Posted by CarolFL on May 02, 1999 at 10:33:48:
Tommy, you can TRY anything… but do you know what the estate is trying to do? what they need? and if there is still a balance owed on the property? These would be helpful. How long has it been on the market, and do they have some sort of time constraint for clearing the books?
Also, are you confident in the figures the trustee gave you as an appraised value? If not, or if you don’t know, try to get some comps.
If they are willing to finance they may not also be interested in a really low ball offer … but you don’t know until you ask.
BTW you should be able to get 65% of FMV in hard money, so if push comes to shove, and the FMV really is 140k, hard money could supply the cash for an offer within your range, and perhaps $$ to fix it up too.
Good luck!
Carol
Newbie needs suggestions on potential 1st opportunity - Posted by Tommy_FL
Posted by Tommy_FL on May 01, 1999 at 23:59:15:
I went to see an open house estate sale, no agent, the trustee was there. The house: 3BR/2Bath and a pool. Very nice neighborhood. Trustee said the bank has appraised the house at $140K at FMV, according to my own estimate, it will need $15K-$20K in serious rehab, they will accept all Offers, will also do L/O or finance with $7000 down, Can I offer them $75K-$80K (Present Tax Assessment Value). I just bought my first home 4 months ago the conventional way, so I’m out of cash but my credit is still OK. I’m thinking of retailing this house or doing a Sandwich L/O but don’t have $7000 to put down. Please help, Thanks.
Here’s my idea - Posted by Sean
Posted by Sean on May 02, 1999 at 17:41:06:
Flip it, or go for a long escrow. Both Carol and I are assuming that it’s a probate house and that’s why there’s a trustee.
Let’s say you offer them $75,000 with $500 earnest deposit and the close of escrow “on or about 60 days from contract acceptance” and you have the right to start fixing as soon as the offer is accepted and the right to assign the contract. Make sure, of course, that you see the referenced appraisal confirming $140k is the fixed-up FMV.
You might want to consider putting a clause in there that will let you extend the escrow for 30 days if you pay 1% of the purchase price. All of that amount paid, of course, to be credited to the Buyer.
Then start fixing it, charging what you need on credit cards and flip the contract prior to close. We’re assuming, of course, that it’s vacant.
This may not be practical if you don’t have enough free revolving credit or if you think 60-90 days won’t be enough to have it fixed.