Are you new to real estate investing and don’t yet know where to find foreclosure auctions? I’ll focus on non-judicial Trustee Sales, which are held in most states. A few states do only judicial auctions of foreclosures – aka a “Sheriff’s Sale” – but we will put those aside for the time being. Foreclosure auctions, aka Trustee Sales, are arranged by the County Clerk’s office and held in the county where the property lies, at a specified date and time, usually at the courthouse or county administration building. Before a foreclosure property can be auctioned, the lender must follow a Read more…

What’s tricky about an appraisal is that you and the homebuyer negotiate the selling price of your finished fix & flip property without knowing what the appraised value will be (although your experience may give you a good estimate). But whatever the agreed selling price, most homebuyers are dependent on the appraisal to secure a mortgage that will make the deal work. Is there anything you can do to help influence a favorable appraisal? My advice is to require the appraiser to contact you first, before you allow them access to the property. This is your chance to speak with Read more…

What’s tricky about an appraisal is that you and the homebuyer negotiate the selling price of your finished fix & flip property without knowing what the appraised value will be (although your experience may give you a good estimate). But whatever the agreed selling price, most homebuyers are dependent on the appraisal to secure a mortgage that will make the deal work.  Is there anything you can do to help influence a favorable appraisal? My advice is to require the appraiser to contact you first, before you allow them access to the property. This is your chance to speak with Read more…

Settle back next to the fire for some haunting tales of house-selling nightmares … As an earnest real estate investor plying your trade, how were you to know the real reason for the very discounted price on this property was not problems with structure or cosmetics – but because there was a gruesome murder in the home, one that dominated headlines many years ago? As Halloween approaches I thought I’d share a rare, if ghoulish, topic … just how do you sell a highly-publicized “murder house”? Or, as the experts delicately phrase it, a “stigmatized property”? Even if there is Read more…

Settle back next to the fire for some haunting tales of house-selling nightmares … As an earnest real estate investor plying your trade, how were you to know the real reason for the very discounted price on this property was not problems with structure or cosmetics – but because there was a gruesome murder in the home, one that dominated headlines many years ago? As Halloween approaches I thought I’d share a rare, if ghoulish, topic … just how do you sell a highly-publicized “murder house”? Or, as the experts delicately phrase it, a “stigmatized property”? Even if there is Read more…

Disclosure is a constant consideration for real estate investors because so many of the properties we deal with have significant shortcomings. Evaluate every wholesale prospect and every rehab plan while remembering what must be disclosed if it isn’t cured before the property is listed for retail sale to homebuyers – or even to other real estate investors. So how can disclosure work to your advantage? How can it help you negotiate a better purchase price – and how can it help you actually build confidence in your eventual retail homebuyer? You should be thoroughly familiar with the disclosure laws in Read more…

Disclosure is a constant consideration for real estate investors because so many of the properties we deal with have significant shortcomings. Evaluate every wholesale prospect and every rehab plan while remembering what must be disclosed if it isn’t cured before the property is listed for retail sale to homebuyers – or even to other real estate investors. So how can disclosure work to your advantage? How can it help you negotiate a better purchase price – and how can it help you actually build confidence in your eventual retail homebuyer? You should be thoroughly familiar with the disclosure laws in Read more…

Perhaps you’ve already been doing business with a real estate investing partner without the benefit of a contract. Perhaps you find it awkward to even suggest a contract when trust is part of your working relationship. Or maybe you don’t want to slow down a real estate investment project with a contract negotiation just when time is of the essence. So how do you broach the subject of signing a contract with your current or future real estate investing partner? Perhaps the most compelling argument for a partnership contract: A partnership contract is a kind of insurance against business disaster.A Read more…

Perhaps you’ve already been doing business with a real estate investing partner without the benefit of a contract. Perhaps you find it awkward to even suggest a contract when trust is part of your working relationship. Or maybe you don’t want to slow down a real estate investment project with a contract negotiation just when time is of the essence.  So how do you broach the subject of signing a contract with your current or future real estate investing partner?  Perhaps the most compelling argument for a partnership contract: A partnership contract is a kind of insurance against business disaster.A Read more…

You may be negotiating the sale of your fix & flip property with a fussy homebuyer … or a contract with your rehab project partners … or what repairs are and aren’t included in the price from your contractor. What are some smart and effective ways to tilt the final decision in your favor? Never forget that, regardless of the number-crunching and the list of pros and cons, important decisions are made emotionally – even business decisions. Logical decision factors encourage confidence, a key decision-making emotion. What are some ways to help the other party feel comfortable with whatever you Read more…