OfflineI 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
Thanks for posting your results. Lets me know not to give up and to keep pushing forward. Good luck.
Rick Merritt
Trident Realty, LLC
Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; Strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts. --Og Mandino
Get your very own 1-800# at a great rate. Just click here:
http://www.itelecenter.com/COAPhoneSolution?referredby=8662684543
Check it out. Now you can set up your own 24 hour messaging system!
in post 22 above you said
"The lease option deal I did I also never met the sellers, they are in Mississippi and the house is here in California".
so i asked "where in mississippi" being as i am from mississippi.
and in response to my question you posted about having a negative attitude. i was just wondering if you thought i have a negative attitude. i do not. i believe in dean and all his teachings and my day is definitely coming. i know i can do this beyond a shadow of a doubt.
i believe that sometimes when someone post a comment on here and the readers cant hear the tone of the poster, it can be taken the wrong way. this type of situation could be cleared up very easily if we could talk. we would better understand things but that is not how this forum works.
so anyway i was not being negative and i'm asking this question in very friendly tone.
Thanks Randy,
WALT
Hey Walt, I just copied a quote from a Real Estate guy and pasted it under my comment. It wasnt meant just for u, but for me and anybody that can benefit from the wisdom. Yea, the sellers were from California and right after they signed my contract they went to Mississippi where they have a house. I don't remember exactly where. But the deal went smoother than I thought it would, they were elderly but they had a cell phone, in fact they were txting me as they drove to Mississippi from California, and they had a computer and a fax machine and scanner. Yea I never miss Dean's monday blogs, wen I was on the island for 4 months I had very limited internet, I was lucky wen I got a connection and was able to reply to my emails. So wen I got back I had a ton of blogs to listen to. I spent many evenings reading Deans books over there, I came back with a fire under my butt. When I returned I immediately found 2 houses that the sellers just walked away from. Both were trashed. I cudnt sell them like that so I got this idea to advertise to handymen at reduced rents. It was amazing how many calls I got. The cash flow got me thru the months that I had several deals going south. And they are still providing a nice chunk of change each month. You know Walt I got several buddies that are doing great from bandit signs. I got 50, but Im scared to put them up. I gotta do it, plus I will order 50 more, they are only like $2 each. Whats your plan of action? Rando1
Rando
Rando,
Loved your ugly house story, it just goes to show, there is a buyer out there for every house.
Thanks for sharing your story, it gives us all renewed hope.
I love watching your success Randy, you have a the gift of persistence, and it is paying off with cash.
I have done a similar deal, but it was to an end buyer on a mobile home. Ugly homes will sell if the price is right and you find the right buyer. On the deal I had I put the property under contract for $1200, I put the property online free classifieds and found a buyer that wanted it in its current condition for $4000. I then purchased the home and sold it to the buyer on a contract, he would pay me over time. It worked out great. I just got the last payment from the buyer just last month. That is why real estate is so amazing. Because you can sell anything if the price is right.
Mike
Advisor
I always say Keep Moving Forward! Never Give Up On Your Dreams!
As Matt Larsen says "Feed the Need" - Edge 2013
Follow my daily investing journal and read about the deals I've done and am working on at:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/117493...
I'm really excited about the future. It looks like this down market is not going to get much better anytime soon. I come across many homeowners that are underwater and trying to wait it out b4 they sell. In the 80's when the RE market crashed it took over 10 years to begin a slow climb. This Recession is much worse. Which is great for you and I.
I'm working on several deals that the sellers just want out. Perfect for my Lease Option deals. The buyers don't care if the mortgage amount is more than the current value as long as the payments are in their budget. Who would have thought I could Lease Option these Upside down houses to eager home buyers that have the incomes but can't qualify for bank loans? Whats crazy is they will buy these houses in "As Is" condition.
I was slow to grasp the LO concept at first, but it's so easy and fast. A simple 1 page agreement gets the house on contract for a $2 earnest fee. A simple 2 page agreement that's notarized and recorded is all it takes to get the house sold.
It has quickly become my preferred method of making fast easy money in RE, it's even easier than wholesaling junkers.
Let's Make some MONEY Rando1
Rando
I was really surprised to get a letter from my seller, "Dear Randy, thank you so much for helping us sell that house, you are a blessing to us"
Thats a great feeling to get this kind of letter. And to make money also? It's a great way to stay motivated and positive among all the negativity in this world. rando
Rando
Most yellow letters are very simple. Hi my name is... I and my wife, husband, cousin, son etc would like to buy your house. Call me at ... I also include an email address.
I like to add information such as resources (makinghomeaffordable.gov to explain what a shortsale is), quotes, or a little bit of something special, like a penny (lucky day). I recently learned how to print the letters to save all that writing. Print out your message on the lines. Trace over it on white paper, then put the yellow lined paper upside down in the printer, and the white paper on the scanner and it should line up. One can hardly tell it's not hand written! Colors too like red stand out. Lists can come from title companies. Your agent could get it for you. Good luck!
Stephanie
This is a great and inspiring story!
I call these ugly houses "junkers"! Before getting into real estate, I used to think 'man, what an ugly house that is! Someone needs to do something about that eye sore...'
But now... when I see these junkers, I see potential gem in them!
Now that my wife is also on board with me in this journey, when we drive 'anywhere', our heads are turning and our eyes are moving busy!
Uglier, the better! Well, maybe not as ugly as the one you did. LOL
I have been actually negotiating a junker deal now.. I will see how that goes.
Great job, Rando1!
Matt Inomata
Bothell, WA
Great story!!!!
Quick question: What was the source for the names/addresses that you used on the yellow letters?
Cheers,
Kristin
TIME = WEALTH = FREEDOM
Live STONG & Live with PASSION
Hi Kristen, my bird dog sent me this list of absentee owners and I never asked him for it and he never said where he got it. However on this list of over 12,000 names it says Chicago Title, is that a clue? So when I've gone thru this list maybe I will contact other Title companies and ask if they have a list. My last 2 deals my bird dog found with a bandit sign and the other bird dog found just by driving around neighborhoods. GOOD LUCK. Rando
Rando
I found an uglier house than b4, house is boarded up, bad foundation, the whole corner of the house is sinking, there was a fire inside. House has $3500 fines with the city code enforecment, has a few hundred buks in back taxes. I have tried for for a month to sell this little house on the prairie.
Now I just negotiated the price down to $2500 with taxes and fines it will cost about 6K,, now if only I can pass this on to an investor for 8-10K I might make a little profit. But every investor or the ones that called back said it shud be bulldozed. I thought I cud sell anything, but, I havnt given up yet. Rando
Rando
This second house my bird dog found has just started escrow by a middle easterner with a name I cant pronounce. But a few days earlier The neighbor called me and said one of the investors that looked at the house had left off the plywood and she was going to call the law. I asked nicely if she cud go over and put a few nails on it. In a mean loud voice she said Im disabled. Before she handed the phone to her husband to chew me out she said that a woman had died in that house in the fire. Funny, the seller didnt mention that. I called the investor and he said he put 4 nails in it but wud drive back over to add a few more nails. The bird dog and I will make $4,000 on this, we gotta pay another finder $500 for sending it to us. So we may make $1,750 each. Not a wind fall but it will fill up the gas tank a few times. And I never seen the house or met the seller, heck, I still havnt met the bird dog and this is our 3rd deal. Let's make some MONEY. Rando
Rando
that is awesome! you should keep updates on it and see what he turns in into with a remodel if he does lol
Excellent! good job! keep at it!