I subscribe to the foreclosure list through a list broker - it’s $30 per month per county with about 1000 properties each month( only 10% have lots of equity) If you ask at your records office or county clerks office they should be able to tell you who compiles lists of preforeclosures.
The “red tag” list is of houses that have been condemned by the city. I buy that list on the first Monday of each month from each city I’m interested in, it costs 5 cents a page and there are 25 properties per page, usually 3 pages each month but some are duplicates from the previous month. They also publish a list of houses that are on the list that are scheduled for a hearing. Talk about motivated sellers! The city tells the owners “you have 30 days to fix the problems or we’ll tear the house down then send you a bill for the demolision” ! BTW - the red tags are almost always tired landlords that are too cheap or too broke to fix up their rental houses.
Success comes from Sound Planning - Posted by Millie I.
Posted by Millie I. on April 22, 1999 at 23:39:11:
From the agony of your words, you sound like you are psychologically ready for the plunge. The question remains is: Do you have enough money to live on? pay your bills? invest? and for how long? You need a practical solution to that.
Finding a good RE deal could take days or months. Experience helps. If you got lucky and found a deal right away, you’ll need money to buy and fix, unless you have the experience, skill, and credit to pull a No-Money-Down deal. You may need 1 to 6 months to fix. When you flip, the house may sell in days or months. Meanwhile, you may have no money coming in for months. When you finally sell, the profit may not be as big as you wish, not until you get good at this. I don’t mean to discourage you. This is the reality you will face. You don’t get rich on your first deal. So downsize on your lifestyle, and don’t burn your bridges until you know you will be OK.
Everyone that responded to your post can feel your pain. We just don’t want to see you hurt. The grass is not always greener on the other side, unless you are prepared for it. Most people like you have a hard time
when they first get out, but THERE IS A POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW if you plan it wisely.
…on moving from the “S” quadrant to the “B” and “I” quadrants! Thanks for the lift. I get more energized every day reading posts like yours! Can’t wait to move from the “E” to the “S” (with a little “I” thrown in) and then eventually, when the systems are set up, on to the “B”!
-Jeremy
P.S. Hope you’ve read Cashflow Quadrant, by the way. In case you haven’t, here’s the translation:
E - Employee Quadrant (left side)
S - Self-employed Quadrant (left side)
B - Business Owner, not involved in the details (right side)
I - Investor, makes money work for him (right side)