Finally........., Got One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Posted by Jim_TN

Posted by Ben (NJ) on February 14, 2002 at 20:16:30:

Trying to figure out people’s motives will drive you absolutely crazy. I am three weeks away from taking title through tax foreclosure on a nice house in a good neighborhood worth about $ 125,000. The foreclosure has been going on for a year, the home is owned free and clear, no mortgages, no judgments, no other liens. The property owners signed for all the pleadings at every stage of the litigation. They never contacted me for extensions, never hired an attorney, filed bankruptcy, refinanced or tried to sell the house. I contacted the tax collector to see if they had inquired as to a payoff figure, nope. If I walked up to them and said “can I have the keys to your house?” they would think I was insane, but this is precisely what they are doing and it is not the first time I have seen it. I will never, ever understand this as long as I live.

Finally…, Got One!!! - Posted by Jim_TN

Posted by Jim_TN on February 14, 2002 at 16:17:56:

First of all, I want to thank the good people on this site. I couldn’t have done it this quickly without you.

Here is the story:

Homeowner called me on my ad Friday saying that she wanted to sell her house. She paid cash ($114,500) for the property in October with an inheritance that she received. In December she refinanced the property and placed a 1st mortgage on it for $35,000. It appraised for $114,500 back then. She said that she and her husband had lost their jobs and wanted to move back home and wanted $40,000 in addition to the 35K owed on the mortgage.

The house is of brick construction, 3br, 1 1/2 ba. attached garage, 1400 sq.ft, in an excellent part of town. It has a new roof and the outside of the house looks brand new. It was built in 1968. There are 3 similar houses listed in the same subdivision all between $130,000 and $140,000.

Here are the numbers:

$35,000 owed on mortgage
$22,000 equity to owner
$2,000? repairs(carpet & maybe some paint)

$59,000 Total

The monthy payment is $392 mo.

House is in excellent condition and only needs carpet to look brand new inside and out.

The title came back clean with only the $35,000 lien on it so I took the property subject to. My college roommate will lend me the 25K to pay off the owner and to install the carpet. I plan on retailing this property. Don’t know how well a flip would work in this situation.

Thanks again for all of your help!

Now, that’s a deal . . . - Posted by JoeKaiser

Posted by JoeKaiser on February 15, 2002 at 24:11:31:

Nice deal!

Make sure it’s signed, sealed and delivered, and the sooner, the better. Deals this good go sideways if you putz around with them.

All that it takes for you to lose this deal is for the next investor they called show up and offer a couple thousand more. When that happens, you’re out of luck.

Joe

Re: Finally…, Got One!!! - Posted by Ken (ILL)

Posted by Ken (ILL) on February 14, 2002 at 19:10:27:

Why not lease/option or rent this puppy? You would have a world of monthly income, and then when it sells, a big payoff.

Re: Finally…, Got One!!! - Posted by Randy, OH

Posted by Randy, OH on February 14, 2002 at 19:00:24:

Jim,
They say if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I hate to burst your bubble, but no one would sell a $115,000 house for $57,000. I cannot tell you where it is, but there is a serious problem either with the house or with the deal. Sounds like you are about to be taken for $22,000. On the other hand, I may have misunderstood your numbers. Anyway, I wish you well.
Randy

Re: Finally…, Got One!!! - Posted by Kristine-CA

Posted by Kristine-CA on February 14, 2002 at 16:50:03:

Jim: sounds like a good deal. Congratulations. I have a question about your sellers. If they wanted 40K to get out why did they settle for 22K? Also, if all they owed on that house was 35K what in the world stopped them from putting in on the market for 75-80K. If the FMVs are so much higher, wouldn’t it have sold asap?

I always get confused about these kind of sellers. Just wondering…Sincerely, Kristine

Awesome Deal… - Posted by TRandle (TX)

Posted by TRandle (TX) on February 14, 2002 at 16:49:32:

Jim,
They paid 115k in cash five months ago and asked for 40k in walking money (in addition to the 35k first)? And they settled on 22k? Now, that’s motivated! “Let’s see, we’ve been here five months so we can leave 55k on the table”. And potentially 70k?

That’s definitely a sweet one…

Re: Now, that’s a deal . . . - Posted by Jim_TN

Posted by Jim_TN on February 15, 2002 at 11:07:04:

Joe,

Thanks for the wisdom, you guys are so on your game. It’s ironic that you said to wrap up the deal quickly before another investor snaps it up. The owner(previous owner that is) told me that another investor that she called showed up the day before I came by and looked at the property and told her that he would get back to her the next week with a offer. She said that she didn’t think that he was all that serious. Well, I got a signed contract on the spot and the next morning I got a deed signed. The title work was completed the next day and I recorded the deed yesterday. Man, I was sweating bullets worrying that another invester showed up after me and would beat me to the court house with a deed.

