For those of you who havent seen my other 3 posts I am obviously very new to this. I have been reading for quite some time now but still feel a great lack of understanding of the nuts and bolts. It seems that all of the books I read are all hooplah “I made $30,000 in 24 hours and so can you!” followed by the words of wisdom that break down to ’ lock up a house with a contract and then flip it to an investor’ or ‘go to the foreclosure sale and buy a house really cheap (without explaining where I come up with the funds to make that happen)’.
So you understand my position, I am in graduate school in the DFW area. The idea of rental properties is very appealing to me in the long term. I am also interested in wholesaling (the appeal there being obvious), but am completely intimidated by the process (what little I know of it).
What I am looking for with this post is perhaps a reference to a group/club, book, or website that may help me with this. Any advice that you are willing to type out would be a great help though I understand I have covered a lot of ground with my inquiry. Anyone who would like to help a poor starving graduate student will certainly be blessed with a whopper of a deal in the near future :angel .
Thanks in advance:
BN
By the way, I have read the articles on this site on Wholesaling and find those of Cook to particularly helpful, though they too leave me with questions. How do I find these vacant properties he mentions? Are these FSBO or simply vacant and you find out who owns it and pop the question? If I make a low ball offer and it is accepted I guess the best thing for me in my current penniless state would be to put down the earnest money and find an investor? Ah, the more I read and write the more questions I have.
Attend the clubs and network. If you truly find a good deal, you won’t have trouble moving it. The key is “truly find a good deal”.
You might also contact Cathy at houseflipper.com. I don’t know her, but we’ve corresponded in the past, she’s involved with DFWREIN and apparently does flipping for a living.
Hi - I’m a beginner too … and have been struggling with some of the same questions as you. I just started reading Steve Cook’s Wholesaling course and think it’s pretty good. It’s for sale on this website. You may also want to check out some of the Ron LeGrand stuff … which can usually be purchased fairly reasonably on e-bay. I really liked his book ‘Fast Cash with Quick Turn Real Estate’. Despite what you may hear from many of the gurus in this business … this is a tough business that you need to work hard at to succeed.
Juliet
BN,
Steve’s biz used to, and I assume still does, evolve around MLS listings. Yes, leave yourself enough time to get things worked out should you land a contract. Another investor friend of mine in the Austin area has been having success contracting, but found the timeline he’s been giving himself is a bit tight.
Keep your earnest as low as reasonable, remembering that real estate agents expect higher dollars to show seriousness. If you’re dealing one-on-one with the seller, you can do $10 and if they balk, it’s a negotiable thing.
Attend all the investor meetings. Let the players know who you are and get their phone number. They’d love for you to flip them a really great deal. Call all the “we buy” ad’s in the paper and let them know who you are.
Talk to them and find out what their buying parameters are. Then go out and find them a deal. If it’s a good deal they should take it off your hands very fast.
I’d like to comment on a couple of things. First the quotes “I made $30,000 in 24 hours”, or “tying up a property and just wholesaling it to another investor” are quotes that I too would be skeptical of. However I will point out that sometimes it is that easy, but certainly not all the time which is why so many people don’t make it in this business. They want it to be easy, or they would rather not be in it. At times it’s easy, others it’s not.
As far as where I find my properties. I get almost all of them from HUD or off the MLS from Banks. I pursue vacant bank owned properties because they are a no brainer. I don’t have to worry about what the banks owe because they owe nothing. I don’t have to worry about them being emotional about the homes because they are not. I just make an offer of what I’m willing to pay and they take it or leave it. Most of the time they leave it, but that is why I have to make a lot of offers.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
This question is in response to Steve Cook’s post, but I’m solicting anyone’s input here! In regards to working the HUD and Bank owned properties… how exactly do you find these properties and/or establish relationships with HUD and banks?
HUD homes are easy to find they are on the web. Go to www.HUD.gov and go into the section for “houses for sale” and pick your state.
As far as REO’s go. You can usually work with smaller banks and buy there REO’s directly, but they rarely have them. The banks that have a lot of REO’s are the larger banks, and their corporate charters usually require them to list their homes with realtors. So to buy REO’s you would want to find a realtor to work with. Most REO’s in your area will be handled by a handful of realtors. Banks deal with agents experienced in these areas, they don’t just call anyone.
My name is Tony out of Atlanta and I’m interested in why you have slected HUD homes as investments. I ask because I want to begin investing in HUD but I hear that many of the homes only have about 20K average equity in them after repairs.
I’m in the business of “rehabbing” or wholesaling if I change my mind on a property. I need 40-70K after repairs to make it a good deal for me and my partners.
I have a really close relationship with a real estate agent that is a GA HUD expert. All she does is find good HUD deals for investors.
She has asked me why don’t I invest. I admit that I have been sitting on the fence but it would be good to hear from “another investor” who actually plays in this market frist hand.
I don’t buy exclusively HUD homes. I buy whatever I can that will help me to make the margins I want to make.
In the competitive environment that I’m in, HUD homes are one of the toughest ways to find these deals. Everyone knows about them, and they are being bid up.
Don’t put HUD in a box by assuming that they all only have $20k in equity after repairs. Here and there, deals are being had. You won’t get them across the board, but you have to pursue many to get the best deals.
I am new to this forum. I have done extensive research and have found a person who is doing a large volume of fix and flips (450 in three years) He has a very sound business plan and I have begun working with him. I have been to Utah and Kanasa City with him and am starting to see the big picture of how this becomes reality.
My primary question to begin with is how do I convey information and network with out breaking the forum rules? What sections of this site are most beneficial if I want to sell cash flow Section 8 properties with a 75% LTV.
How would I find investors that want to buy cash flow properties?