Hola Blogosphere!
How’s Everyone’s week going so far?
Things are off to a great start here (minus the weather). Brrrrrrrrrrrr.
It looks like I may be putting another deal together with one of my wholesaling compadres. This particular property hit the market at the end of last week at a ridiculously low price. I thought about making an offer on it, since one of my new buyers is looking for deals in this neighborhood. I sold her a similar property towards the end of last year, and she just called me a few days ago asking if I had anything else.
So, anyway, I thought about making an offer on the property until I saw who the listing agent was. I’m sure I’ve probably mentioned this before, but a good majority of the REO agents around these parts are in bed with some of the wholesalers (not literally, that I know of), and this particular agent is in bed with one of my wholesaler buddies, so I didn’t even bother to make an offer on it, because I don’t like wasting my time.
Anywho, my buddy who is in bed with the listing agent knows that I have buyers in the neighborhood where this particular house is located, so he called me yesterday to tell me he’s getting the deal and to ask if I have someone for it. The contract price with the bank is 22k, and I think I can get 30k-ish from my buyer, so we’ll see. I’ll call her first thing in the morning and have her check it out.
I’ve also got one other buyer who is always looking for properties in this neighborhood, but I hate dealing with him because he is a cheap bastard. I seriously could call him up tomorrow and tell him I am selling a 4/2 2000 sf home that was built in 2009, needs no work, and is worth 200k, and offer it to him for five dollars, and he would try to get it for $3 with me paying all closing costs. He drives me up the freaking wall. I have learned to jack my prices up between 8-10k when I bring him a deal because he LOVES to beat me up on price.
So anyway, I’m pretty sure I can get one of those two to take it, even though it is a piece of crap property in the hood.
It’s all good in the hood, ya know?
Ima sell me a house in the hood. Teehee.
In other, non-real estate related-news…… check out what my Mom got for me:
PINK POTS AND PANS!!!!
Aren’t they the cutest things you’ve ever seen in your entire life? This is actually the very first set of pots and pans I’ve ever owned in my 30 some years of life on this planet. I feel all grown up now. (THANKS MOM! XOXO)
I’d like to say that my first attempt at cooking in them was a great success, but then I would be lying. This is the recipe I tried, which, thankfully didn’t turn out as bad as the Great Scallop Disaster of 2010, but was nothing to write home about either. I’d give it 3.5 stars out of 10. It photographed well, though, which is almost as important….
Looks just like the picture in the recipe, doesn’t it? Too bad it tasted like spicy cardboard (I went a little overboard with the crushed red pepper again).
Alrighty then folks, that’s about all I’ve got for now. Hope you all have a great week!
10-4, Over and out.
P.S.
I had no reason for naming my post what I did, other than the fact that I have had that song stuck in my head ALL DAY, and I was hoping you all would join me in my misery. You’re welcome.
P.P.S.
“We don’t need no water let the mo*#er fu$#*r burn…..”
On February 16, 2010 at 9:51pm, Neil Uttamsingh said...
Steph,
You sssooo stole my line. I was all fired up to chime in here in the comments sections with…
‘we don’t need no water let the mofo burn, burn mofo burn’
but then I read your pps and saw you stole my line.
Oh well.
ps: spicy cardboard is my favourite!
pps: ‘favourite’ is spelled in Canada… ‘favourite’, not ‘favorite’. Weird, eh?!
Neil Uttamsingh´s last blog ..Everybody loves Canada
On February 16, 2010 at 10:53pm, Julie Broad said...
LOVE that you’re spreading the Canadian spelling around to the US blogger folks. They underestimate us Canadians … I can say that because none of them thought this little Canuck from Vancouver would give them a run for their money in the Battle of the REI blogs and what do you know…. I not only gave them a run for their money I took home the Gold Medal.
Steph – seriously now you HAVE to buy the pink stove and fridge we were chatting about last week. They would match that super duper cool pots and pans set.
I’m going to send you a copy of my cookbook so you can test out some of the NO FAIL recipes we’ve got going on like say granola, yogurt and fruit. That might be a better place to start then trying to cook up gourmet pasta?? :p
Good news about your deal … fingers crossed you bring it across the line!!