This deal is done.

Thanks again for everyones’ help.

it’s possible… - Posted by TRandle (TX)

Posted by TRandle (TX) on February 14, 2002 at 19:18:12:

Randy,
One of the recent ones I did was similar. It would be a 115k house with about 10k in work. I purchased it for about 50k, mowed the yard, and sold it for 82k.

So, I agree that the numbers on his deal are fantastic, but not out of the realm of possibility. Besides, it was inherited money - what do they care?

Kristen… - Posted by Terry (Houston)

Posted by Terry (Houston) on February 14, 2002 at 19:15:02:

After being in retail in the security field training people in Interviewing and Interrogation skills and interviewing thousands of people who did things I would never do, I have learned that you cannot always think like yourself.

I was able to quit that last year and do REI full time. During this time I have learned the same thing, I would never sign my house over to someone, give them a deed, , protect myself strongly if I bought on a L/O or give someone the right to sub-lease or assign a contract. This list could go on and on and on.

With that said, people give me those things all the time. Please note that I do not buy on L/O but if I do sell on L/O. I do not give a deed in escrow or anything else, I protect myself.

I have had sellers carry back a note that was not notarized and they only have a copy, not the original.

We just took over a house that the people were in for 9 months. Now they are going through a divorce. They could not sign the papers fast enough.

Another couple were in a property for a little less than a year and the same thing happened.

Why? Who Knows!!

What others will do are not what you and I would do. Unless we were truly motivated and then…

Could anyone stop you from saving your loved one without you trying with all of your might? You might dive into a burning building with out thinking. Who knows. We call people with that passion Heroes, I don’t think they would have it any other way.

Going the other way with that passion could be the burden of living with someone or the debt or the hurt or whatever could be so great that leaving that much money on the table is nothing. Who knows.

I do a test on my marketing:

I give it to my wife to read. If she thinks it is too great, I go back to work on it immediately. I know it is too boring!

If It is too loud or slaps someone in the face with tough choices and awakens the need to make a decision NOW because the reality has been written in a way they KNOW they have no other choice, she hates it.

Me? I know then I have a winning letter or postcard. It goes out in mass.

See the difference?

Stop thinking like Kristen and like a motivated seller. Make an offer that is border line crazy. Ask for a ton of things. Anything, see what they say. You never know.

I had a guy today give me this line on a house that I am selling:
“I saw the house and am less than enthused about it. This is not an official offer but I would like to see if they would accept $65,000 cash and I will close quick.”

The house is listed for $85,000! I had to laugh but still, if I was motivated… who knows. At least he made an offer.

There are so many times I know I am not far from the price or something else when I am selling a house but they won’t make an offer. They just turn and leave or hang up and I am thinking, today I would have accepted XXXX just to get rid of the darn thing.

You just never know. But don’t kill yourself thinking about it. Just remember, you wouldn’t go on a shooting rampage, give away a ton of cloths at a store you worked at, or give your house away or stop making payments on things…

But others would.

Just as I see it.

Terry (Houston)

PS.

Jim GREAT JOB!!!

It works the other way, too . . . - Posted by JoeKaiser

Posted by JoeKaiser on February 15, 2002 at 24:30:16:

My brother in law recently sold a small commercial site. He had no clue about what you and I consider “normal” business customs and he negotiated like his life depended on it. After extension and other considerations, he eventually had the buyer on the hook with $57k in non refundable earnest money.

I told him if I ever write another book I’d put him in it.

The point is, like Terry said, people agree to things we’d never consider . . . but on the flip side, if we’re not careful, we’d never consider things that other people who don’t know better might think, “why not.” Heck, I’ve never required $57k in nonrefundable earnest money paid directly to me outside of escrow.

Why not?

Because I know it can’t be done . . . wait a minute ;-).

Joe

Re: Kristen… - Posted by Jim_TN

Posted by Jim_TN on February 14, 2002 at 21:47:47:

Thanks for all of the kind words of encouragement.

Terry, you’re right in stating that you never know what people will do. I almost didn’t go to see the house. This lady had to call me twice before I would go see her house because she kept insisting on the phone that she would only take 40K along with the 35K balance owed on the property. I knew that I might have a deal when she asked if I could come by that Saturday and bring her some earnest money before I even saw the place. Well, I went by on Sunday and after talking with her and her husband, I told her that the best that I could do was to offer them 7K down to leave if the title checked out and 15K 30 days after they vacated the property. They said o.k very quickly. I could not believe it. I was in total shock. They probably would have taken less. They were happy to get $100 earnest money. I have to admit though, that afterwards I suspect that they may have a drug problem.

And TRandle, you are probably right about them not caring too much about losing inherited money.