Flip This Wholesaler

9/4/2008

So, first thing this morning, I went over to the property I just got under contract to see if I could fix the door that had supposedly been kicked in. Turns out you just have to lift up on the door a little bit when you shut it. Problem solved.

Still haven’t heard back on that counter I was talking about a few days ago. I called the listing agent to see if the bank had responded, but he hasn’t heard anything yet. I really want this one, as I’m pretty sure McHotterson will take this in a heartbeat. He just got back from Russia and is looking for more houses, so it would be nice to get this one for him.

I am currently in a bidding war with 3 other wholesalers over a property that just came on the market. I happen to know what the other two guys offered (I’m not at liberty to say how I know that, but rest assured it is not shady or illegal or anything).. anyway, unless more offers come in before morning, I think I should have this one in the bag. I’ve closed several deals with this listing agent, so that is always a bonus.

I’m still in a state of shock about this, but I’ll be damned if one of my deals isn’t closing EARLY!! Holy shit- can you believe it? An REO closing a full business day early- SHOCKING! It was supposed to close next Monday, but by some miracle, the lady handling the file actually got it done early.

HEHEHE….Damn, I’m good.

Tomorrow I’m going with another wholesaler friend of mine to see my short sale friend Nathan speak at this event. He’s turning into a little guru right before my very eyes. Hehe.  If you’re interested in jumping into the short sale arena, I highly recommend his new course.  It’s good stuff.

A più tardi

P.S.
Just wanted to give you all a friendly reminder that you should NEVER, EVER, accept a personal check as a deposit from a buyer you haven’t worked with before. I don’t want to talk about it right now, but just trust me on this one.

7/22/2008

So, tonight I went out for sushi with my short sale friend Nathan. I know a lot of the people reading this have not been reading since the beginning, so you probably don’t remember last summer when Nathan was just starting up his short sale business. Fast forward a little over a year, and this guy is kicking some serious short sale ass and taking names. I have to tell you, what he has accomplished over the last year is very impressive, and I have seen him bust his ass to get to where he is now…

Anyway, we were having a beer on his patio this evening and he mentioned how he remembered that last year at this time I was running around putting bandit signs out every night, and just trying to figure out how I could make money in this market, and, at the same time, he was getting his short sale business off the ground……. And then he said something that really hit home… He said (in a nutshell), that the reason we are starting to see the fruits of our labor is because we were willing to PAY THE PRICE. We were willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to succeed.

I know there are a lot of beginning investors who read this blog, and I can honestly tell you that PERSISTENCE is what makes all the difference. You can buy every single course on the face of the Earth, and go to every single seminar, and pay 10 billion dollars for a mentorship program, but what it all comes down to in the end, is whether or not you are willing to pay the price. It comes down to persistence- to how bad you want it.

I know that there are a million so-called gurus out there flooding your inbox with a bunch of bullshit, and telling you how easy it is to make money in real estate (I get the emails, too). Let me be the first to tell you that IT IS NOT EASY. If you want to succeed in this business, you are going to have to pay the price. I do not know one single investor who just waltzed into success and did not pay his dues. Not one.

There is a shit-ton of money to be made in this business, but you have to be willing to work for it, and do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Success in this business is not easy, but it is there for the taking for those who really want it.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

10-4, Over and Out.

6/19/2008

Went to see the Rays play the Cubs last night with my friend Jeff. Man, there were a lot of Cubs fans in the house. I’m not a huge fan of baseball, really, but had a great time anyway….

I’m meeting a buyer in an hour to get a deposit and sign a contract for the house I just closed on with Nathan on Tuesday. I have some other guys interested, but they are still working on getting their hard money lined up, and I know this guy personally, and also know his hard money lender already said he would fund it, so I’m going with him.

The short sale deal that I had sold to my buyer is not going to happen because the seller’s attorney instructed her to not sign the promissory note, so I guess she’s going to just lose the house. Thank you, Mr. Attorney.