By the way – Jim was looking pretty darn Canadian in his toque and scarf today. Awesome.
Julie Broad´s last blog ..How to Rent Your Vacant Unit Fast
On February 17, 2010 at 4:48am, Stephani said...
Hi Julie,
I was thinking the same thing about the pink stove and fridge- how cute would that be? Did you also notice my pink salt and pepper shaker back there? My Mom also gave me that a while back, and I adore it! It’s my favourite.
I would totally love to try out your cookbook! Keep in mind, though, there is no such thing as a “no fail” recipe when it comes to me. I can pretty much ruin anything. I’m working on it, though.
On February 18, 2010 at 10:12pm, Julie Broad said...
I am kinda jealous of your pink salt and pepper shakers… and if they were pink that would probably ensure that Dave never used them so that would make them my own personal shakers. Very cool. I like your Mom.
Funny how this post about your latest deal really has turned to a discussion about food and cooking and pink pots and pans…
Julie Broad´s last blog ..How to Rent Your Vacant Unit Fast
On February 17, 2010 at 4:42am, Stephani said...
Hey Neil,
Sorry for stealing your line- I just couldn’t help myself!
You know- I’ve still got some leftovers in the fridge- I could wrap some up and overnight them to you? Do you like leftovers? Leftovers are my favourite….
P.S.
It’s nice to see someone who enjoys the P.S. as much as I do. I heart me some P.S.s
On February 20, 2010 at 7:55pm, Neil Uttamsingh said...
The ‘P.S.’ is key.
Better than the ‘P.S.’ is the ‘P.P.S’
Neil Uttamsingh´s last blog ..A message from the author
On February 17, 2010 at 5:58am, Shae said...
Steph, hilarious…I have some scallop suggestions from my sis for ya when we chat today. Don’t let me forget! The pots and pans are pretty hot I must say, way to go MOM! I have to hand it to ya…like Julie said, you’re starting off with some pretty “intermediate” level recipes rather than the simplest recipes. But hey, if you’re gonna do it, go all out huh? LOL!
Way to go on this deal – hope everything goes as planned!
Shae´s last blog ..Yellow letter campaign #1 results
On February 17, 2010 at 6:36am, Stephani said...
Yay- would love to get some other scallop recipes so I can redeem myself.
I think you are right, though, I need to start with some easy peasey recipes instead of jumping in and trying to be a gourmet hot shot right out of the gate…
Talk to ya later on…
On February 17, 2010 at 2:06pm, Scott Costello said...
Those pots and pans are you scream “STEPH!”
As I always say, if you are gonna have cardboard for dinner, might as well make is spicy!
I do like penne pasta so you are getting closer to having me over for dinner
Scott Costello´s last blog ..Better Your Productivity: To-Do Lists – Part 1
On February 17, 2010 at 2:09pm, Shae said...
Scotty, I can tell you from first hand experience that Steph cooks a mean french toast
So you should at least be good to go for breakfast!
Shae´s last blog ..Yellow letter campaign #1 results
On February 17, 2010 at 3:05pm, Stephani said...
I don’t know, Shae- I think the only thing he eats is chicken. Maybe I could make a french toast chicken sandwich? That sounds delightful.
On February 17, 2010 at 3:10pm, Shae said...
Hey, I have an idea! Maybe you can make him some Chicken and Waffles! Roscoe’s Style! http://www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/
Shae´s last blog ..An interesting turn of events
On February 17, 2010 at 3:15pm, Stephani said...
You know, I have a pretty open mind when it comes to trying new food, but that just makes me want to vomit. Almost more so than my Scallop disaster.
I do love me some waffles, though. With lots of butter and syrup. Yummy!
On February 17, 2010 at 3:18pm, Shae said...
I went to Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles in Austin, TX and absolutely refused to eat both together on the same plate at the same time. I ate the waffles solo….everyone else swore to me that the combo was really good. Ugh…made me ill watching them eat it though. In fact you should see the expression on my face right now as I type this. LOL!
