Teresa Jo's journal

I know...I got excited about the property (again) after it was put on the MLS and wasn't thinking. Clearly. My realtor (Sheilia) doesn't know that I'm assigning. She is very aggressive in wanting me to make offers, which is good, but it also makes me rush and not think. My realtor friend (Jeff) DOES know that I'm assigning, but he's not my realtor.

Thanks for the FHA guidelines.

So the .85 represents closing & holding costs? Then I subtract out rehab costs and my assignment fee to come up w/my offer amt.?

Then what amount do I give to my buyer? My offer amt. less my fee?

Also, do you go look at every house you make an offer on and take a rehabber? I guess I need to do that in the beginning.

Yes, the .85 represents all the things that you broke down previously, just in a lump so it is faster to figure.

You give the buyer the price you get the house under contract for PLUS your fee.

If I am making offers through a realtor, I don't look at the house until I know that the seller is even interested in negotiating. If you are doing 25:1, you don't have the time. BUT, when you are new and getting a feel for things, it is a good idea to go look at as many of them as you can. You will learn a lot. Then you will start knowing what prices are in line or grossly out of line. If and when they accept an offer, then I go to the house to see if any adjustments need to be made. I usually have included some repair costs in every offer already. Ask the realtor ahead of time what repairs are needed and use it as a guide.

Now, if I am making offers on FSBOs, I try to go to the house, not so much as to really see the house but to build rapport w my seller. The numbers are the numbers, so you don't have to see the house to work those out. But if seller likes you, they have been known to sell YOU the house even if someone else offers more just because of the relationship.

You can not expect a contractor to go to every house and give you estimates. They will get ticked off very quickly. Have a contractor come to a house with you and go through with him and ask him questions about what he looks for and how he estimates his pricing. Then on the next house, ask a different one and do the same thing.

A quick way for you to estimate is if the house only needs cosmetic (carpet and paint) estimate $10/sf. Medium rehab, $20/sf. Major work, (new roof, etc) $30/sf. Won't be completely accurate but will get you in the neighborhood. A buyer will do his own estimates anyway and may or may not do some of the work themselves, so their numbers will be their own.

Karen

Karen,

Great advice for other newbies.

Teresa,

I'm seeing light at the end, are you? You're making it happen.

Karen--I'm printing this out...such good information like Rick said. Thanks for going into detail. This Friday I'm going to a house with my realtor and my rehabber so I can make a good offer. I understand about how contractors could get ticked off pretty quickly if you get them to give you a lot of bids. I'll be conscientious of that.

Rick--thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Went to see 2 houses today, one with my realtor and the 2nd with my realtor and rehabbers. After discussing the location of the house and the proximity to a main highway, I decided not to make an offer on it. It was too far from campus, needed way too much work and wouldn't have been worth it. Afterwards, I spoke with the advisory line and they suggested I call a property management company to see if that house was in a good or bad location for rent houses. They confirmed what my rehabbers told me, so now I've decided to look in specific areas around the A&M campus and told my realtor that I just wanted to look at houses surrounding the campus (which is quite a large area).

I'm also going to send some yellow letters this weekend to vacant house owners. Haven't done this yet and need to get that going.

Off to put out my bandit signs...

Sounds great Teresa Jo!

We have done yellow letters and they work!

Let us know how it goes

Julie

You're almost there... that 1st deal is SO close.

Best,

Thanks Julie & John and Mike!

Today I drove by my bandit signs to make sure they were still there...just one was missing. Haven't gotten any calls yet, but its early.

Later today I'm going to post some flyers on some bulletin boards.

Moving forward and having faith!

Teresa Jo! You are doing great! Don't give up on bandits (not that you were going to). I find that if you put them in the SAME location and in places where people are backed up (stop lights, stop signs), the 3rd time up is when the calls REALLY start coming in. So don't give up after the first couple of times. Sometimes it takes people seeing it for a 3rd or 4th time to finally go "oh yeah, I really need to call!" Consistency is key.

I hope this first deal comes soon for you. You are doing so great!
Louisa

I think you are right about the bandit signs...3rd times the charm! I need to get more signs...I was only able to put out about 5 or 6 and I haven't gotten any calls this weekend. I'll put them in the same places next weekend like you recommended.

Came across two more vacant houses today. One of them is directly across the street from where my ex lives. I spoke with him about it and he said several people have tried to buy that house but to no avail. He said the owner was holding on to it for his daughter. My ex said the pipes burst and now it has mold, etc. I'm going to send the guy a letter and see what happens. Maybe he's tired of hanging on to it.

I told my ex that I would pay him a percentage of my assignment fee if he referred any vacant houses to me. He just nodded his head...LOL... not sure if that means he's going to help me or not.

Moving forward with faith that eventually I will get my first deal done!

It does take volume to get volume. Even with 20 signs, we have gotten 3 calls this weekend (I have done them before, but this is our first time in a while). We are ramping up to 50 signs next weekend, and expect more calls to be rolling in by the 3rd weekend of 50 signs.

So don't despair on your 6 signs. Just get more out there!

Good luck on your vacant homes....those can be the best!

Cheers!
Louisa

I'll put out at least 25 next time. Thanks Louisa!

Just had a guy call me off my bandit sign...yay!! Good news...he will take $4000 for his house. Bad news....its up on blocks and has to be moved. The city won't let him work on it anymore so he just wants to sell it. It was out of the city limits, but the City of College Station annexed his property so there is a rule about only having 1 house on one acre and he's got 2 other houses real close. I think one of the houses is vacant so I need to look into that too. The other house is being rented out.