No new news on the other REO that was supposed to close forever ago. The bank is still dragging their feet for whatever reason. Maybe it will close some time before Christmas.

And that’s all she wrote. Gotta run….

6/17/2008

I think I’m going to change the name of my blog to “Days of Our Wholesaling Lives,” because I’ve got so much deal drama going on right now.

To sum up, my buyer for the deal that was supposed to close yesterday ended up not being able to come through with his financing, which I didn’t find out until this morning because he did not return my phone calls yesterday evening. So I got to spend last night staring at my ceiling wondering what was going to happen. That always makes for a good night’s sleep. I had to call the bank’s title company yesterday and come up with an excuse for why the wire was not going to be there. They were not too happy about it, but I bought another day for myself.

I called my short sale friend, Nathan, last night (who, by the way is closing on 8 deals this month, and just released his short sale course that teaches how to do the same), to vent to him about how frustrated I was that I had another buyer for this deal for more money, but I went with what I thought was the sure thing, and now I pretty much screwed myself.

He asked me if I thought I could still sell it and make money, and offered to put up the cash for it if my buyer couldn’t close, and offered to split the deal 50/50. So, that’s what I did. I just got back from dropping the cashier’s check off at my title company, and they sent the wire to the bank just in the nick of time.

I have to admit I’m scared shitless right now of not being able to sell this house when my friend’s money is on the line, but I’m pretty sure I will be getting a contract on it this evening from the same buyer that I turned down a week ago.

Also, I have another wholesaler friend who told me he would close on it himself and keep it as a rental if I can’t find another buyer.

So, I should be OK, and still make money on it.

Oh, also, the listing agent called me a little bit ago to make sure everything got closed OK, and mentioned to me that she would have “plenty more deals like that” coming up.

Nice.

That in itself is worth the headache.

I sold another deal to my buyer who is waiting on that deal that was supposed to close last week. He told me he is willing to wait for them to get their shit together, and he will take this one, too. Only problem is, this is a short sale that was just approved, but the bank is requiring the seller to sign a promissory note for the amount they are discounting the house (or something like that- I don’t do short sales), and the seller is on the fence about signing it.

It has to close by Friday, so she better make up her mind. This is a deal that another wholesaler friend of mine has under contract, so we will be splitting the profits on this one.

I’m tired. I seriously was up at 4am worrying about this stupid deal closing.

So, that’s it in a very small nutshell. There’s some more to the story, but I won’t get into it here. Let’s just say I’ve learned some valuable lessons on this one. Hopefully there won’t be more to follow.

Over and out to get a much needed cocktail…

P.S.
Peer Title in Tampa rocks.

2/16/2007

Well, we really did it up Thursday night. Drinks were drank, karaoke was sung (2 songs this time), and one of the worst hangovers I’ve ever had in my entire life was had yesterday. It was awful. So, needless to say, I didn’t get much done yesterday, dammit. Stupid Valentine’s Day.

Hey remember last year when I was talking about moving into a loft at Channelside? And then I couldn’t get a deal to save my life, so it never ended up happening. Remember?

Well, I’m happy to announce that “Operation Move Into a Channelside Loft before April 1st” is back on!

My short sale friend Nathan just moved down there last month. His place is bad ass.

He got a list of all of the people who owned units in the complex that he wanted to live in, skip traced them to get their phone numbers, and then started calling them up to see what kind of deal he could get. His plan was to find a 2 bedroom, or 1 bedroom + office for $1500/month max. He ended up getting the Mack Daddy penthouse unit that should rent for at least 3k (it retails for over 600k). Anyway, he got it for $1500/month!! Can you believe that?

And, in this particular complex (Grand Central), everything is included- internet, cable, phone (with free long distance), water, trash, and your AC. What a deal, huh? So, yeah, I’m moving down there. If I move into the same complex that he’s in, I’ll be paying less than what I’m paying now, since all of the utilities are included. I’m going down there tomorrow to check a bunch of places out. Soooooo excited.

I’ll be having a loft-warming party shortly after I move in. You all are invited. Mark your calendars.