is contingent upon the final estimate of repairs, which must be satisfactory to (you) the buyer.
Another road you can take is to have them tell you exactly what needs to be done and get an unofficial (verbal) estimate from contractors whom service that area. You can do an online search to find inexpensive contractors in that area.
Now the aforementioned are some steps that you can take, however, I must admit when I first started I would just ask the owner’s how much they thought it would cost to be fixed and the numbers they gave were pretty much right on. Some investors do not like to wing it like that, but I must say that 9 times out of 10 they were right in the ball park.
As far as comps, you can use Zillow.com, now I must warn you that they are not always accurate 100% of the time, but they come pretty darn close. In addition, you can verify by checking craigslist to see what similar homes are selling for in the area.
I also recommend you contact local realtors in that market and have them pull some comps for you. Work on your negotiation skills and let them know how a business relationship will be mutually beneficial for the both of you. Now not all realtors are going to go for it. You need an investor friendly realtor who you can build great rapport and trust with. Find ways to help them out and they will return the favor a hundredfold!
It may feel overwhelming to you, but the truth is that it’s all in your head. You have to sit in front of the phone ready to take calls and in front of the computer ready to market yourself. The more you do it the better you get at it, but you must start by taking action.
On my 3rd or 4th deal I started to concentrate on mainly out of state deals because I noticed more of a demand for my services in other areas. It was actually much easier for me with the kids. I stayed in the house looking like a hobo all day long marketing my tush off to get deals. Eventually people knew who I was and started calling me instead of me calling them.
I’ve had people pay me to take their homes (headaches) from them. Homes that they owned free and clear. I would market the property on ebay and have $5,500+ in my paypal account within a short few days. People would buy these properties site unseen and they were aware that I was selling them site unseen. You just have to get creative with it. The less you worry the more you do.
The truth is, there is always going to be a risk and a chance your doing something wrong no matter how much training you have. Hey, even the gurus screw up from time to time. If you don’t venture out, take risk and just start you are blowing all opportunity to produce the greater things you so much deserve. Get rid of the fear and “JUST DO IT!”
:bobble
:beer
I’ve come across a situation like this before. The seller is out of town but he wants to sell the home to me anyway. Got it under contract via fax, had buyer come and sign the P and S. The attorney does the rest. Its rather easy of everyone is cooperating.