Posted by Ron on December 19, 1999 at 12:57:36:
Sal,
I also do rehabs in Baltimore.
I am also concerned about the climate generated by all the news regarding flipping. However, my hope is that it helps me, not hurts.
First, I am still selling my rehabbed houses without much trouble. I settled on one two days ago, and have another set to settle right after the first of the year (it has already been through underwriting). I wrote a contract earlier this week to sell a third house and have an appointment for tomorrow to write a contract on a fourth house. My fingers are crossed that I write a contract on a fifth house where the buyer has already been pre-qualified by my lender. (She is going through a bit of nervousness right now, but I’m hoping she comes through.)
By the way, I do an above-average job rehabbing and confine myself to homes that resell for at least $60k. My houses sell at the top of the market, but I don’t try to get appraisals that are inconsistent with the market.
How does the negative climate help me? Well, I’m hoping that it will scare away many of the amateur investors who are willing to overpay for fixer-uppers. I’m tired of competing against others that seem to have no clue about what they are doing. I’ve been to auctions where I’ve lost houses to investor buyers who have no idea what it will cost them to repair a property or what they will be able to sell it for when it’s done (let alone what it will cost them for transaction and carrying costs).
so, at least at this point, so far so good.
Ron Guy