Financing a vacant gas station sold in bankruptcy - Posted by Abdenour

Posted by Abdenour on July 19, 2007 at 14:51:10:

Thank you very much Matthew for the tip about c-loans.com, gala resources and avatar. I will check them out.

Abdenour

Financing a vacant gas station sold in bankruptcy - Posted by Abdenour

Posted by Abdenour on July 19, 2007 at 01:43:38:

Hi,

First, a quick background about me and bankruptcy trustees. Over the last 3 years, I bought various assets from bankruptcy trustees: stock, notes, real estate. In all cases, I paid cash. In only one case was there a contract signed before the sale, and the contract was one sided anyways, meaning I was committed to buy, but the bankruptcy trustee was not committed to sell, and in fact kept marketing the property until such time the judge declared the property sold at the court hearing (an auction inside the courtroom). In short, I cannot tie up a property in a bankruptcy estate under contract.

Recently, I ran into a vacant convenience store and gas station for sale in California by a bankruptcy trustee. The asking price is one million. I believe it will sell between half a million and one million. I don’t have that much cash. Assuming I can get it for half a million (I wouldn’t otherwise be interested), I was wondering how I can finance such a deal. Are there any lenders who would finance a VACANT convenience store / gas station ?

If this was a regular sale (i.e. not bankruptcy), I would tie up the property under contract, advertise it on loopnet for lease, find a tenant, and use that tenant as a basis to apply for financing.

But, because I can’t tie up the property, I don’t want to advertise it and create my own competition. I just checked loopnet, and it’s not listed there.

I have seen a situation where somebody won the bid on a commercial property at a bankruptcy auction, and then the financing fell through, and the bankruptcy trustee asked the judge to start litigation to keep the deposit. I haven’t seen the contract between the buyer and the bankruptcy trustee. I don’t want to find myself in that situation.

All ideas are welcome.

Sometimes when I asked questions like these in public forums, I get contacted privately by mortgage brokers asking me to call them to discuss the deal. Please note that there is no deal to discuss, and I will not reply to such emails (or voicemails). There is a 99% chance that I won’t make any offer, and, at this stage, I am just trying to expand my knowledge so that, in the future, I won’t limit myself to small deals for which I have cash. So, if you have anything to say to me, please post it here.

Thanks,

Abdenour

Re: vacant gas station sold in bankruptcy - Posted by Matthew

Posted by Matthew on July 19, 2007 at 11:48:11:

the best I can offer is try c-loans.com,gala resources,avatar.In my experience, 15 years as mortgage professional and investor,you have to feel they can offer the terms you desire. These firms have pools of liquid $$,however most will not offer terms without inspection and that means upfront $$ (3,500 avg) for traveling expenses, they are credited at closing but are required.I have found these investors are more reliable than the run of the mill commercial wannabe’s.