Shirley's REI Journal

Thank you.. it's good to be back. Sometimes life just gets in the way, doesn't it??? I am so very sorry we didn't hook up when you were in SC. My phone was acting stupid and I didn't get your last message until it was too late. But hopefully there will be a next time. I sure would have liked to meet you though. Bummer.

Never fear, I will be back! It may be a while, but I love SC.

I will let you know when that happens.

Yes, life definitely has way of getting in the way. It is how we handle that that matters. Looks like you are taking it in stride. Just a bump!

Karen

When I can't get on the forums and read all the encouraging things you guys are saying and doing, I get complacent... That is over!!! I have my computer back, for now anyway, and I am ready to make this thing work. I'm tired of being afraid to make an offer on a deal. Fear is outta here! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!!

I know I have enough knowledge to wholesale, flip, hold or whatever. I may not have been able to attend the Edge events, I may not have been able to buy the Blueprint program or any other offers that have come my way, but that is not going to hold me back. I have to get this business going as I have no choice but to do so. Any encouragement or words of wisdom you can send my way will be received as such and will be very much utilized and appreciated.

Tomorrow, I will be contacting my REA and asking for more... more than he has done in the past. If he cannot accomodate me, I will find another.... might find another one anyway. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'll make it count.

Since I posted in my journal. I can't believe I've been "not doing anything" that long. However, I have been reading in some of the forums and ordered the 30 Days to Real Estate Cash, but haven't quite finished that yet. Today I went with a realtor that I found on Trulia.. actually she found me. I was looking at a property and she emailed me and told me that she would be glad to show me the property and would be willing to help me find other properties. I told her I was an investor and she said she and her husband used to flip properties. We seemed to click today when I went with her to look at three houses. She is aware that I will wholesale and that I will assign to cash buyers. She is also aware that I will make low offers in order to make a win-win for everybody involved.

With all that said, she gave me an Exclusive Right to Buy Buyer Agency Contract along with a list of some HUD properties and a list of other properties that she wants me to look over. She did not ask me to sign the Agreement, but said she would love to have me as her client. If I'm reading this agreement correctly, If I signed it, that would mean I could not use any other real estate agent to look for properties. That is not going to happen because I plan to contact other REAs as well. If I don't sign, she might not be as willing to help me out as she seems to be right now. I'm sure on our next meeting, she will ask me to sign it. BTW, none of the 3 properties we looked at today will I make an offer on. One was termite infested and would have taken more in rehab that it would be worth and the other two were in bad locations...very bad! She asked me how do I find my cash buyers. I told her that I found them in different ways, but that a list of cash purchases in the last 90 days would help. I had asked her about this before and she said she had contacted the tech guy and was waiting for him to tell her how to get the list. She didn't mention today whether he had gotten back with her. All in all I think she will be a good REA to work with since she seems to understand where I'm coming from. That might change if I don't sign her agreement though. She even said her husband does rehab work and that he would be glad to give me estimates on properties that needed work. I told her that even though I was not going to hold them myself, that I would need all the facts and figures involving rehab costs for my end buyers as I would like to present them with a full package on a property including ROI and rents. I'll be looking over other properties she sends me and she told me to contact her and she can take me to see them.

One more thing...we did look at another property than I had originally told her I wanted to see. However, we could not get inside yet as they have not released the code because it is in "lottery" mode. She explained that this particular bank sells to non profit organizations first and then if no takers, they release it to the public. (strange but true) So by the weekend she should have the code and we can see inside. While we were there, a man approached us saying that he wanted to buy it himself because he flips properties. He told us if we bought it to let him know because he might be able to do some work if needed. He gave both of us his card and he is a floor sander too. He said he does carpenty work also. I gave him my card and told him that I wholesale and that I might find something he would be interested in. I will find out more later when I can call him and there is no real estate agent present. There was another brick house across the road from this one we were looking at, and he said it would be a really good one too but so far it has not been listed. He gave the sellers name and info to my real estate agent.. bummer... I wish I had been alone!! But if she lists it, she'll let me know I'm sure.

