First "Land Bank" deal done - Posted by Barry (GA)

Posted by patsears on March 18, 2006 at 12:05:12:

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First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Barry (GA)

Posted by Barry (GA) on March 15, 2006 at 14:55:40:

Hi all,

I haven’t seen much discussion on this but thought I’d post to let you know I just did my first Land Bank deal. I had struggled with this and it took a while to find the right people but it finally went thru.

My first purchase was a bank owned repo that I bought for about 38% of the appraised value. I did the purchase loan with 21ST and had to put 30% down. I have had this place about 18 months and finally found a smaller local bank that was willing to do a refi at 65% of appraisal. This allowed me to pull out the cash I had invested at purchase and get some extra for other things. The banker has told me that they will go up to 75% of appraisal on these. I do not want to overleverage everything but I have a D/W rehab that I am going to try and Land Bank (when completed) to pull out some funds, I am hoping I’ll get enough out to get 2 more places going.

I know others have struggled with this so I just wanted to let you know that these are possible. Like Tony and Scott say, you have to get in front of the right people. This lender also told me they would do do commercial loans to my LLC for S/W with land! I didn’t know about this lender as they were in a nearby city but they loan in my area. I was referred to them by another investor (who doesn’t do mobiles) and it turned out to be a great find.

Good investing,
Barry

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Chris Reuman (Maine)

Posted by Chris Reuman (Maine) on March 16, 2006 at 09:36:49:

Great job! You persevered, and succeeded. It sounds like a great deal. Maybe this is your niche. I look forward to hearing about more deals.

Best investing, Chris

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by ScottS(NC)

Posted by ScottS(NC) on March 16, 2006 at 07:34:32:

Barry,

Congrats, I really like the part where you said “I had struggled with this and it took a while to find the right people but it finally went thru.” This is the key I am convinced to 99% of all the success we all seek. Keep up the great work Barry, and again congrats! Take Care ScottS(NC)

Way to go Barry! - Posted by Cletus

Posted by Cletus on March 16, 2006 at 24:14:03:

Barry,

I love reading posts like this one. I was looking for an excuse to open that brand new bottle of Jackie D so you guessed it…the party is in your honor. Congrats, the first pickle out of any jar is the hardest. Way to go. I wish I could have such happy endings, lol.

Your friend,

Cletus

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on March 15, 2006 at 19:32:35:

Congrats Barry.

Nice work on the land/home deal and more importantly on establishing the banking connection!

Very cool on them lending to the LLC on s/w land/home deals.

In many ways, the single wide land/home deals are the biggest bang for the buck but the financing has always held them back (not being able to land/bank). If you can land/bank the sinlgewides you are sitting pretty.

Congrats again.

Tony

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Marty (MO)

Posted by Marty (MO) on March 15, 2006 at 18:40:39:

this is good news- I just brought up 21st century to my partner today. We’re trying to get a number of l/h deals financed right now and only have one solid commitment- American General will give us 50% of purchase price. Did 21st century give you 70% of purchase or appraissal?

Good job, Barry!

Marty

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by patsears

Posted by patsears on March 17, 2006 at 19:34:47:

Tony,
Have you ever tried private re-financing for the SW land/home deals? I’m sure the interest rates would’nt be quite as nice, but the project costs sure would be cheaper (mare bang for the buck, just like you said)

Any thoughts?

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Barry (GA)

Posted by Barry (GA) on March 16, 2006 at 08:41:12:

Marty,

21st gave me 70% of purchase. He told me that normally they do 20% down on investment properties but because this one was on a dirt road I had to put down 30%. Didn’t make a lot of sense to me about the road but I was just glad to have someone who would do the deal. I am now using the local banks and have gotten better terms but I still think 21st is a good resource.

I have talked with Tony Buress @ 21st. 800-955-0021 ext 1309
Good investing,
Barry

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on March 15, 2006 at 19:27:06:

Marty, our first deals with American General were not as sweet as the later became. But the first one still got the ball rolling. After that we were in front of the decision maker at the office and the deals got good.

Hang in there.

Tony

Re: First “Land Bank” deal done - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on March 18, 2006 at 11:01:11:

Remember, Barry was the one who found the good lender for s/w land/home deals.

The bank financing I had on my singlewide land/home deals ranged from competetive to as high as 9 percent.

Much seemed to depend upon the lender and the the time. I have not earmarked my singlewide land/home deals as “land banks” so I have not pursued such a lender contact.

I also find that singlewide land/home deals are great deals for private money lenders. Because the singlewide land/home deals are much less expensive, more people have IRA’s or savings that they can invest to cover the purchase of these properties while providing a nice return on their money. IRA deals work quite well for these.

The terms are whatever you can negotiate and since we are not working with bankers, the terms can be quite flexible. I recommend you give away more on the first few deals as this builds trust.

Its much the same as us having a long term tenant or buyer who makes their payments on time for years and then asks us for a favor. We are much more flexible with these type of people.

I find that once you complete a few deals with a private money lender, they prefer our returns and on time payments to the unpredictability of the market. There have been several occassions when I refi’d a private money loan only to get a call asking if I have any other deals they can invest in. This is a great addition to win/win because now I have a bank on the line for the first deal which freed up the private money for more deals.

Private money may cost a bit more and you have to work with reasonable lenders (try family, friends, friends of family etc.) as most more professional private “hard money” lenders may be too harsh in their terms (but not always).

I find that the true savings in private money vs. bank financing (especially when first starting out) is time. Private money has arrived as little as the next day for me to close a deal while even the best bank turnaround for me was 2 weeks.

There are so many ways to make money in this game. The true deal making is found within the terms negotiated. Finding the funding to do deals and establishing that relationship is paramount (not only because of the money but because life gets so much easier when you don’t have to jump through all the hoops and still “hope” they will lend the money).

Tony

thanks! - Posted by Marty (MO)

Posted by Marty (MO) on March 17, 2006 at 10:04:35:

Thanks Barry, Tony, and Steve… I’ll let you know how this works out. We’re working with a local bank right now and I’m calling 21st Century today. We’re not ruling American General out, but we’re ranking them third right now.
OK!
Marty

sounds familiar - Posted by Steve-Wa

Posted by Steve-Wa on March 15, 2006 at 20:45:58:

where have i heard that before???