Question: Does anyone think I can get a cash buyer to buy a house if they have to move it also? Even if I sell it to them for $5,000? I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow. I already went by today and looked at the outside and it's in pretty good condition from what I can tell. He told me he had a guy move it from Bryan for $1000, so I'm thinking if someone would buy it and move it, they could easily rent it out once they got thru upgrading it. Of course the buyer would need some land to put it on. LOL!

Any advice??

Wow what an interesting opportunity. Back in WA we knew some people who did that very same thing. Bought a house that needed to be moved. It can be challenge but if the structure is good and the house is in pretty good condition you may find a buyer on Craig's list or put a small ad in the local penny saver/Nickel AD.

You could promote it with the incentive that you already have the mover in place too. Good Luck

I'm going to look at the inside of the house tomorrow and then I'll call the advisory line to see what they say. I'm thinking that most investors aren't going to want to fool with it. We'll see.

This morning I called the guy with the house on blocks and told him I wasn't interested in buying his house. (too much trouble--had to be moved)

Called two FSBO's tonight. Made an appt. with one to go see her house this Wed. Don't think it needs much work (if any), but it will be good practice for me. She's asking $125,000.

Put an ad on CL like Wendy did asking for referrals on abandoned homes. Hope that works!!

Never got to my flyers...will work on making some tonight.

Moving forward...

Looks like you're giving it a good go!!! Keep doing what you're doing and you'll all of a sudden land one!

Yes Louisa is correct. Bandit signs in numbers and don't let up!

Bandit signs are really not in my budget but I'm going to order them anyway. Already have the stakes, just need more of the yellow signs. May have to put off some things like getting my haircut, etc. just so I can afford to get more signs. (Don't have time to get a haircut anyway...LOL!)

Need to get a deal done soon though.

Not sure of the pricing in your area but we found if we got them from a local mom-pop print shop-even if they had to order the yellow color- it as a bit cheaper than ordering them on line. It saved us about 80.00 in shipping. I think ours worked out to be about 2.50 a sign and then a 1.00 for the stake. We got the 30" stakes and cut them in half so we got 2 shorter ones and they sit closer to the ground and don't blow over as easy.

Just a though in case you hadn't talked any local print shops yet- Good luck and be sure to check the areas t make sure they allow signs to be out or they will pick them up. You can get around that by putting them out on Friday afterhours and pick them up Sunday afternoon.

Have fun with them they work well for us.

Thanks for telling me about buying signs from a local print shop. I was going to order them online, but I'll check into the local businesses first.

And yes, I put mine out Friday nights and pick them up on Sunday nights. So far, I have found that Exxon stations do not allow signs on their property so I don't put them there anymore.

Have a good day!

Went and looked at a FSBO today. First time I've done this as an "investor". I never told the lady I was an investor...she just thought I was a retail buyer because she asked where I lived. Anyway, I had already run the comps on the house and she is asking about $25,000 more than what the market value is. She told me her real estate friend told her to start high and then you can work it down. Well, she is starting high all right...lol! The house doesn't really need anything updated except to cover up the outdated wallpaper. Think I'll make an offer just to see what happens. She's only had it on the market for 2 weeks so I probably need to wait a while before I make an offer.

On the way there, I drove by 3 vacant houses (all in a row) and will check to see who the owner(s) is.

Got my flyers done (finally) last night. Now I just need to post them. I feel like if I was going any slower I'd be going backwards! LOL! Especially after reading some of the other DG'ers' posts. Trying hard not to compare myself with others, but its difficult not to.

Moving forward...

You are doing amazingly well! And I am not just saying that.

If you are going to be comparing, there are 100 times more people who are doing no more than wishing. When you start closing deals, they will be saying, "She is SO lucky."

You make your luck and you make it at your own speed. Your speed is FORWARD!

Karen

I know that forward is not a speed, it is a direction. But I am making a point here. And the cool thing is, you all GET my point!!!

Karen

as Karen says, and I couldn't agree more, you are doing amazing!!! Good for you! and that is how a successful investor takes action!!!

We're right here with you... all the way Girl!!!
Val

thanks Karen & Val. I constantly have to come back to this site to get encouragement, because I don't have anyone here to encourage me.

You are awesome....thanks.

Had to stay home from work today (darn the luck...ha!) because I have a bad eye infection. Pretty sure I have pink eye, which I've heard is contagious. Anyway...I took my flyers and the very first bulletin board I went up to a guy came up behind me and said "Do you buy houses"? I actually did NOT want to talk to anyone because, picture this: I had NO makeup on, I had just washed my hair but not styled it, my eyes were extremely red and I was wearing my glasses and I was dressed pretty drabily (is that a word? LOL!). BUT, I spoke with him anyway. Turns out he has a house that's been on the market for 6 months with a realtor and he has already bought another house, so he has 2 mortgages. But he owes $140,000 on the house he needs to sell, so probably not going to work out. BUT...he has a friend that he is going to give my business card to. His friend has a small house that will be ready in 2 months. I said "yeah, give him my card."

After that, I took the rest of my flyers and posted them at a library, a couple of washaterias and a restaurant. Next I'll go post flyers at the other 2 post offices.

Also, I thought my realtor was ****ed off at me cause she didn't contact me for a few days, but then she texted me on Tuesday and today she sent me some listings and she has made it to where I can click on either "favorite", "possibility" or "reject". And then there's an area where you can make comments, like "need comps", etc.

Moving forward...

This is where you call me, dear! I am an expert at making these types of deals work!

Call me. You have my number!

Karen

Ok, I'll call you in the morning Karen. Thanks!

Got a call from a seller off my bandit sign today. He asked me "Do you buy close to the appraisal amount?" What is a good response to that question? I told him that it depends and that I would have to run some numbers. He said he was at work and would have to talk to his wife and that he would call me later.