Tomorrow, I will be doing research on some of the ones she sent me to see what I think will work. Any comments on this real estate agent or the Buyers Exclusive Agreement? My first impression is to tell her that I want to work with her but not as an exclusive client.

shirley

Any thoughts on the Exclusive Buyers Agreement that the REA gave me today?? (last post)
shirley

My REA sent me a long list of properties that she wants me to look over. I'm still not sure about her though. She has never worked with investors although she seems to be on the same page with me when I tell her I will be making low offers and wholesaling to end buyers. She still hasn't sent me the 90 day cash purchases and when she called me earlier to confirm my email address (she got it wrong the first time), she still didn't mention my signing the Buyers Exclusive Agreement. I don't know what I'll tell her when she does, but I definitely don't want to use just her as my REA. I plan on calling several that I can work with. Later today I'll be looking over her list and will probably go look at some and make some offers this week. Right now have to go run some errands and pay some bills...ughhh.

last night. It was my first meeting at this local REI club. There were about 7 speakers and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I went ahead and joined the club. I did meet some people but did not get any buyers. The last speaker was a tax accountant and he was so long winded that everybody just left after he finished and some before. He was very interesting though so I didn't mind. Next month I'll get there an hour early and hopefully get to know some buyers.

I looked at 2 houses yesterday. One is a small brick house that has a bonus room. To look at it you wouldn't even think it has an upstairs. It needs an HVAC system and some other work... I'm guesstimating about $10,000 in all. It is listed for $48k and is in a good area. I'm planning on making an offer, but will make it low enough to accommodate any unforseen problems. I don't have anybody lined up yet to do an estimate for me. The realtor who showed me the house said her husband was good at that because they have flipped houses and he still does carpentry and wood work. I don't know if he will charge me or not but I'm thinking he will. She is the realtor who gave me the exclusive buyers contract to sign last week. She asked me about it yesterday and I told her I could not sign it because as an investor it would limit me too much and that I was already working with other realtors too. She said her boss was getting on her about getting it signed because she was "doing some work and spending a lot of time" for me. I let her know that is the very reason I have been advised to use "investor friendly" realtors. I thought at first that she was investor friendly but now I'm not so sure. I told her I could do most of my own research but that I could not pull up the MLS. I asked her if it was a problem. She told me that she would work with me all she could. But no mention of the cash purchases in the last 90 days. I think she is holding off because I won't sign the Exclusive Buyers Agreement. Even though she is very nice and easy to work with, I'm going to call some more realtors and try to get one that is genuinely investor friendly. I'd like to make an offer on the house but need an estimate on the work first. I'll be working on finding someone today.

The other house we looked at is in foreclosure. It is a beautiful brick house that has had all floors laminated and it is very open. It has a huge garage and intercoms in every room. It is owned by Fannie Mae and they have started a lot of work but there is just a few things that need to be fixed. My estimate is $15000 since there is no HVAC in sight. They are asking $129900 and T.V shows estimate of $191,000. Today I'll be searching for comps if my realtor decides she doesn't have "time" to do this as she originally said she would. I'd like to make an offer on it too and I'm thinking in the neighborhood of maybe $85000. Of course I need to get an estimate on this one too. NEed to find someone who will do this and fast because this house won't be on the market very long.

I called a for rent number and asked the lady if she would be interested in buying more properties to rent and she said yes if she could get a good deal on it so I'm going to lock up the small brick house I looked at yesterday and have her look at it tomorrow.

My daughter got sick with the flu and I had been helping out with her babies, ages 2 and 4. Now I've got what she had and have not been very active. Hopefully this week I'll be better and get my voice back and carry on!

I have found 3 more properties that I want to look at this week. My REA that I mentioned before has not gotten back to me on the "homework" she said she would do on the foreclosure we looked at. She was going to find out about the HVAC.
We looked at the property and it is turn key ready except we didn't see a unit outside. It is a beautiful brick house on 1 acre and has been updated with laminate flooring throughout, new stainless appliances (except someone splattered the door on the oven), intercoms, and security system. The only thing missing is the HVAC as far as I can tell. She (my REA) told me that since I didn't sign the Brokers Exclusive Agreement, her boss was telling her not to spend much time with me. She was supposed to email me information over the weekend but I have not heard from her. I sent her an email today to ask if she was still going to work with me (she said she would). Since I have not received an answer from her, I wonder if its okay to go through another realtor. I really had planned on using her if I make an offer, but if she doesn't want to work with me, I will gladly find another. If my voice is better tomorrow, I will be making my calls to real estate offices to try to find investor friendly agents to work with me.

