1st Deal Done Finally!!

Great start. Nice job searching and finding a REO on craigslist.

Good going on your first deal! What kind of bank did you work with? Was it a small local bank? Who at the bank did you talk to?

-Teresa

BJ, CONGRATS on your first deal! NEXT!!

Great start.

what kind of mortgage did you get? Was the loan through the same bank that was selling the property?

Keep us posted on your next deal!

You completed the deal you told me about earlier! Wow! You are on the road! Awesome!

way to go! awesome, that's great, i just did my 1st deal too $1,350 bird dog fee I will have to post that here too on my acct! nice job

SO INSPIRED! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

there is hope for me yet!!! very inspired, did you get a commercial loan or a regular mortgage?

Congratulations!

You can never win if you don't keep fighting! Good for you!

Karen

Hey Props for sticking out and making it happen. And congrads in advance on deal number 2.

Jim

was through the bank that owned the property. We just went in and asked for someone who deals with their REO's and he took us to look at the property. It wasn't in the greatest neighborhood but it was definitely something we could work with. We wanted to get a commercial loan but our business isn't established enough yet for that so it is a mortgage loan. It was with a small local bank those work best I think. Fear of failure was our biggest obstacle but after overcoming that we just built up the confidence to walk in the bank, ask to look at the property and the guy took us there. Then we spoke to one of the loan officers who took us through the entire process. We told her what our plans were and she took a chance on us. We've got a meeting with her next week to discuss our next deal.

Awesome job! Thanks for showing me that banks will work with us even in this day and age. I was wondering about that as I have Joe's DVd and that was from awhile back. Thanks for taking the wonder out of it. Good job.Louis

Congratulations, this is very inspiring for me, and I am sure for others too.
Don't stop, move on to the next one.I am very happy for you.
Halina

Congratulations.

How did your realtor contribute to this success?

My partner and I found this deal on Craigslist. The seller was the bank that repossessed it and they in turn financed the deal for us. I'm actually in the process of obtaining my real estate license so I'll have a leg up on the market trends and deals.

Awesome thanks for sharing, just reading that has encouraged me to plow forward and do my first deal, I know that I can make it happen, if I stay plugged in.

Congrats BJ!! you guys are making a difference right now!...
would you please explain in detail how you aproached the bank? or what plan did you show to the bank?.. I have found atractive deals! but I have bad credit, low income, however I atract so many people in search of homes and investors too... I just need some one to push me so i can jump and cross the bridge!
Thank you so much and congrats!

Roman

This is very encouraging for me. Still working on my first deal. Had several fall through, which is such a let down when it happens.

Thank you for the info. I will keep at it!

Basically I was doing some searching on Craigslist and I came across a bank-owned property. I called the number that was listed and we spoke with the bank's REO assistant about the home. He told my partner and I over phone that they were asking 49,000 for it and that it was currently rented by an older lady on Section 8 for 600 a month. So we set up an appointment with him to go and look at the house about a week later to give him time to contact the tenant and let us have a look see. We found out in the week leading up that the lady had moved out without notice and it was now vacant and asked us if we were still interested and we said of course. We went in and saw that she had left a bit of a mess but nothing that couldn't be cleaned and repaired on a low budget. So we made a list of repairs during our walkthrough and found someone in the area that could make all the repairs for $1075. We asked if we could have a day or two to go over some numbers and then make an appointment with someone to talk about making an offer. He said sure and my partner and I figured with comps in the area at 48,000-52,000(we compared it to 2 properties that were sold on the same block 3 months earlier and another in the neighborhood 3 weeks earlier) we could offer 39,000. So we called and made an appointment with one of their loan officers to come in and talk about making an offer of 39,000 all the while not knowing where we would actually get the financing. We went in about 2 days later and to our surprise, the REO assistant who showed us the house had already talked to the loan officer about our interest in buying and she was ready for us to come in. We basically told her we're both teachers at a junior high school, my partner has above average credit and I have below average credit and in been in bankruptcy for three years. That was a hard thing for me to because I thought they would turn us around right then and there but we told her we're very committed to this and it wasn't a one time thing this was a business venture of ours and wanting to make a living out of it. She told us something that shocked me-"If you guys can come up with 2,000 to put down I believe we can make this work at 39,000 and we can finance this for you and pay your closing costs." I kid you not those were her exact words. So we said not a problem-luckily we were both in college and we used some money from our financial aid refunds for the down payment so none of our own money! We signed the offer sheet for 39,000 along with the 2,000 down payment, then the loan officer presented our offer to the bank president on a Thursday and on Monday they accepted. We closed about a month later, got the repairs done within two weeks and we got a renter in there at 550 a month for one year. We did make our first payment ourselves but got the tenant in there shortly after and they have been paying every since. Minus the mortgage and insurance we cash flow about $160. This deal from start to finish took about two months but it was well worth it because it gave us the confidence to go out and do it again. We were very fortunate finding this bank so I say to you never give up. You may have to do some serious searching but banks are still lending just be up front with them and you may get stuck with a property that is on their undesirable list but prove to them you can do this. NEVER GIVE UP. We spoke to the loan officer about our next deal we want to do and she told us to present what we want to do and we'll see what we can do. So we've now got the bank on our side. Just stick with it like we did we had at least 4 deals fall through before we got this one but we didn't give up so hang in there and get it done!!

BJ, thank you for taking your time, in describing the process! you have made a difference in my world and I can see a small light that keeps getting bigger and bigger! I will use my people skills and will do some homework to do the same as you!
I wish you the best! and thank you so much!
Roman

Glad I can provide some insight and inspiration to others just like so many on this site have done for me. Good luck to you.

Great story of how you built a relationship with the local bank. Very happy for you and your partner. Enjoy your success of this deal and then be ready for the next! Again congrats and thanks for sharing!
Thom

Congrats on your 1st deal! I know it took a lot of guts to approach the bank and that is very admirable. You just never know unless you ask/try! Great job!!!!

Great story of getting over your fears and just stepping up to the plate. The Ballgame is won with basehits. keep moveing forward.