Posted by Ray (NJ) on January 28, 2000 at 22:20:22:
Seems that you’ve got the ultimate motivation. Best of luck.
With regards to Q1: I’d say it depends on your area. In my town, it is the norm for land to outprice building. In fact, an old, small 2BR house sitting on a very small 3,000 sq.ft. lot (building value: $25,000) may SELL for $250,000. In fact, I could name literally hundreds of properties fitting that exact description. The properties won’t carry themselves, but are excellent for flips. And if you’re lucky enough to get one for just 10% off asking price, you’re looking at a potential of $25,000 profit per deal. Not to hard to take, huh?
Q2: Locating the owner can be as simple as popping on the web to see if your county has RE transactions online, to as difficult (sarcasm) as driving to your local courthouse, and spending 10-15 minutes looking it up in the tax books.
Q3: Don’t have personal knowledge of the effectiveness of any of the flipping courses. Read the articles. Honestly, in my opinion, the “details” of flipping are minimal compared to L/O, buy and rent, etc. Here’s a 30 second course. Find out what comps are, put an assignable contract on a property at a discount substantial enough for your finances, find a buyer (actually, that should be step #1), sell your contract. If you structure it right, in WORST case, you only lose your earnest money, which can be as little as $1 buck. (Unusual, but $100 should do it - and still not very risky)
Go get 'em!
Ray
P.S. Get your wife out there, too. What great motivation for the both of you. See who can do the first, the most, etc.