You All Are Going To Love This...a MUST READ!
Okay, great story for the month here.
About 3 months I emailed a lady about her property that bird dog had found for me. She was asking $135,000 for the property in an area that could not justify it. She had it listed through a realtor so I sent her a nice email about purchasing the home for $109,000 because after she sold it through a realtor, plus including holding costs and the fact that the home hadn't sold for 88 days already, that is what she would receive.
Well, she flipped...went nuts, wrote me back a huge message about how it wasn't ethical to go around her realtor and how they had put so much time and love into the home and that I had NO IDEA what the home was worth.
So, I sent back another nice email stating that I understood her concerns but I wanted to show her the hard numbers. Show I showed her real sales and comps and then I showed her a breakdown of everything on how I got to my number.
She still hated every bit of it, couldn't belive I would insult her so.
So I sent a thank you back to her and said if she changed her mind, let me know.
Just received an email today from this same lady, 3 months later 
She begging for my help since they are paying two mortgages and it is really crunching on them and wondered what I could do.
If I was mean, I would send her back a really nasty email...but I'm an investor and I am going to make sure that her problems are taken care of
And by the way, all she wants is mortgage payments taken over and her mortgage paid off
Smiled so big, you could see my back teeth.
The Solutions Kid
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awesome SK!
How much are you going to buy purchasing it for?
Around $100,000. The house is actually worth about $130,000 but the area is perfect for lease/options.
Haven't made my mind up 100% yet, because I want to check ALL the numbers, but from what I know already should be able to get good money out of the property.
I think the only issue that clouds the deal is that they have two mortgages and I need to find out what each one is, etc. I don't mind paying for a mortgage, but I'm not paying for someone's 2nd mortgage that paid for ski trip, new boat, etc.
The Solutions Kid
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That's great SK, perseverance pay$ off, literally in this case. Question.. your intial post said the realtor had it at 135k and you said the area it was in didn't justify the price... then you say it's worth 130 in your last post.... did the market really catch up to the price in 3 months..
way to go!
MT
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Well, it's not that the market caught up, it's just that the realtor wasn't marketing it correctly and to the right people.
It could sell for that much, without a doubt, but it will take some good marketing to get someone in there...and as luck would have it, is my specialty
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Great Story. Yet another example of how RE Investors (aka flippers) are assets to the community and can do wonders to help people who are in a tight spot.
truly is, SK...
You should get and keep track of testimonies from the people you've helped to show/offer to potential clients.., proven track history is always a super asset., congrats again.
MT
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I'm a newbie. Your article provides me with good insight into seller's minds and attitudes. I'm sure that this information will help me, attitude-wise, in my future dealings. Thanks.
Quote:I don't mind paying for a mortgage, but I'm not paying for someone's 2nd mortgage that paid for ski trip, new boat, etc.If this is the difference between you or another investor getting the deal, why would you care if the money went toward hookers, crack and blackjack in Vegas?
There's nothing wrong with the occasional prejudice, but shouldn't we root out the ones that might cost us money?!
Or are you saying that you have total confidence that you can hold onto this deal through any storm and wind up shorting the second?
Beware of the real estate commision. If the broker has an "Exclusive Right To Sell", the seller may still get hit with a commission within a given period after the listing has expired.
SK,
Great story! Since you're taking over the payments, does that mean you're purchasing sub 2?
That is true... Does it really matter what the 2nd mortgage went to... Even if it did go to that 10 Day Cruise or week long ski trip. They can still 'tell' you it went to there home. But good luck with it. You showed that your numbers made sense and as the months went by, that just proved it.
If the deal will stand as it is then who cares where they spent the money......
As Joe Kaiser wrote elsewhere at some point in the past "it's the principal of the thing, not the principle"
Now if it was a skinny deal then you might want to go down this path. But then again it is possible that the person will eventually quit making the payments, so, the deal would still have to pass the $$$ test as it stands.
I don't do these. If I can't do it without the seller making monthly payments then I won't do it. I want them out of the picture as much as possible.