Jumped in Feet First!

After reading Dean's book, I decided to jump in with both feet and do the deal(pun intended). I thought what's the worst that could happen? The answer I came up with was that I would learn from my mistakes.

It took me about a month and a lot of frustration to get my first house under contract. The ARV is about $80k and needs ~$40k in repairs. I am new to the area so I don't know it too well yet...Turns out the property is not in the best area and marketing it was a little more difficult than I had imagined. It was an MLS listed estate property so I had to sign a REIN contract. Not knowing any better, I didn't put any contingencies into the contract so if it didn't sell, I would be out my EMD ($500). None of the buyers on my buyers list wanted it so I put an ad on craigslist and while I was out of town, a buyer called and wanted to look at the house. I called up a fellow wholesaler and we agreed that I would cut him in on the wholesale fee if he showed the house and the guy bought it. The guy wanted the property and I assigned it to him for $15,500. I agreed to pay the other wholesaler $1000 so that leaves a nice little $4500 profit for me on my first deal!

Lessons learned:
1.) ALWAYS put in a contingency such as pending partner approval or at least something to get out of a contract that I have to put EMD down.

2.) Find out areas that buyers WON'T buy in for any given reason BEFORE putting a house under contract.

3.) Have availability to get a proof of funds letter in the event the listing agents asks for one.

I put my second house under contract a few weeks later. This house was an unlisted rental that I found through networking. The owner/landlord is tired of dealing with the tenants and the property itself. I put the house under contract for $45k. It needs about $25k in repairs and ARV is about $120k. I am looking to assign it for $60k but am currently waiting for the owner to evict the tenants. I originally put the closing date 60 days from the signing of the purchase agreement. So far its been almost 30 days and the seller has not evicted the tenants so I have spoke with the seller and we have agreed to write an addendum stating something to the effect that the closing date will be extended to 30 days past the date the tenants vacate the property. I will keep you updated on how this property works out and any lessons learned.