OfflineWell, Here I go jumping off of a cliff! The strongest team members I have are in construction, and so I have found a house in a nearby hilltop city. The builder ran out of funds. Here sits this beautiful half finished house, and I'm preparing my offer. Here is the juicy info. Its a DOUZY of a first deal! If I can do this I will have NO FEAR of doing ANYTHING in RE! 
Custom home in higher end area
OFFERING: 550K
Comps for same size/beds/ba & area: 1-1.6M
Estimated Construction costs 250-300K (I'm getting a couple of estimates tomorrow. The whole interior needs to be done as well as the exterior coating, rocks and decor, hardscaping, landscaping, and another portion (a mil quarters) still needs to be built (If we choose to do that part, the cost goes up, but the sales price goes way up too). If costs are higher, I will be offering lower.
Holding costs: 15K
Closing costs: 12K
Margin of error: 3%
Profit margin: 150-200K counting on 1.1M sales price.
All the numbers are very conservative with a lot of padding (except my offer price)
No small potatoes. With my business plan and self directed IRA, I plan to make it happen. I'm working out the details of financing with the Tax Club (maybe they'll redeem themselves!) and with a hard money lender and my self directed IRA people.
It is a PREAPPROVED short sale, and the bank wants to see ALL offers. So, what do I have to lose? I'm giving them MY best offer. 
I'll need a lot of prayer for this one!
If I can do this, I will be able to conquer any fear.
The only thing I am worried about is that it is a higher end property, but I intend to sell it low, and advertise it for 3 months. After all, it will probably take at least 3 months to complete. I'm going to use the auction style method to try to sell it at first. We'll see how it goes, and I'll keep you posted every step of the way.
I feel like a crazy woman right now! LOL
Are there buyers that can afford this? Time to find out! Posting ads right now!
Yea..You have the right idea..Under sell it & that will help it sell fast...Everyone wants a deal.Make it look NICE & sell it cheaper than the other homes on the block & watch the interest go crazy :-)EVRYONE wants a bargain no matter how much money a person has....
Have you checked what the average time on market is for that price range in that area. Don't forget to consider that in calculating your holding expenses. It could be 6 to 12 months, so be prepared. How long will it take to complete the construction? Don't forget that!
Check with your self directed IRA company. You may not be able to mix your private funding with your IRA money?
Good luck and I hope you make this happen!!
Michael Mangham
MD Home Acquisitions LLC
Knowledge is power, but execution trumps knowledge. Tony Robbins
http://www.mdhomeacquisitions.com Seller site
http://www.mdhomeacquisitionsbargainhouses.com Buyer site
http://www.mdhomeacquisitionshousehunter.com Bird Dog Site
http://www.mdlodeals.com Tenant/Buyer site
I will be talking with my self directed IRA company tomorrow.
The chances of this deal going through are slim to none. The estimates to finish the house came back 200K higher, so I have to put my offer in at 350K. I'm still going to do it and attach my financial analysis and why I'm bidding that low. This is a short sale that is preapproved for an amount that is not quite double my offer :smirk:, so I'm not holding out everything for this deal. Matt would be proud of me, though. I plan to find all the unfinished homes in my area and doing the same thing.
Multiple lowball offers, her I come!
I'm working on 2 others right now as well, but I'm not quite as far along with those. 1 is an assignment for a very nice retired retail buyer who is preapproved, so I'll get some practice with the IEEE strategy, and another one is a pre foreclosure. I'm only in the first stages of giving the free information.
I'm on a roll! 
Everyone, get your lists built, because then the fun starts!
Yeah, that's the idea. And if I do get the chance to do this deal, I'm going to use the auction strategy and offer it up at 50% of what I want for it with options by doing an auction before it is finish, as well as after if I don't get it sold the first time. I'm just itchin' to do an auction!
Well, the realtor contacted me via email and told me the property was available and to call his associate. Left a message for the associate... twice. Called again a 3rd time today. They've accepted an offer for 635K all cash. That's the problem with ones on the MLS.