Well, it's official. She is not investor friendly! I sort of felt like she wasn't but she said she and her husband used to buy and flip...that was a while ago. We are living in a different world and she has no idea! So I'm still looking for an agent.

Last week I was riding around looking for FSBO and stopped at a house for sale to get a better look. The owners were working in the yard and started talking with me. I found out that the house had been empty for a while but they had maintained it and even still had the power on. The husband started talking to me and we talked for about 45 minutes. He showed me the house and I was very surprised at how clean and maintained it was even though it was empty. He was asking $124,900. Now I knew that he thought it was worth that and I'm not saying it was worth much less, but I knew that he could never get that amount as a straight sell. It had been updated and was turn key. The houses in the area were all brick and much larger although this one was 3/2 and much larger than it looked on the outside. Comps would have come in slightly less than he was asking but the immediate neighborhood houses were in the $200,000 range. He said he had had it listed with an agent and it expired. I explained to him that he would not be able to get that amount unless he did a lease option. We talked about that and he said he had been talking to another agent and was thinking about calling her back. I told him I understood his position and that if he decided he wanted me to help him to call me. I gave him my business card and he called me back that very day. He said he decided he wanted to do a lease option and he wanted me to do it for him. Well, as you can imagine, I did not know the first thing about how to handle a lease option so I called the L/O queen herself, our own Miss Karen. Upon finding out that the house was paid for free and clear, she advised me that he did not need a REA or anyone to help him because it had to be owner financed obviously. That's why I like this forum. There are people here like Karen who will not mind helping you with your deals when you ask them.

So,I called the owner back and explained to him that he would not need an agent or anyone and that all he needed was a buyer and an attorney. He said he already had a great attorney, but he still wanted me to find him a buyer that would be good to put in his house. He was asking $20K down initially, but changed to $15K and said he would like payments around $800/month. He said he would prefer a 12 month option but would consider 24 month.. however, he said he would rebate a considerable sum if the option was exercised in 12 months. He agreed to pay me $1500 to find a suitable buyer. Now, two questions came to mind. Do I need a bird dog agreement to make it legal to advertise his property? and Can I advertise his property if he also uses a REA which he said he was also going to do again? I'm not sure if I handled this correctly but I would like to help him find a buyer. I told him I would screen buyers for him before giving him their information. I have placed an ad on CL stating that I can put someone in touch with the buyer so I have not advertised the property as my own. I hope I haven't broken any rules or laws by doing this!!!

I am glad that you may be able to help this man. The main reason I was not seeing how it could work for you to do the L/O with him was not just because of him doing the owner financing but because he was insisting that he had to get $15-20K down himself and not really leaving you a way to get paid.

I am not sure how you would do this legally. I think you might have to be very careful. You are possibly treading on agent territory. The way we normally can get paid is that we are selling our rights in a contract--such as you having a contract to L/O the house and when you find a buyer, you assign it for a fee and that is selling the contract, not the house.

As a bird dog, you are finding a property and bringing it to the attention of another investor-entirely different thing.

Sorry, I don't know how to advise on this.

Karen

When they ask me -- I just reply "Sure if you'll sign one saying you will only work with me"...then we both laugh

Just checkin' in on you...keep moving forward

I appreciate the information you gave me. He started out saying he wanted $20000 down but changed to $15000. I'm not sure either whether I'm breaking any rules about trying to find him a buyer while he is still letting an agent help him. It was his decision to do that, not mine. I didn't know what contract I needed if any because that was all I was going to do... connect the buyer and seller. I was thinking I might be able to get him to lower the down payment to $10,000 and up the payments to $850 or $900 which would be in line in that neighborhood. Any thoughts or advice from anyone?

shirley

Good Answer!!! Think I might use that if it happens again!
Shirley

Shirley, I am sure not Greg Murphy, but I have done a couple for these. I currently have 5 LO going now.
So my thoughts are "go for it" Stop worring about doing something wrong. YOu are helping him find a tenant buyer, thats all. Start marketing it! Do you know how you are going to screen them? What is your criteria?

