GetSmart

I was browsing another forum and they mentioned that the department of justice won a suit that allows fsbos to have their properties listed on the mls without representation. is this familiar?

mike one question, why put rent into the search box?

i guess i can get in front of a live web camera with my speedos dancing to david byrnes "like people do", oh wait i have to shave my buns first. or this might work .

wcg, thanks for the advice because i think i want to try an monetize my site, i get over 800 new visitors everymonth and if there is something i can provide something that they aren't looking for but when they see, they will want it right away. now i need to come up with something.

you need to get familiar with the internet, there are so many ways to be there without being there. as long as you have internet access and a telephone you should be ok.

does anybody use the search bar on craigslist to find the type of sellers they are looking for?

hey, hey (in defense of Barney Franks ), adjustable rates aren't so bad if you can structure the deal properly. lenders are now in the business to protect their assets which means keeping their loans performing or full pay off. with these adjustable rate mortgages you have to be more creative and request to speak with their lender to see if they will re-arrange the loan to a rate the owner/you the investor can work with. if you think people are not making money on these bad loans you are in the dark ages and need to step into the new day of investing. of course there a certain qualifications, but if you get it down packed you will help more homeowners and start a new trend of pulling through the recession. the more foreclosures there are in your area, the lower the home values will fall, but if you can perserve your market then you are helping more homeowners and their neighbors. just food for the thought , wanted to mix things up a little

if you are looking to buy their house that isn't a commercial service or isn't? i guess it depends on how you get paid.

i have noticed that zillow comparables usually have almost all the same as the paid sites. the only difference is with the paid sites, the comps can be narrowed down close to exactly the same house. just less cross referencing with the paid sites. i won't pay for comp search unless i have the property under contract otherwise i use the free sites.

you will have to read your contract to determine what is allowed. you might want to contact an attorney.

Black market or not there is still money leaving the country that isn't coming back. Where do you think this so called black market money is coming from? the same place that can fuel the economy. 10% is sending their money out and its not coming back. think about who was the richest man in the world for a few months. the same man that earned 56 bill for selling phone cards. now if he can make that much from phone cards, just think how much more money is being outsourced to fund someones families. however like i said, you may not agree but facts are facts. a faucet of money going out and being replenished by the fed creating more money has a far bigger impact than you can imagine.

hey meg, i don't mean to change the subject but how is the j alexander program working out for you? i see the same type website all over the place and want your opinion.

I know you are having a wonderful b-day but i want to say thanks for providing such a wonderful service for all that would like to learn another way of investing not taught anywhere else. Don't eat more than one slice of pie.

I would like others feedback since economist and our presidential candidates don't have the answers, i would like to at least take a stab at. I might be wrong, but I think i am more concerned than being wrong. Check out my view of at least one factor that could be contributing due to long term abuse. Click Here.

Do you mean ideas for marketing? yes!

hey MC what kind of ideas do you have in mind?

Don't you just love repairing lines through a thin piece of slab?

I get plenty of calls a month but most are not motivated. Last year or even earlier this year i wasn't getting nearly as many calls but kept the pipe full of deals. Now i get more calls than ever from non motivated sellers with the same message. I beefed up the message and still non motivated sellers. The crisis is screwing with homeowners minds or something because they are trying to buck the trend. I was waiting for this semi depression and now that its here owners are getting dumber, which is something i didn't count on.

Homeowners are all I deal with and the ones that call me are over financed, or barely have enough equity to make anything work. My experience is that distressed owners with equity find a way to use it up and then call me when their local realtor doesn't want to be bothered.

My budget is $800 per month, will consider more soon as I get a few more deals going. Haven't closed a deal in awhile. Need to jump start my marketing, I get owners calling, but most are short sale candidate or have adjustable mortgages aka possible short sale candidates. I think i might consider adwords to see what happens.

So where are these cash deals you speak of? Most investors I know stop actively pursuing the MLS because banks are asking to much for REO's unless the houses need an extreme rehab, and they also aren't discounting short sales as they used too, at least in my experience.

Now is the time to get owners to agree to 85% value on terms. The market is really bad and finally struck in Charlotte North Carolina market hard. Of course you have certain pockets of town that are mediocre but in order to give reasonable terms you need great terms during these tough times. Values are sinking and the end is when people start paying fair market value homes and perserve the market. There are no more bargains. The time has come where you have to pay more for less. Lenders are trying to set the standard with their REO's and need investors and realtors help to get the most for a home. Real estate agents are begging owners to lower their price for a fire sale. That is irresponsible and what's causing the market to tail spin. Agents are desperate to make a sale by convincing owners to take a hit. A sale is what you use to determine value. Why sale for less and lower the value in your targeted market. That's stupid and goes to prove that any bonehead and apply for a license and help destroy a perfectly good market.

I want to comment on this one. You have to look at it like this. When you have a tenant that breaks a lease they still owe you the remainder of the lease. In NC, if you pursue the judgment, the court will garnish their payments until they are paid in full, so if a tenant breaks a lease purchase you can go after the tenant and win a judgment. You might not get it all at once, but you will get yours in the form of a monthly payment or force them to sell off items worth a certain amount. Is that something you want to do? Most certainly not, and I don't think that a lease purchase should be used to convince a seller to do business but a strategy to get a tenant to perform especially if you provide some type of credit repair. We are looking into providing credit repair for tenant buyers that are serious about buying one of our homes. Plus it is my understanding that with a lease purchase some lenders are willing to refinance anytime before the lease ends.

Is anyone looking for ways to contact tired landlords other than Craigslist and mailing Absentee owners? If there is a better way to contact them then I would like to know because we have a buyers list of buyers looking to rent for a few years and buy the home later. The average price they have to put down is $3,800 on a home worth $140,000. That is why we need landlords looking to sell their houses because of tenant problems or simply wants to receive an income without the hassle of managing their property. There are just so fewer now due to high mortgage payments and little money down. Some of the buyers on our list have $10,000 or more to put down. We need more landlords or owners in Charlotte that need an income from their property to prevent a certain outcome, whether it's listing through a real estate agent or hiring a property manager. Any suggestions other than absentee owners and Craigslist are welcomed.

Bev, you hang in there. Dont worry about us. The book can wait. Handle your issues and finish the book some other time. i think this is something sour mash no 7 can handle.