It must be a contractor doing it for himself, because just the hardscape, outdoor walls, landscaping, etc is 200K to do, let alone the 250K on and inside the house, not to mention the holding costs, listing costs, permits, and a margin for problems arising. Let him have it. I wouldn't take that much risk to make 15K. It wasn't meant to be.
On to another. I've sent out letters to a couple of preforclosures and am moving on. He says I can put in a backup offer, but I'm so far off the existing offer I'll ride it out and see if the sale actually records. I found an abandoned property I'm also researching.
A lot of the higher end houses are coming on the market now out here. You can bank your experiences with this one and use it on future deals. And you can always follow-up in a month and see if the deal went through.
On a side note, those hill houses can be tricky (as I'm sure you know). I know of houses in Pasadena, the canyons, Hollywood Hills, Bel Air, BevHills & Malibu that have had severe foundation problems with the houses sliding on down and ending up being condemned. It will be interesting to see what happens in a few months given all the rain we've had this winter.
Any chance you can make it to the REIC meeting tomorrow night?
Cindy
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…
It’s about learning to dance in the rain.
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward. - Amelia Earhart
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one." - Elbert Hubbard
Every time you try and work a deal you gain valuable information and become a more knowledgeable investor!!
Keep an eye on the property, it might fall out and then the seller will be motivated. Most good deals aren't excepted the first time around anyway.
You mentioned the tax club in your first post. Get a refund through your credit card company, I got some of my money refunded and am working on a full refund. I am a little surprised that Dean allows them to be associated with his success academy!
PM me for the details if you would like, I'd like to hear your tax club story also.
Michael Mangham
MD Home Acquisitions LLC
Knowledge is power, but execution trumps knowledge. Tony Robbins
http://www.mdhomeacquisitions.com Seller site
http://www.mdhomeacquisitionsbargainhouses.com Buyer site
http://www.mdhomeacquisitionshousehunter.com Bird Dog Site
http://www.mdlodeals.com Tenant/Buyer site
RANDY This does not sound kosher. Only parties to the sale
can change to contract and delay the sale. STUART KATZ stuart_katz@****
I am new to the organization after 20 years of sales , 7 years in real estate and foreclosures and titlework in NEW YORK and California, 7 years in the car business sales reposessions, asset disposal and liquidations
I plan to purchase fixer uppers between $60,000 and $120,000 and foreclosurers under $200,000 for no money down. I will buy any property at 75% of fair market value looking for $350,000 now valued at $125,000 to $160,000. I plan to buy the fixer uppers at around $60,000 to $90,000 put in $5,000 to $12,000 and resell for $30,000 to $50,000 profit asking for properties that have a fair market value of 30% or more over my asking price.
Buy low, invest a few thousand, turn over in 3-6 months sell below market value.
Make a resonable profit but do not become a gouger or too greedy.
STUART KATZ stuart_kartz@****
correct e-mail STUART KATZ stuart_katz@****
stuart_katz@**** corerected e-mail
Hello my name is Michael and I'm a newbe. I'm a county employee and purchased Deans book 1 week after learning about the stimulus program in my county. Coinsidence, I don't believe in coinsidence. Today I'll apply to get on the waiting list and will post as I go. I plan to utilize every resourse Dean and his students offer. God bless Dean and his students and coaches! I've only been listening to Deans' audio book for two mornings at work, graveyard shift. And I can hardly believe the confidense building I'm already experiancing! I think I'd bettr buckle up, it's going to be an extraordiary ride! My e mail is questmor56@msn.com Once again thank you !
Hi everyone I have a question I found a home for sell by the owner for 235k but it has a 226k in property taxes what do this mean? the house is a 5br 3bt in a good neigbourhood and in very good condition it is 21 years old(1989)can someone help me please.
Geraldine Garcia
WOOT WOOT! Going to make an offer!