Flip This Wholesaler

Holy crap, Blogosphere- long time, no post.

I do apologize for my severe lack of posting lately.   I think I said that last time, but I’ll just go ahead and repeat myself.

I  have a pretty good excuse for my absense, though…

I wasn’t even going to mention this yet, but Oprah (Winfrey) found out about my eBook, and she had her people contact my people, and next thing you know, I’m off to Chicago for meetings and such.  She’s preparing to launch her “eBook of the Month Club,”  and wants Flip This REO! to be a part of it…

I’m still thinking it over.

So, anyway, things have been kind of crazy over here, as you can imagine..

I know it was six years ago when I wrote about it, but remember those two deals that I was working on with Murphy?

Well, one of them, as it turns out, has some serious settlement issues going on (as in, it’s on a sinkhole).   I don’t know if you guys in other parts of the country have to deal with sinkholes, but they’re all over the place in sunny F-L-A.

This isn’t the first time this has happened to me, and if I wasn’t deliriously tired right now, I would search through the archives and find the post about the other time I thought I had the deal of the century and then I went back to inspect the house for the 2nd time and realized that I had a big problem on my hands.  Remember that?

Actually…..wait a sec……..here it is.

So, anyway, long story short, the back of the house looks kinda like this…

Good times.

It’s not quite that bad, but bad enough to put the kibosh on the deal.

In case you’re wondering how in the heck both of us could have missed something like this, I don’t really have an answer for you.   Apparently, we both had our heads up our asses when we walked around the house..

Thankfully, the bank’s addendum included a 10 day inspection period, so Murphy was able to get out of the contract and get his deposit back.

I wonder if I learned my lesson this time? I also wonder if that sentence should have a question mark after it?

We found a buyer for the other deal, which is supposed to close at the end of the month.   Unfortunately,  we have the worst  title company in the whole wide world handling the closing, so I’m not holding my breath.

(BTW, I just Googled “Watson Title”, and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks they SUCK.)  And no, Filip Kunovski is not my alias.  Although, the name does have a nice ring to it..

Let’s see….what else?

I’m leaving for St. Louis tomorrow to visit with my sister and nephew, and then my Dad is coming down from IL and we’re all heading to the sticks of Southern IL for a family reunion where there will most likely be a pig roast, and possibly a tractor pull.

And hopefully, lots o’ beer.

In the can.

I probably won’t be able to post to my blog while I’m there, but you can follow my updates on Facebook and Twitter if you feel so inclined.

I guess I better get going.  It’s almost 3am, and shockingly enough, I haven’t started packing yet..

Later Alligators!

P.S.
Happy Birthday Mom, I LOVE YOU!! XOXOXOXO

P.P.S
Happy belated Bloggiversary, Shae!

P.P.P.S
Congrats on your first year in the flipping biz, Jason!

P.P.P.P.S. (sorry- I’m making up for lost time)
Patrick Riddle is kicking off a 7 part, creative real estate training series over on his blog.

It’s FREE, and if you haven’t figured it out by now- he always puts out awesome, quality content, AND, no sleazy sales pitches! I HIGHLY recommend you head on over and check it out..

P(to the fifth power).S.
In case you’ve been in a cave for the last two weeks, and haven’t seen this video with Tony Robbins, Frank Kern, and John Reese…you have to check it out. I’ve watched it four times already. No sales pitches, just good, quality information, and very inspiring.

7/10/09

I just wanted to write a quick post to reiterate the fact that my title company, (Peer Title), rocks.

Having to constantly deal with incompetence and laziness from listing agents, asset managers, and the bank’s title companies, I can’t tell you what a breath of fresh air it is to deal with a title company that doesn’t suck.

I got an email from them this morning along with the preliminary HUD for the deal that I just got under contract (that isn’t supposed to close until the 24th). The email said, “We are ready to close this deal whenever you are ready..”

They haven’t even had the contract for 48 hours, and they are ready to close. God bless them.

I’m sure the bank’s title company will do their very best to fuck everything up, but it’s still nice to know that I have Peer on my side, ready to close the deal.

Amen to that.

If you’re in the Tampa Bay area, and you need an investor-friendly title company, give Peer a call: 813.870.1614. I’ve been with them for almost 3 years, and have never once had them drop the ball. They ROCK.

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

10-4, over and out.

P.S.
Have a great weekend, Blogosphere!

P.P.S.
If you have any interest in securing private money to fund your real estate deals, set aside some time this weekend to watch Patrick and Trevor’s free training videos. They are providing a TON of free, quality info, including a Q and A session that is almost 4 hours long, as well as the power point presentation that they use when approaching potential private lenders. Lots of good stuff in there…

.

7/2/09

Sooooo….I got a deal under contract and sold yesterday! This is a different deal than the Hooker House I wrote about last time, which I am going to pass on.

I’m pretty sure this was the fastest I’ve ever sold a deal. And it was all done via text.

Here’s how it went down….

2:32 pm- Phone call from listing agent of a property I offered on this past Monday. It went to highest and best, and I offered 21k (10k over list). She said there were 20 offers on the property, and they had it narrowed down to 3, one of which was mine. She told me if I verbally agreed to their new terms, she could get my offer pushed through. They wanted 10% in escrow instead of the 1k I offered, and everything else was the same. I agreed to the new terms.

Oh, and she also wanted to verify that I was giving her both sides of the commission, including the 3k bonus to the selling agent. I’m sure this had nothing to do with me getting the offer accepted.

5:07 pm- Email from listing agent telling me they are taking my offer, and that I need to sign bank’s addendum and return it within 48 hours, along with earnest deposit.

5:50 pm- After going to look at the house one more time, sent the following text message to my favorite buyer: “Hey Favorite Buyer, I just got a house you are going to like. 123 Main Street. 1200 sf frame, carport, fireplace, comes with extra lot. Nice street. Lock box 8590. Asking 29k.”

6:35 pm- Text from Favorite Buyer: “20k.”

6:36pm- Text to Favorite Buyer: “27k.”

6:36 pm- Text from FB: “24k.”

6:38 pm- Text to FB: “26k. Work with me here.”

6:39 pm- Text from FB: “OK. 26k.”

6:39 pm- Text to FB: “Cool. It’s scheduled to close on the 24th. That OK?”

6:40 pm- Text from FB: “OK.”

6:42 pm- Text to FB: “If you’re around this weekend, we can meet to sign everything. Just let me know when.”

6:46 pm- Text from FB: “OK, no problem.”

And there you have it.

I probably could have found a buyer for more than 26k, but I’m always one to take the quick nickel, especially if it is from one of my solid buyers. This will be the 4th house I’ve sold to this guy this year, and the 6th since last summer.

Just to give you a little insight as to how important it is to make clean offers when you’re bidding on a hot REO property….. the agent told me there was an offer of 30k on the table, but they wanted a 7 day inspection period. My offer was 9k less, but had zero contingencies.

It also helps to bribe the agent by giving them both sides of the commission. Especially when there is a 3k bonus being offered..

OK, Gotta run..

Have a safe and fun-filled 4th of July!

P.S.
I just added Patrick and Trevor’s Private Money Blueprint to my list of recommended courses. If you have time this weekend, check out the free videos- there’s several hours of quality content for your viewing pleasure…