And do not sign the exclusive buyers agreement.That would mean any house you buy you would owe him a commission.

I have already started marketing it, but I'm saying I can put them in touch with the owner so I'm not stating that I am the owner. The way I'm going to screen them will be to verify their employment and length of and ask them to go to a mortgage broker (I have one in mind already that I've spoken with) and find out how to get their credit in order to be able to purchase in 12 or 24 months. So far, the responses I have gotten from CL today seem to be legit, but they are mostly real estate companies, investor companies, and relocation services... not many individuals. They are asking for more information, but I was reluctant to answer them until I got some advice. I don't have any kind of contract with the owner of the property yet. Should I do that to protect myself...legally I mean? I am sure he will pay me if I find him a buyer, but do I have to get a bird dog agreement signed? What contract do you use? Do you think I should get him to lower the down payment he is asking for?

I would not sign the exclusive buyers agreement so the REA dropped me like a hot potato. But that's okay. I'll find one who IS investor friendly!
Shirley

It's been a while since I posted on my journal page, but I've had a lot going on and mostly have posted on separate forums.

I am still working on the house that I have under contract.. good until April 15. I have a partner on it now and he looked at it today and was very impressed. I told him he would have to see it to know it's real potential. I am going to assign it for $7500 when we find a buyer. That will be split 50/50.. not a bad deal!

I looked at another house today and they were asking $12,000 (the tax assessed value as of last year), but the husband of the lady selling the house (for her mother...another POA I'm dealing with), said if I could close with cash in 30 days, he would be willing to let it go for between $6K and $8K. She said it appraised for $16,000 last year. There is nothing on totalview, zillow, or trulia or anywhere else on the web where I can get a ballpark FMV. The reason I didn't make an offer today was I wanted to look it up in the county records and try to get some comps. (wish I had a good REA that would help out) It's an established older neighborhood with houses ranging from $20K-$40K IMHO.. and not in a war zone. Will probably offer between $5500 and $6000 because it needs some wood replaced on the outside and paint and/or vinyl siding if someone wants to fix and flip. Also has rotten floor in kitchen where washing machine leaked. Repairs with paint and new carpet and replacing the rotten wood should run around $7500. Rental values are $600/month. I don't think I'll get an estimate for repairs, but just run a CL ad for handyman special.

I looked at a house near me that went through auction and now is for sale through a realtor. They are asking $138,900 but the comps on Totalview (I know not a reliable source) were $118,500. It is a very nice older home and in a highly desired part of Anderson. It has a basement and a nice yard. I'm going to make an offer on it tomorrow also when I run my numbers and see if there is any room for wholesaling it. They said no to L/O and owner financing. They do have a balance on it but the realtor would not tell me what was owed. If there is no room for wholesaling, I will offer to do a subject to. Owner is definitely motivated because he moved back to Atlanta after auctioning everything off including his bed.

Woohoo, Shirley!
You're really digging in there. I'm trying to learn more about L/O's and Sub to's...
so I can make those types of deals happen when my "regular" lock-up-a-REO and Flip it to a buy/hold investor isn't the way to go.

No I know Karen is L/O Queen, so I'll have to call on her (and you) too! I had PM'd Greg some time ago, but never heard back....

And I tried Bill O'Rafferty for Sub to's... but no word.

I'll keep up with your journal.
Knock 'em dead, Shoirley!

--Tina

Girl, I'm trying to! Karen is the one to ask about L/O, but I'll help you any way I can. Karen has helped me a lot although I have yet to close one. The one that I was working on the last week or so hasn't signed a L/O contract yet because she ran an ad in the local newspaper and wants to "get her money's worth".. haha.. whatever. If she doesn't sell it by the end of this week, she will call me supposedly. I've already given her a "sample" lease option that she wanted to look over. I'm bird dogging for a subject to right now and I have another one that might be a good rent to own deal. I haven't gotten all the info yet, but it sounds good anyway. I've got my mojo working girl!!!