Shae´s last blog ..An interesting turn of events
On February 17, 2010 at 3:39pm, Stephani said...
It’s probably similar to the one I have on my face, which translates into…..Ewwwwwwww.
On February 17, 2010 at 5:04pm, RJ said...
Steph looks like a tasty dish, i recently made some mussels liguini that looked like this http://twitpic.com/13b0iz – really good stuff, but n e hoo, If you think its cold down there in Tampa, you definitely wont want to chill in Columbus Ohio, we’ve had snow storms for 4 days, 20+ inches of snow, The REOs we go into are colder in the inside that out, dont really know why that is. Your thoughts?
Cheers
RJ
ps. thanks for checking out my infant stage blog..lol i’ll be posting here soon
RJ´s last blog ..Goodbye Rat Race!
On February 17, 2010 at 5:11pm, Stephani said...
Holy crap- that pasta looks delish, RJ! I have culinary envy…
You are right- I definitely would not want to be hanging out in Columbus right now. I grew up in IL so I know all about the winters up there. I can’t deal with them. It makes me want to cry thinking about scraping my windows and freezing locks, and all that stuff. I was also known to put my car in the ditch many, many times….
You know- when I was in St. Louis recently looking at REOs, I noticed that it was much colder in the houses than it was outside. It was windy out, too, so you would think it would be warmer inside. Hmmmm. I don’t have an explanation. Magic, maybe?
On February 17, 2010 at 5:56pm, Karen said...
Hi Steph! I am a flipper wannabe (bad!) but I am having a devil of time getting started. I’m hoping you would be so kind as to give me some tips. By flipper I mean I want to buy low, fix up, and then sell high(er). Since this is my first time I don’t have a ton of cash to be able to purchase a property but I have a loan pre-approval for $70k. So I would need a property that I can buy for $70k or less and then fix up and be able to sell for at leat $130k. Another approach is that I could purchase a property for cash up to $22k but then it would have to be in decent enough shape that I could put about $30-40k into it to make it move in ready.
I have been working with a real estate agent and positively scouring the MLS and every other website I can find looking at REO’s, but nothing seems to fit into the right parameters. Either the bank wants too much for it or it would take way too much money to get it up to move in ready condition. And short sales take so long; I want to get going on this ASAP so I can learn from it, and do another one.
Please, please, if you have ideas or tips for me, I would really appreciate it!!
Thanks,
Karen
On February 17, 2010 at 9:12pm, Stephani said...
Hey Karen,
Thanks for stopping by- glad to have you here.
To be honest with you- I don’t have much experience with rehab and flip deals, so I’m probably not the best person to be asking advice about that particular investing strategy. I do however, know of several guys who are doing really well with rehabs, and they just so happen to blog about their experiences. There are links to them in my sidebar, but I’ll list a few here for you, too:
http://www.123flip.com/blog
http://craigfuhr.com/
http://www.tomtarrant.com/
http://flippingcrazy.wordpress.com/
http://buildbankroll.com/
All are great blogs to follow- you will learn a ton from reading them.
Also, definitely check out the flippinghomes.com forum as well as the biggerpockets.com forum(s). Lots and lots of savvy investors on both of those sites who are always willing to help out.
Hope that helps- good luck in your flipping endeavors!
On February 17, 2010 at 8:38pm, Justin Schnettler said...
Hey Steph-
You seem to be picking up REO’s pretty easily (I’m sure its not that easy), do you think that is due to the relationships you built or more related to the properties themselves?
Thanks,
Justin
On February 17, 2010 at 9:14pm, Stephani said...
Hey Justin,
Most of the deals I’ve been doing lately are joint venture deals with other wholesalers. I have built up some great relationships with a few of the big players in my market, so I have been selling their deals when I don’t have any of my own…
Steph
On February 18, 2010 at 4:15am, Karen said...
Thanks Steph! I’ll check those links out for sure. I should have mentioned – I’m in Tampa – so maybe you could tell me what areas are good for investors or put me on your list of buyers?
On February 18, 2010 at 5:54am, Stephani said...
Town N Country is a pretty hot area right now.
