Nothing Fancy – Just Another REO Purchase

This home was a standard REO home listed for $55,000.  We originally offered $35K and came to a final compromise of $38K with the bank.  Once again, our offer was accepted over other higher offers solely on the basis that ours was a non-contingent cash offer.

This is the 10th property added to our rental portfolio all of which are in the same neighborhood.  This property was purchased with all cash in order to keep things simple and provide leverage for our offer.  Based on the 50% LTV after repairs on this property and the large equity positions in our other properties, our commercial lender allowed us to cash-out 100% of the purchase price and and provided us 100% of the repair funds for our latest project.  So at the end of the… Read the rest

Typical Foreclosure Viewing Instructions: Remove the Front Door Yourself!

Most experienced real estate investors and rehabbers have figured out a way to bypass having to be accompanied by a real estate agent every time they view a vacant home or bank owned property.  Some investors decide to get a real estate license for themselves while others have friends as real estate agents that get the lockbox combos for them. Others just sweet talk or persuade the listing brokers into offering up the combos – it’s possible.  These practices aren’t being recommended, so be careful not to get in trouble if viewing a vacant home without permission.  Many agents will actually instruct investors to bring a power drill with them to remove the front door to gain access to the house as long as the door is screwed shut upon leaving. … Read the rest

A busy rehabber and real estate investor does not have the time to view every foreclosure that comes on the market and work out the detailed costs of every purchase.  That approach is not an effective use of the real estate investor’s time and resources.  You will miss out on many good deals trying to analyze the cost of every rehab prior to submitting an offer.  Let’s make life as simple as possible here.

Follow these steps to start submitting multiple offers on foreclosures, REO’s, and HUD properties without ever seeing the property.  Learn to submit offers based on price points and spend that quality time with family and friends instead.

1.  Learn the neighborhood

The first thing an investor must do is learn the neighborhood inside and out that is going to be targeted for flipping homes.  … Read the rest

Define your “House Flipping” Strategy and Stick To It

When referring to flipping properties, we are referring to the “art” of buying a broken down house, rehabbing it quickly, and turning it into profitable asset in the least amount of time at a controlled cost. The exit strategy can be either to sell for quick profit or rent out the house for cash flow.  The decision typically depends on the state of the current economic market cycle. When property values are skyrocketing it’s easy to fix and flip for quick profit. When it’s a buyer’s market, usually during economic downturns, it’s easy to create positive cash flowing rental properties. Regardless of which profit strategy is chosen, stick to it without wavering.  In the long run this will save you money by not wasting time bouncing back and forth between strategies… Read the rest