Gordon Holtner

Andrew I agree with Jason about this guy having you cross line as an agent for him in the deal. But I think this guy is feeling you out to see what he can steal from you to make his own investments better. Something is fishy if he has this much experience and still wants to work with an outsider.

Hi i only have one thing to say about this twice a seller has tried to take my profit after finding how much I make because they felt it was their house. I would suggest when it is time to make an offer you say something like I am going to try and make a profit of _________ on this house is this a deal breaker for you? If they balk tell them that you have the contracts and the knowledge and that if they don't need your help tell them that it would probably be in both you best interests and call it a day and stop talking. If they have no problems and commit to that position they will never bother you about this again. Just try to find this out beforehand. Honest people don't find fault in an investor or business making profit and helping them. Gord

Here is just my two cents don't do deals with people who overprice their houses it will take too long to market. Also try to get a decent discount over the depreciation rate in your area then you don't have to add an addendum to your contracts. Disclose everything about the deal to the TB tell them that there is a risk that the purchase price may go lower than the agreed upon price in the contract and that they will have to deal with the seller if this happens.

MC you're right simpler is always better. I guess in the end it is always just better that we find deals with more equity so that stop losses can be put into place. If the houses don't appraise for the fmv in the future it could always be negotiated by the TB and the owner.

The option fee is nonrefundable to the Tb in the event that the seller defaults.No under MC's contracts you have no liability. Lets be honest here though the Tenant Buyer could just as easily decide to stop making rent payments and could be evicted. There are no guarantees that either the Tb or Seller will keep up their end in any deal. If you are worried for the Tbs just inform the TBs how to protect themselves in the deal.

Doug I've been thinking about this too. I have been thinking of an idea that may get around this. My idea doesn't depend on the idea that people will buy the house when they are qualified so much as they would any house. The idea is to get some market deduction based on today's FMV and have the seller sign a longer term lease option of say 3 years with a below market rent. Tell the TB that they will pay the traditional option consideration of say 2-3% but if they can pay the market or above market rent with the difference going to you as option consideration you would give them a no interest down payment to buy any house if at the end of the term if they manage their credit and qualify and keep the lease option contract in good standing. In this scenario of course the option consideration would be minus a small payment to you for your trouble and at the end of the term if they don't qualify you get the rest as well. My idea summed up is this the extra consideration that they pay is like insurance in case the house price falls and either way the TB wins even if the seller won't negotiate with them if the house price falls below the option price. I make this sound more complicated then it is but it would mean a larger sum for option consideration for us in the end. I have not tried this yet but by giving the TB the choice of a lower rent or protection from price drops and a chance to better qualify we can never be the bad guys they made their choice.

Hi Doug I just have two questions here in the scenario that you described. Since the buyer is getting their option consideration and rent credits factored in wouldn't this have to be a very conservative amount? Also wouldn't you have to make sure that the owner has enough equity in case the price dropped say 10-15% over the term of the option?

Alex, your problem isn't splitting option fees, it's about confidence. Make a list of all the things that you can reasonably offer a seller or just look at the LP Advantage and remember that you have something to offer sellers. If they could do this themselves they would have already. Remember your worth.

Aaron Make a promissory note if you want installments, get a lawyer to witness the signing and get the payments in post dated checks upfront. If you know some company that will help you automatically take the money out of the Tbs account every month that is even better. Gord

Aaron Yes caveats are pretty much the same as an option memo, I 've heard of performance mortagages in Canada but I've haven't used them and I don't know anyone who has. Do yourself a favor get a termination clause like Doug said in your contracts. I also get the feeling that you haven't talked to a lawyer about this yet you might want to get some idea about Alberta law. This is my suggestion buy Mcs course or find a contract you will be comfortable with so that you can explain to a lawyer what you want to do and get them to draft new contracts according to the residential tenancy act. This way you will be able to be 100% confident in what you are doing. This is what I am doing right now; keep in touch as a fellow Albertan I might be able to help you out in this regard in about a month. Gord

Mc I knew you were holding out on us now I am going to have to go for a visit all I see here in Alberta is chicks in coveralls

Mc I don't think I am that old. You just spoiled the dream for me; I always imagined you as the guy sipping Coronas in the sun looking at beautiful bikini babes while his wife is not looking

Mc Are you trying to put us off Florida because you want to keep all the babes for yourself?

My opinion on this would be to tell them something along the lines of what Bev said and telling the seller that you require the TB to give to the seller 12 post dated checks. This way the seller might feel more secure because they have something in hand.

Dion For starters don't make any promises that you can't keep. If you don't have a lender to work with your Tb do yourself a favor and honestly make them responsible for looking for financing. I tell people that I can't guarantee that they will get financed because I am not a lender and that if they take good care of their credit by not making large purchases with credit they will have a better chance to get a mortgage. If they balk don't do business with them because if they don't get a mortgage they might cause you legal problems. Gord

Jordan This may sound like a dumb question, but how do you plan to do this deal as a lease purchase if the amount that they owe is higher than the price they are willing to sell it for? Are you living in an area with any appreciation? Gord

Happy Birthday Jean I wish you all the best on your day Gord

Hi Michael There is virtually no difference in the way it is done except under the SLO you don't have to ask permission to assign your contract it says that you have the right to assign it to whomever you wish. Under a CA you work with an owner to find a tenant buyer that they approve of to live in their house to assign your deal to. Usually with a CA the homeowner is not as motivated and wants a deal that is more in their favor. I hope this helps.

Doug Good marketing material. I wish that you did deals in Alberta, when we were trying to sell our house.We got scammed on a house I cosigned for my in laws in Edmonton just like the situation on your first postcard. I hope that you get a lot of calls on it.

Hi Doug Sorry I should have read your posts a little better. I know that the appraised value thingie that many rent to own companies here in Alberta have going would not work for SLOs. Yes I can feel your pain dealing with landlords it is like negotiating in the ocean with a shark when you are bleeding.

Hi Jean Thanks for the response, I can't seem though to get the link to that topic it all it says is board error.

Hello Doug What I found that is really strange in Alberta, is that landlords not wanting to set a price is not really a problem with tenant buyers. In fact they demand it given the choice between a future set price based on half appreciation and 75% rent credits they would just rather have it based on on the appraised purchase price after one or two years with low rent credits. I just found this out the hard way I had a deal just before Christmas that I lost because of this with a landlord. The people who I qualified to look at the house said to me what if it doesn't appraise for this at the end of the term?

Hi Michael It is rather unfortunate that so many people did business with this man. A couple of years ago I went to one of their free seminars and all i saw was that stereotypical salesman hyping things that they themselves were never successful at. Many of the so called experts there never did a deal in their life, and not only that after the pitch was done they started hyping some travel mlm scheme. I am glad that Doug told me to go here instead.

Thanks alot Michael! Thank god the sun has finally come out in the land of ice and snow

Hi MC, Yes, I do mean marketing to attorneys as a source of leads. I should have been more specific. It was a good course and it provided a lot of good reasons why attorneys would benefit by referring their clients to you. LPs and Options adapt to alot of problems that a homeowner may face. I just am trying to brainstorm about how to market for pure options. Too bad there is no "pure option advantage" Gord