Shirley

That's the attitude-- leave the details for when we need 'em. Then come on here and cry for help. That's how I roll. You'll get your first any day now.

April is the month of change this year--

We'll be looking for your headline.

Have you cked with title companies to see if they will help you with comps? Often, they will help you with those for free.

Karen

I read your journal with a lot of excitement.
You are sooo busy, working so hard.
Thanks for sharing all the steps, you do, it helps me so much.
You have so much knowledge, like Tina and Karen as well.
You share the possible problems, and solutions for each deal, what I can learn from.
I admire you girls.
I hope, I will get to the point where you are - sometime, soon.
Seems like, you are really close to get your diamond.
Wish you all the best, good luck!
Zsuzsa

Shirley
You are trying so many different things and soliciting advice then getting great responses. The people on this site are awesome. I will be back soon to see how your first deal went.

Judi

So I've been a slacker posting on my journal so I thought I would post here rather than start another thread. A lot has been going on and I didn't want to jinx anything.. it's still not a go but looks promising. The brick ranch I had under contract for a cash sale is now a lease option. My partner and I decided it was time for a new strategy so we talked with the owner and got a new contract. The problem we now face is getting it done by May 5... yes, I know!!! Times's a wasting!! The reason being the payoff we have is through May 5. The owner wants $5000 plus wants us to make april's payment which is $1200...he is 1 month behind in payments. The payoff includes April's payment. I got the house under contract initially for $80,000. He was asking $105K. I was going to assign it for $87,500.. ARV is $138,000. I didn't have any luck for the first 2 weeks so I met this partner I have at an REI meeting. Since he was more experienced than me I thought I could learn a lot from him (and I have). I told him if he would help me find a buyer, I would split the deal with him 50/50. Thus we became partners on this deal. I know I could have just paid him a finders fee, but like I said, I needed someone who could not only partner with me, but who would be a mentor also. He knows how to find repair costs because he was raised working on houses as he says. He estimated repairs on both houses I now have under contract.

So we have had many hits wanting to know more about the house. We've even had a couple of cash buyers interested, but they disappeared. My partner called earlier today and said he had someone interested again in paying cash.. $95,000, Nothing solid yet, but he said he was supposed to call him back and let him know when he wants to go inside the house. So I have my fingers crossed!! I also got another call about it today for lease option and I'll be showing it to him tomorrow.

The other house I got under contract for $7500. It hasn't been assessed by the county since 1946 and the tax value was $12000. The other houses that are comps on the same street have tax values of $40-$50K so after getting repair costs, the ARV on this one would be $40-$45000. It needs $15-$20K in work. I started with an asking price of $19,300. Yes, I know it was high, but I wanted to have room to play with the numbers. I have reduced it several times and now it is $12,500... still room to negotiate. I put an urgency message on the ad...MUST SELL THIS WEEK! and I got 7 responses about it today, but nothing solid. The owner has given me a 2 weeks extension and I have several new buyers that I plan to send it to tomorrow. who knows what will happen.

I have made offers on 2 other houses recently and offers were declined. So I know they were low enough!

I have about 6 that I want to make offers on tomorrow. Stay tuned!!

Shirley

No I haven't. I just got yet another real estate agent who was supposed to send me listings last week and I never heard from her. I sent her an email last night and asked if she was still going to work with me. Presto! today she sent me about 10 listings and all of them are as I requested... as is, vacant, reduced, seller motivated. She is my last resort around here, but she specializes in working with investors so maybe I've found the one!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

But I will call title companies and see if I can get comps. Do they mind if you have never done business with them? Probably not, because they want your business, right?
Thanks Karen,
Shirley

Thank you for the vote of confidence. You will get there. It all starts coming together sooner than you think.. as long as you take action. There was a long period where I did not and believe me, if you want to stay where you are, you'll stay where you are! LOL I know what you mean about taking steps because when someone posts something new that I'm not familiar with, that's the first question I have... what steps do I take and in what order..