I would definitely start going to some of the local REIA meetings and networking with other rehabbers. There’s one that meets in Brandon every week (Tuesdays, I think), that is run by a friend of mine. It’s a great meeting, and there is usually a pretty big turnout. Here’s a link:
http://old.tbreia.com/SG/Brandon/Default.asp
I haven’t been in awhile, so I would call first just to make sure they are still meeting at the same time and place.
Once you get a better idea of what areas you are interested in and what prices you are looking to pay- let me know and I will keep an eye out for you.
Steph
On February 18, 2010 at 7:36am, Erby said...
Hey Steph, those pots and pans got a lot of Swagga. Like Scott said, they scream STEPH. Hey when you are doing you JV deals, if your original buyer dose not take the deal do you and the other wholesaler both go out and market the property or dose he allow you some time to find a buyer through your marketing?
P.S. Read your article on BP and as usual you are dead on! Persistance Pay$$$$$$$$$
Erby´s last blog ..3BD/2BA Single Family Home $55,000
On February 18, 2010 at 7:43am, Stephani said...
Hola Erby,
Hehe- my pans got swagga.
Regarding the JV deals- they don’t take it off the market unless I am positive I can sell it. It’s pretty much whoever finds a buyer first. In this instance, though, he isn’t even trying to market it because I told him I knew I had a buyer for it. Not sure if that makes sense…
Steph
P.S.
Glad you liked the article!
On February 18, 2010 at 9:07am, Erby said...
That makes a lot of sense. Almost all of my deals are JV deals but one particular wholesaler sends me the deals but also markets the property himself and sometimes I come up short in bringing a buyer to the table. He told me If I was confident in bringing him a buyer for his deals I should give him a deposit and lock up the contract being that its a REO and he is trying to recoup his deposit. Not what I’m use to because I never put a deposit (of my own money)
What do you think?
Erby´s last blog ..3BD/2BA Single Family Home $55,000
On February 18, 2010 at 9:18am, Stephani said...
Well, I can see him not wanting to take the deal off the market unless you already had a buyer lined up and a deposit.
On this particular deal the guy who I’m working with, I’ve been doing deals with him for about 3 yrs, so he knows when I tell him I can sell it, that I can sell it. Usually, though, he will just market it, and I will market it and whoever finds a buyer wins.
Are you picking up what I’m putting down, or am I confusing things?
On February 18, 2010 at 9:32am, Erby said...
Yeah I’m picking up what your putting down:) We have been doing business for about 2 yrs now and we pretty much have the same type of relationship as you and your guy. So if it aint broke I wont fix it. He will just market it, and I will market it and whoever finds a buyer first wins.
Thanks.
Erby´s last blog ..3BD/2BA Single Family Home $55,000
On February 18, 2010 at 11:47pm, Lila said...
Hey Steph,
Couple things: 1) Where did you find/get the contract that you use in making your offers? I saw a pic of one on your blog (”I guess that’s a ‘no!’” pic). The contract looks highly detailed compared to the contracts that I’ve gotten from various Wholesaling classes I’ve taken. 2) Your pasta looks great. Here’s the way to make it NOT taste like cardboard – LOTS of olive oil, which equals lots of calories. Sorry, but it’s the truth.
Your the BEST!
On February 19, 2010 at 6:45am, Stephani said...
Hi Lila,
The contract that I use for REOs is the FAR (Florida Assoc of Realtors) As-Is contract. 99% of the banks will make you submit your offer on that contract (if you are in FL, anyway). It’s not too bad- only 4 pages. The listing agent or your buyer’s agent will provide you with the contract when you go to make an offer- you can’t use your own.
Thanks for the advice about the pasta- I will have to try that out next time.
Have a great weekend!
Steph
On February 19, 2010 at 9:04pm, Nick@Subject2.com said...
I can see a cooking blog coming in your future Steph. I’m not much of a cook my self but I’ve seen one played on tv before.
On February 20, 2010 at 3:57am, Stephani said...
Funny you mention that, Nick, because I totally want to start up a cooking blog (I already have the name picked out, even), but I know I would end up getting too distracted. I’ll do it eventually, but for now, I’ll just torture you guys with my cooking escapades.
