I just flipped the Ugliest house on the Planet

I just flipped the Ugliest house on the Planet

I got ahold of a list of absentee owners and sent out my first batch of 200 hand written yellow letters. I was really surprised to get 30-40 calls, many were useless, but one elderly lady had an old junker in a bad part of town, I offerd her 15K and we settled on 18K I started placing multiple ads on Craigs list for 25K The first investor that went over to see it called back and described it as follows, broken windows, sheetrock ceilings coming down, subfloor rotted thru in several places, garbage and filth and a horrible stench that wud choke an old wilderbeast. He said there were 6 dogs and several cats with crap inside and out, dead yards with junk strewn about, he even described how the trees were scraggly and barely hanging on. He told me he had been rehabbing for 35 years and this was the worst he had ever seen. The renter had painted the exterior of the house blue with cartoon characters and graffiti. He told me if I cud get $16K for that house to take it and run and hide. When I laughed he says, I'm not kidding. The second investor said those renters wud be better off homeless than living in those conditions. He took his Contractor over there and this builder told him to demo the place. Several other people had similar stories. I called the seller and told her the condition and I thought I cud maybe get her $10,000 for the house, she was a sweet old lady and was asking cant you get more than that. I told her we will be extremely lucky to sell it for that. So I started advertising it for 15K, then I went down to 12K I was getting offers of 5 and 8K. Finally a farmer calls and asks why is it so cheap? I asked him, "Have you seen the inside?" He said I seen the outside, how bad can it be? I told him a few investors that seen it had run for the hills and hadnt been seen since. He had a good sense of humor and said he wud rent it to his farm workers. After he seen the inside I was surprised when he actually called back, he said it was a humbling experience, he asked me if I had seen it, I said no. He offers me 11K and I pay half closing. I said the price is 12K I cant go any lower and buyr pays all closing costs. He says OK I'll take it. He met me at the Title company the very next morning and we started a 10 day escrow. I just assigned my contract to him. I was seriously expecting complications, I knew ther must be some kind of code violations or something to mess up the deal. Again I was surprised when the Title company called and said to come pick up my check for $2,000 I still havnt seen the house. And with my Lease option that went thru last week I got $6,500 in my pocket. I went for over 3 1/2 months trying to put some deals together just to have them fall thru, I was getting a bit depressed. I just purchased $200 in stamps and I got my sister helping me pump out more letters. This is exciting and fun. Let's make some MONEY Rando1

__________________

Rando


Way to go Randy!

That's the way to do it!
~Tammy


RANDO THANKS SO MUCH

this gives me hope. the house i did in florida in '99 wasn't as bad as this. but it had a hole in the roof i literally went up the ladder on the outside and crawled back down the ladder on the inside of the house. i added a laundry room and bath.

thanks man,
WALT


What an awesome success

What an awesome success story, so happy for you, you saw something that no one else saw, thats what its all about, im glad you made a nice profits off of it.

Keep up the work and keep posting thise success stories ; )


Sounds familiar

The one indiana joe mentioned to me in one of his post is pretty close to that one too, maybe I should low ball an offer and see what the seller comes back with and find some cheap labor to rehab it for me. Zillow is showing rents in the area are 850 on a property like this if it is fixed up more than what it currently is.

Shawn


Congrats Randy!!

Randy, great job on getting the property under contract with the owner and assigning your contract to an end buyer ALL WITHOUT EVER SEEING THE PROPERTY!!!! Excellent work.

There were some very key nuggets of gold in your post as well. Many people, including myself, have said (i.e. used the excuse) that I don't know how to estimate repairs as a reason for not taking action on such and such a deal. Randy, your example is the perfect answer.....YOUR END BUYER does their own inspection with THEIR CONTRACTOR vs. you having to drive over to the property, walk the property, etc. Unless you plan on doing the re-hab yourself (or managing the re-hab), what do you care what it looks like?? Great, great nugget of golden advice there.

Also the handwritten YELLOW LETTERS everyone is talking about sure seem to be working for you and a few others with recent posts. Again folks, another great golden nugget of advice there.....handwritten YELLOW LETTERS seem to really generate responses (that is what it is all about, isn't it?? ....having a conversation with the owner of the property??).

Great job Randy; keep it up and keep posting more encouraging news like this for the rest of us. We could all learn something from your post.

