Alex

Hi Naked People, Ok so I just got off the phone with a couple that are highly interested in my short offer that was sent to them at the end of last week. They asked me if they could place a stipulation in the agreement that would prohibit the tenant/buyers from making any changes to the apartment until they exercised the option to buy. I wanted to double check to make sure this was doable...so...is it? I told her I would check with my attorney, so thanks guys! -Alex

Kind of odd that at this time a retired couple would speculate on flipping a property, and one they just had built, no less. But it's their cash, so all you need to do is show them how you can help them and let the chips fall where they may. I'm not worried, but this can be a problem. If one half of the equation isn't in agreement with the other, the deal will die. Be sure that whenever you are talking to one, the other is also present. You can do a much better job of explaining the advantages of this to the wife than the husband can. This can sometimes be difficult. Especially if the area is one you aren't familiar with and is somewhat remote, which seems to be the case here. Start with the local newspaper and see if there are any similar properties in that area for rent. Do the same with the online sites: Craig's List, backpage.com, kijiji.com, postlets.com, and any other local sites that list rentals. Then call a local property management company and ask if they have any rentals in the area. Play the part of a potential tenant and find out what the listings are going for. You can also do the same with a rental agent at any of the major realty offices. All of this ought to give you a good idea of rental values. No need to go look at the owner's pretty house. It's a 2 hour drive one way! Fuggetaboutit. You handled that just fine. First an agreement needs to be reached on a deal, then you can worry about seeing the place. . .and even then it isn't necessary. In this case I would put the homeowner to work and agree to split the option consideration. You'll make less money, obviously. But you won't be burning up gas or time, and you'll be free to pursue other deals simultaneously. The freebies are numerous: Zillow, RealEstate.com, RealEstateABC.com, and Cyber Homes. There are also sites that will charge a fee for providing sales data: Electronic Appraiser, SiteXdata, and Smart Home Buy. Also, this is when it benefits you greatly to have a Realtor and mortgage broker in your network. They can get you this info, as well. OK, Alex, you've got work to do! Thanks Mike, that helps a lot! I'm on top of it. Also, where have you guys found the best places to market yourself these days? I know Craigslist is best, and MC's manual gives great insight on traditional ways of marketing (bandit signs, business cards, flyers, etc), but are there other free websites that are worth advertising on? P.S- I had another local investor call me today as I apparently inquired on his craiglist listing, but I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how he got my number. I am certain that I have not given out my number to anyone as of yet. I wonder if he looked me up somehow? Anyhow, he was more interested in my "business model" rather than working together. -Alex

Hi Guys, So after just one day of emailing homeowners and pre-screening those interested in the lease purchase idea with a second email explaining exactly what we do, I have two leads that are interested: I spoke to one of those leads today and it went fairly well (especially for my first call ). The couple who is selling the home are retired and built this home with the purpose of selling it. Given the fact that the home was completed in February, I imagine that they are having some trouble selling it the traditional way. My contact is really open to the idea, but he warned that his wife was concerned with "renting the home", but don't worry I explained the pros between a traditional renter and a tenant/buyer. Here are the underlying issues: The asking price is 349K. He told me that he has had 2 real estate agents look at the home and they told him that the price was on target. I asked about monthly rental rate, and he had no idea, and hadn't really thought about it. I then asked him what his monthly payments were, but he didn't want to tell me until I told him what the monthly rate was. Fine. My question is: How do I go about doing my due diligence on the rental rate in his area? The house is gorgeous, but its 2 hours outside of DC (which is where i live), and its in a wooded and rather secluded area. My contact wanted me to go out and see the house, but I told him that we had to agree on some numbers first. This brings about my second question: What do you guys do when you have an interested homeowner who lives about 2 hrs out? DO y'all recommend making the trip out there, or working with the homeowner and splitting some of the option money? Last but not least: I should know this, but what are some websites that you guys use for comps? As always, your input is greatly appreciated, as I barely know what I'm doing! -Alex

Thanks guys, for all the advice. I'll keep you posted. -Alex

Eric, congratulations buddy! That's fantastic to hear. I'm in the process of seeking my first deal, and I'll make sure to report on that. In the meantime, keep the good times rolling! -Alex

Hello again naked people , So yesterday I sent out my first dozen emails or so. You guys probably already do this, but I found that bcc'ing everyone I want to send an email to has been both time efficient and effective. I am getting a good amount of people open to the lease purchase idea, thus today I sent out MC's second email template along with the lease purchase advantage flyer. We'll see how they respond to that. For those people who do this full time (I just recently quit my job to invest in lease purchasing full time), I was hoping to get an idea of how many emails and phone calls you guys put out on a daily basis? I know it varies, but I'm trying to get on a steady routine here. I'm looking to invest about 4-6 hrs a day on this project! Have you naked people found that calls are more effective over emails, or vice versa? Also, how important is it to register an LLC early on in the game? Thanks guys, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello to all naked-investors! To make a long story short, I have been keeping up with this board for about 2 1/2 years now. I discovered this board while I was finishing up college, and became extremely excited about the concept of lease purchasing. I first heard of the concept through one of Peter Conti's book, proceeded by researching the web, and somewhere along the lines, there was a post strongly recomennding this board. Right after college I was offered a full time job here in Washington DC where I currently reside. I decided to sign up with Mike's tutorial course, and give lease purchasing a shot by working on it part time. I quickly learned that while Mike is extremely helpful, I needed to gain some "real world experience". When I was offered a job as a sales consultant with an It Company, I couldn't turn down the offer as it seemed, and it indeed proved to be a great opportunity. A year and a half later, I've learned how to deal with executives that have 3 times my experience, and age. I learned how to negotiate with these individuals, and much more. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I have decided to pursue Real Estate Investing, specifically lease purchasing, as a full time job! For this reason I wanted to introduce myself to all of you faithfuls! My first question: I am considering the idea of moving to Miami. Does anyone have any advice or opionion on lease purchasing in the Miami market? Would you guys recommend/not recommend it? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Doug, I just wanted to confirm what I read... did you state that you were paying $7.00 dollars a month? if so, I had no idea it was that cheap, and well worth it.

Get 'er done Doug, this guy seems ready to go! press urgency on the contracts!

From New Orleans, but living in the DC metro area!

Thanks Mike

Hey guys, Can anyone tell me the difference between a jumbo, conforming, and adjustable mortgage interest rates? I know this question may be a bit idiotic, but hey, I have to learn. Thanks

Hello guys, While working with lease options, I have taken interest in short sales. I am currently working with a seller who just wants out. Needless to say, he is in a mess. Here is the situation: Today, the homeowner will fax written consent to both mortgages giving me permission to access their payoffs. The seller is about to be 4 payments behind. His second mortgage agreed to cut his monthly payments in half, yet this doesn't do much for him as he still cannot afford payments. He says the house is worth around $400k and he owes $440k! He has no equity. The first mortgage is around $300K and his second is about $140K (these are rough estimates, I will give accurate estimates once i recieve them). My question is, seeing that he has no equity, and the estimates given above, is this deal workable? What is the first thing I should do once I recieve the payoffs? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Good point. Sellers in the DC area feel as though there is no where else to go then up, being a great job market and all.

Hi guys, I had a seller yesterday who was trying to sell his house but was open to renting it, yet he was not open to lease option because of the following reason. He said that if the value of the house was to increase, then he could potentially lose out. If the value of the house went down, then the tenant buyer would opt to buy the home. I tried to explain that the tenant buyer puts down an option consideration (which of course would go to me) which he would essentially lose out on if he decided to walk. Is there anything else I could have said to counter this objection?