On February 20, 2010 at 8:22pm, Nick@Subject2.com said...
Are you kidding me, you totally should.
Create a totally new niche ‘Cooking for RE investors’
You can start off with recipes for newbs with Ramen noodles and different tasty varieties etc….. work it up to steak and potatoes
Do it!!!!
On February 25, 2010 at 1:51pm, Mike W said...
Hi Steph. So if your buyer likes this neighborhood and the property was listed why wouldn’t she just make an offer on it herself, instead of paying the wholesaler’s markup? Thanks!
On February 25, 2010 at 1:59pm, Stephani said...
Hi Mike,
A lot of buyers don’t have the time or inclination to scour the MLS for deals, they would rather have a wholesaler do the work for them. Bidding on REOs is very competitive here, so oftentimes it takes many offers to get a good deal.
Also, in this particular case, the agent was giving the deal to my buddy, so it really wouldn’t have mattered if she made an offer or not. That happens a lot.
Steph
On February 25, 2010 at 2:30pm, Karen said...
Hi Steph!
Just curious if you happen to know if this is the same system in other cities as well, or is it a Tampa thing? I mean the system of the listing agent for the bank owned property making a deal with with a buddy to get the property for a low price instead of listing it for the general public. Do you know how it works in other cities?
Thank you for all you do!
Karen
On February 25, 2010 at 2:38pm, Stephani said...
Hi Karen,
It’s not really a system- just a few agents who have relationships with certain buyers who will go out of their way to make sure their buyers get certain deals (sometimes called pocket listings). They obviously aren’t supposed to be doing that, and would be in deep shit if they got caught, but it still happens.
I imagine the same thing happens to some extent in every area…
Steph
On March 01, 2010 at 4:00pm, Kimberly said...
Hi,
I have an end buyer that is doing conventional financing, already approved and has any down payment needed. What is the best way to go about this type of transaction and which are the best contracts to use. I am not a Realtor, I help people in foreclosure, short sale programs and I am starting to wholesale properties. Please Help!
Thank you,
Kimberly
On March 01, 2010 at 5:57pm, Stephani said...
Hi Kimberly,
If you are wholesaling the property to an end buyer who is getting conventional financing, the deal will not work in most cases. You need to find a lender (small local bank, usually), who does not have title seasoning requirements, and does not care that the property is being flipped.
Most conventional lenders will not fund a deal if the contract is being assigned.
Hope that helps,
Steph
On March 10, 2010 at 1:36pm, bruce said...
hello, i am a beginning investor. i want to wholesale and flip reos. my problem is the pof letters.my investors want propert under contract before they will look at them. the banks want a pof before they will put them under contract. this is beating my head against the wall. can you help.bruce
On March 10, 2010 at 2:11pm, Stephani said...
Try this….
http://fundthiswholesaler.net/proof-of-funds/
On March 17, 2010 at 12:07pm, Kimberly said...
Hi Steph,
I have several properties under contract and I was wondering if you have any buyers here in South Florida mainly Broward County area or buyers interested in this area. I have been following a lot of your advise and I would love to work with you on some deals.
Thank you,
Kimberly
On March 17, 2010 at 12:11pm, Stephani said...
Hi Kimberly,
I only have buyers looking for stuff in Tampa, but check with Shae from http://www.goodfaithinvesting.com She’s in the area and might be able to help you out.
Good luck,
Steph
On March 17, 2010 at 12:18pm, Shae said...
Hey Kimberly, I have a 2 buyers right now who are looking for Broward properties — 3 bed, 2 bath homes preferred. Can you send me an email at shaebynes AT gmail DOT com and we can discuss the properties you have?
Shae´s last blog ..Relentless forward motion
On March 17, 2010 at 12:22pm, Stephani said...
I want a finder’s fee.
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
I kid, I kid.
On March 17, 2010 at 12:48pm, Shae said...
LOL! Can I pay you in coffee?
Shae´s last blog ..Relentless forward motion
On March 17, 2010 at 12:59pm, Stephani said...
You already have- thank you!