--Walter

'If it is to be, it is up to me'! -Unknown


randy

awesome job. keep moving forward, rob

__________________

whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.- Henry Ford
keep moving forward, rob


absentee owners

Where can one find a list of absentee owners and possibly a link to the yellow letter everyone is using.


Very cool Randy!

What a great deal! It was fun even reading about it, so I can only imagine how much fun you are having getting this deal done!

Congrats!

__________________

Valerie

“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” ― Dr. Seuss

"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends; I am surrounded by angels, but I call them friends" - Unknown

My journal: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59110/...


Great job

Wow congrats Randy. That's great.Keep going.


Great job

Wow congrats Randy. That's great.Keep going.


Congratulations Rando!

That was inspiring. Keep up the good work and stay persistent.

Joe

__________________

Think less, Do more, Get results. - Dean Graziosi

http://www.rcmfunding.com
http://www.StopForeclosureOptions.org
http://www.RichardsCapitalManagement.com


Congrats

You played the numbers and it worked for you, amazing. You should be proud of yourself.

Sandra

__________________

"You can never get to the top, if you are not willing to climb. Do not look at the difficulty of the climb, only anticipate the view from the top."
"Can't even walk without you holding my hand." (Song)
"Is anything too hard for the Lord ..." Genesis 19:14
"In all things, wait on the Lord."
"Think not of your own deliverance, but trust in God who will give in abundance."
"When you are down to nothing, God is up to something." Unknown
"Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about those things that really matters." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Yea it feels great to slam a

Yea it feels great to slam a few deals, but honestly I been beating myself up for not doing more. The 3 1/2 months I just went thru of trying and calling and placing ads and having deals fall thru my fingers was seriously discouraging. I even had some fleeting thoughts of giving up, and then I wud get angry and try harder and do more ads.... I got this list of absentee owners from a bird dog, hes a computer hound and somehow he got the list and told me to remember him if I hit a big score. The list has over 12,000 names. I figure if I send out 100 yellow letters a week it cud take a couple of years and the postage wud be $5,000 U can just search list brokers online and they can get you a list of absentee owners in your area. I got a copy of the yellow letter from Carrie Wilbur, she teaches rehabbing and I bought her course for like $40 I think. I got several other RE courses but I get my inspiration from Dean. I think back to just 1 yr ago and I am so much better off, with my 8th deal completed. One of my deals last Oct paid off really good. I spent the entire winter on a tropical island with my wife and kids, came back with $20 in my pocket. The emotional highs and lows of this business are like a roller coaster ride. I need to find that happy medium.

__________________

Rando


Love your Story ^_^

You are very good at what you do, and able to enjoy it with your family and friends. Thank you for you awesomeness, and learn a lot from you and this DG family. Mostly happiness of everyone sharing up and downs.

__________________

Be happy and go healthy ^_^

Ling and/or Dustin


Keep it up Rando! That money

Keep it up Rando!

That money in your pocket is a great source of motivation eh?

Love the story! Keep them coming!

__________________

Dominic

Are you new? Check out my NEW and IMPROVED Guide for Beginners! http://deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/everything-else/128413/domini...


Very cool Randy! Continue to

Very cool Randy! Continue to keep up the good work Smiling

I believe finding that happy medium is a struggle for many of us, so dont let that discourage you!

__________________

Lenee

www.allstarhouses.com

~Act successful! And you'll draw it to you.~
~Every achievement, big or small, begins in your mind. It starts as a thought.~


I don't know...

if I'm the only one that found your story humorous or not, but I got a good laugh at your description of that house... made me want to go take a bath!!! But congratulations for hanging in there and getting it assigned... and also for helping the lady!

shirley

__________________

Everything works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it's not the end.

You have not lived a perfect day, unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you. Ruth Smeltzer

It is what it is 'til you change it.


AWESOME!

I have wholesaled a few of these, maybe not this bad, but I know how hard it can be to get the right buyer for something like this. But they say there is a buyer out there for every property.... you just have to find them Smiling

Great job!

__________________

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

http://realwholesaling.com FREE wholesaling tips and resources!

To your success,
Carol Stinson


Great Job!!

Thank You for this story, It is very encouraging for those of us who haven't made our first deal. This shows what determination can do for you, and not listening to the negative comments.

Way To Go!!!


You are Cool!!!

