From what I’ve learned from the agent, the seller has, or soon will lose his job and he’s concerned about being able to maintain his payments, thus, leading to a possible forclosure.
My questions would be to learn as much as I can about his situation and determine exactly what his needs are at this point and what it is that I could do to help him. I would be interested in anything that would be beneficial to both of us.
I had a realtor call me today about a man who called her about his 2 bedroom house that he will be facing foreclosure if he doesn’t do something NOW! He wants to stay in the house so his son can continue in the school he is in now and he would further want to remain in the same house (Instant and Caring Tenant).
My question is this, Should I try to get the realtor to allow me to speak to him first BEFORE she does all the paperwork for MLS and has him sign a contract?
The agent admitted to me she knows nothing of these type of situations/nego but feels that what I am looking to do and what her client wants to do would be a win-win situation.
My thoughts are that there will be more to pay and less room for a successful deal if it goes to the contract and listing stage. I could offer her a direct, full 3% commission on whatever the take-over or purchase price would be.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Tim W.
(Joe, I ordered your course, but it hasn’t arrived yet)
You never mention how much equity he has in the property. Equity is the first thing I check on when doing Pre-foreclosures. 39 out of 40 have negative equity in my experience. (Which is minimal, this includes expenses)
If he can’t pay his mortgage then he won’t be able to pay rent at the current mortgage rate. (Assuming rent is PITI + 30% Maintenance) Now if he has enough equity in the home so that YOUR financing creates a rent payment he can afford, then by all means jump on the deal. Offer the realtor a note for 3-5% commission. Be generous and maybe she’ll bring you more deals!
Example
Guy with house pays $600/month PITI
He has 0 equity, you finance house and need to charge him $780/month rent. (He can’t afford it)
He has 50% Equity, you purchase house for 50% equity, and could charge him less than the $600 he is paying now.
This is a particularly tricky thing to pull off successfully, and there are a couple things you need to work through.
The likely thing to do here is buy the house outright and let them know they can rent from you for however long they need. Often, that’s good enough for them.
One way to deal with the realtor is to have you excluded from the agreement when the listing contract is signed.
The real problem is will the tenant(former owner) come back and say it was a loan. Here in Texas the homestead laws are such that if you do a preforeclosure that way the lien would be unenforceable.
I am relatively new myself, but why do you think that the homeowner and I quote you here:
“He wants to stay in the house so his son can continue in the school he is in now and he would further want to remain in the same house (Instant and Caring Tenant).”, would NOW start to pay his mortgage on time? Why is he an Instant and Caring Tenant? When did that transformation take place?
Just trying to learn: What are you going to ask the homeowner, if the real estate agent allows (this allowing thing is another discussion in itself) you to talk to him?