Stay excited and take action!
Shirley

I know it!!! People on this site are so very helpful it's humbling!

Shirley

I know it!!! People on this site are so very helpful it's humbling!

Shirley

at the house today. A guy was supposed to meet me at 3:30.. stayed there from 3 til 4 and he never showed up or called. But... my partner has an investor interested who will be looking at it tomorrow or Thursday and wants to pay cash. Who are we to say he can't pay cash while we have a lease option on the property. Things can change very quickly!!! So keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

Got an email from someone who responded to my C/L ad about buying a home without a bank... She said she couldn't explain her situation on email and wanted me to call her so I did. She said she wants to sell her house which is paid off and buy another one in another town. Her mom and dad are both sick and she is taking care of them (taking her mom back and forth to cancer center) and driving 45 minutes each way. Her husband also just had an accident and has a brain injury and she is also taking care of him. Although his job was driving a truck, they kept him on payroll and gave him other work until they're sure his memory is okay, but has the same pay. She said she would take $25000 for the house.

I told her I would let her know what I could offer after doing some research. I looked it up on county website and see that they paid $30K in 2009. Tax value is assessed at $27,850. They were in the process of fixing the house when her husband had the accident. So they have materials to do most of the repairs except for the paint and carpet. Without realistic comps, it looks as if it has a ARV of $50,000 plus. She said a realtor told her it was worth $54,000. Zillow shows $60K. I would like to make an offer tomorrow when I call her back but I'm not sure what the labor would be and how much more materials are needed to complete the repairs. She said $2K but it could be more than that. If someone wants a fixer upper, they would not have to put as much into it since most of the materials are there. I think I want to look at it and then make an offer. I'll call her back tomorrow.

In the meantime, my last resort realtor actually sent me some listings today. She had told me she would send them last week, but I didn't see anything. I emailed her last night and asked if she was still going to work with me. Today I got the listings and lo and behold, she sent what I requested... as is, price reduction, seller motivated, vacant... So I hope I have found a good one. She is with Remax and specializes in working with investors...so maybe I got lucky!!!

at the house today. A guy was supposed to meet me at 3:30.. stayed there from 3 til 4 and he never showed up or called. But... my partner has an investor interested who will be looking at it tomorrow or Thursday and wants to pay cash. Who are we to say he can't pay cash while we have a lease option on the property. Things can change very quickly!!! So keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

Got an email from someone who responded to my C/L ad about buying a home without a bank... She said she couldn't explain her situation on email and wanted me to call her so I did. She said she wants to sell her house which is paid off and buy another one in another town. Her mom and dad are both sick and she is taking care of them (taking her mom back and forth to cancer center) and driving 45 minutes each way. Her husband also just had an accident and has a brain injury and she is also taking care of him. Although his job was driving a truck, they kept him on payroll and gave him other work until they're sure his memory is okay, but has the same pay. She said she would take $25000 for the house.

I told her I would let her know what I could offer after doing some research. I looked it up on county website and see that they paid $30K in 2009. Tax value is assessed at $27,850. They were in the process of fixing the house when her husband had the accident. So they have materials to do most of the repairs except for the paint and carpet. Without realistic comps, it looks as if it has a ARV of $50,000 plus. She said a realtor told her it was worth $54,000. Zillow shows $60K. I would like to make an offer tomorrow when I call her back but I'm not sure what the labor would be and how much more materials are needed to complete the repairs. She said $2K but it could be more than that. If someone wants a fixer upper, they would not have to put as much into it since most of the materials are there. I think I want to look at it and then make an offer. I'll call her back tomorrow.

In the meantime, my last resort realtor actually sent me some listings today. She had told me she would send them last week, but I didn't see anything. I emailed her last night and asked if she was still going to work with me. Today I got the listings and lo and behold, she sent what I requested... as is, price reduction, seller motivated, vacant... So I hope I have found a good one. She is with Remax and specializes in working with investors...so maybe I got lucky!!!