Author Topic: First Step Taken  (Read 2379 times)

Scuba Stache

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First Step Taken
« on: July 17, 2014, 03:41:17 PM »
Thankfully you guys helped talk me out of the Turn Key Rental Company path. I attended my first REIA meeting this week and made connections with a couple wholesalers. I will be attending this weekly for the foreseeable future and am getting my financing in place, but I have a long list of questions I am hoping to start chipping away at.
Top of the list
1. Warnings / words of wisdom for buying property a local wholesalers may find?
2. Wholesaler path would skip the need for a realtor, what would be the best way to secure comps / appraisal without said agent?

Background info:
Currently have 30-50k cash available through liquidating some stock holdings. This will be used to secure standard 30yr fixed financing for a ~100k SFH with little to no repairs needed OR property that can be bought and fixed for under 50k all cash. Plan is to secure 1-2 homes yearly until rental profit matches day job.

livingthedream

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Re: First Step Taken
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2014, 05:27:26 PM »
You can get your comps through Zillow and Redfin. They have tools to identify areas you are interested in and set up alerts for new listings and sales.

escolegrove

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Re: First Step Taken
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2014, 11:19:54 PM »
I personally LOVE having a realtor. My realtor has saved me SOOO much money over the last year. She knows the great buy and the not so great buys. I also existed in area where most houses were undermarket so.... We are young and are trying to buy as many houses to leverage our money to take advantage of the great interest rates as long as the rent is able to support. We are following the southwest model. Smaller profit margin with tight control of the cost in areas of appreciation.

babysteps

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Re: First Step Taken
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2014, 11:49:55 AM »
Some (but not all) areas have public sales data online. Our county even has a 'comps' function within its property info site that lets you screen by area/price/sale date/property type etc. 

Not every area has online data, but if they do it can be very helpful.  Start with your area's assessor office website and go from there.  Sometimes it may be the county (or city) clerk that handles this.  I think I've also seen the tax collector be the spot to find the online link.

Advice: pay much more attention to closed sales than to listing prices, although if you sift through the data you can develop a good idea of how listing price usually relates to closed sales price.  Also, get as good idea as you can about condition.  In our low COL area "move in ready" can be twice (or more) the price of a "fixer upper"; the % difference is much less in our old high COL area but incremental $ gap was even higher thanks to generally fancier-pants finishes.

sammybiker

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Re: First Step Taken
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2014, 12:22:10 PM »
Vet the hell out of those wholesalers, check with other local investors, check their references, etc.

I find 95% of wholesalers are jokes, don't find decent deals, bend comps to fit their deals and by and large don't know what they are doing.

The 5% of wholesalers that are solid are hard to find as they already have a solid buyers list of 5-10 cash guys that snap up everything because they are truly wholesale deals.

It sounds like you're setting up to be a serious investor, accumulating a couple rentals on an annual basis.  It would be a HUGE value add to go after your RE license so that you can cut out commissions, have direct access to MLS and be first to bid properties as they hit the market. 

Finding a decent real estate agent that knows investors and what they are looking for is difficult.  And even after (if) you find one, you still have to pay for it.  Why would you do that?  If you're going to be an investor, be an investor and don't sub out your acquisitions/liquidations or allow yourself to be second place to getting bids in, realizing comps, etc.

/\ great advice in the post above re: finding real comps without direct MLS access.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2014, 12:30:24 PM by sammybiker »

arebelspy

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Re: First Step Taken
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2014, 09:15:50 AM »
Agree with sammy, most wholesalers you meet at REIAs aren't for real.

They will bring you properties, but not deals.

I'd recommend for your first purchase(s) you use an agent.  Their expertise is worth paying for when you're getting started and don't know what you don't know.

I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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