Congratulations Randy,

You tried to make it sound easy, but you put in good work to make that happen. Great Job!!!

Ty

__________________

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, and Today is a gift...

Ethel Griffin

...So don't throw away a gift, do it today as tomorrow is not promised.


That's just . . .

ducky! Congratulations! Woo Hoo!


It was Easy

This deal was easy, however it took almost a month from start to finish, and that's only because the sellers live about 5 hrs away. They are elderly and don't own a computer. When I needed them to sign my agreement. I would mail it to them, that would take 3-4 days then she would call with more questions and get it in the mail. It would take 10-12 days, and when I got her to agree to the lower price it was another delay. So I never met the sellers, I spent some time on the phone with her listening to her story and explaining the agreement and the process. She was worried they would have to come to my city to sign the docs and were relieved to find out the Title company would send them. The lease option deal I did I also never met the sellers, they are in Mississippi and the house is here in California. Who would have thought I can buy and sell houses that I have never seen, from sellers I have never met and sell to end buyers that I also never met, all from sitting on my assets and looking at my computer screen? Its also a great feeling to have Carol Stinson and you other DG guys to comment on and give me inspiration. I feel like kicken some Real Estate Butt. Rando1

__________________

Rando


Way to go

Congrats and thanks for sharing

Keep reaching for the stars
Donna


Way to go...

Great job!!! Keep up the good work!

__________________

Stephan Roberts
"In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia!"

Here is a FREE property analyzer I've found:

https://tvallc.infusionsoft.com/go/RehabLite/sroberts/

It's a great tool to use to help analyze your deals (and did I mention it's FREE)! But, you really should spend the $97 and get the full premium edition! IT'S AWESOME!!


RANDO A QUESTION ???

hey rando where in mississippi ??? im excited for you and i look forward to doing the same thing.

WALT


Hey Walt

I know what worked for me. Get a list of absentee owners in your area. Go online and search for list brokers. Send out these yellow letters, find the sellers that are motivated, dont wast time on the others, then lease option them to a new buyer or wholesale it to a rehab investor or landlord. Good luck Rando1

"Is It All in Your Head?" By: Larry Goins
I've seen it time and time again. I give one investor all of the tools he or she needs to succeed, but failure ensues. Another investor receives the same tools and proceeds to secure a successful future in a very short time. The difference? Their mindset.
Having a positive mindset is critical for your success as a real estate investor. It's the attitude that you WILL prevail in any given situation. It is the little voice in your head that says "I can do this," or "I won't let them get the best of me," or "That didn't work, what else can I try?"
When you get knocked down, positive mindset is the force that gets you back on your feet, dusts your britches off, puts you hat back on, and gets you going again. It is the clarity of mind and the resolution to succeed that drives you on when things look bleak.
As you move through each day -- meeting people and crossing off items on your "to do" list -- positive mindset is like grease for the wheels. It makes things run MUCH smoother. It makes people actually WANT to do business with you. After all, who wants to work with someone who is sullen, grouchy or determined to fail? No one.
Sure, we all have setbacks. But the thing is, if you wear your setbacks on your sleeve, then you will come to be known as a person who specializes in setbacks, is difficult, or will not stay the course. Would you want to do business with someone like that? I think not. An open mind, a healthy attitude and a positive mindset on the other hand, will always attract the people and the opportunities that you need to succeed.
In addition, keeping a positive attitude expands your capacity to think out of the box, to be more open to different opportunities and to come up with the solutions that evade other people who are simply trudging along. It can turn a "dead lead" into a "grand slam".

__________________

Rando


Interesting story. With

Interesting story. With quite a few funny pieces throughout.

FYI...paragraphing would be nice. LoL ^_^

__________________

LESTWINS


Hey

Congratulations !!!

__________________

D. McCreary


Ugly House

For those of you who call the advisory line, you have often heard me say that UGLY IS GOOD! Quite often this is where some good money can be made. these are the houses that often gives us the best opportunities.

Great job. Keep up the good work. UGLY IS GOOD!

__________________

Roy Voeks
Official RE Coach


Rando

great story and thank you for sharing. it's amazing how things can happen.

__________________

Linda, Army EOD Mom
you can follow my journal at http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/45351/...
IT'S ALL GOOD AND EVERYTHING IS WORKING OUT PERFECTLY FOR ME!
Fear equals:
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real


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