The Donald is Flabbergasted

Good deal for you. In NoVa it's a seller's market. New houses have waiting lists and even lotteries to try and get houses as they are released.

Previously owner houses can pretty much pick and choose if they are decent. (within reasonable distance to the beltway...25 miles.) Yeah...stupid shit up this way.

If you know that the house has been on the market for less than a week...are you going to underbid the asking offer by 10K? Probably not...but some realtors do it...and lose out regularly. Happened when we sold my last place.

 

that's what i thought too...the roof was practically brand new and actually covered by the tenant if there were repairs (which was citifinancial - tenant for 18 years - three reasons this was a killer deal)...it was an all brick building on a slab foundation...the only thing i can think of is the heating system was screwy because we couldn't find a thing wrong with it...

i just can't wait to hear back with what this guy says

 

LOL...you're preaching to the choir...my last buyer client went almost 4k OVER list...and still lost the property! Of course it was priced about 50k below market value too...so it really didn't surprise me

 

I only wear the rubber boots when its wet.

its a one story ranch with 1/2 basement, no elevator.............
Some do call me crazy, but I am not supposed to listen to the voices in my head. :up:

 

rrriiiiggghhhhtttt

just a few fries short of a happy meal, eh??

 

Notice I said yet. I expect it one day.

 

Why do you care? Why not put your energy into finding another property? Just curious...

 

do you deal much with residential investment properties? I have eleven properties right now. You can snatch up some good deals when landlords are tired of dealing with the renter population. Talk about a motivated seller. If you are good at managing and do-it-yourself repairs it is a good investment.

 

Any advice here? (Business setup, process for finding tenants, general stuff)??? I'm moving down that road this year.

 

When I am looking for property around here the good-good deals are usually in contract the first day with a back up contract. There really good deals never make it the MLS You have to keep your feelers out in full force to steal something in these parts.

Jeff

 

Don't complain. I'm trying to get on a list for a bloody lottery. Go down every month and hope that you are picked. If you are one of the 60 present...and one of the 2-4 picked to be able to write a contract...you get to write a 10K check, wait a year...or more...and buy a new single family house.

Sad but true. They went to the lotteries because otherwise people were waiting overnight in lines to try and get a place.

I've seen some articles and forecasts about the general growth for the DC metro area. Look for a probably housing shortage for the next 10 years at least. Not as bad as San Franciso...but bad enough.

I drove out to Culpepper...about an hour out from my house. (And I'm 20 miles outside the beltway) The numbers of investors buying there were unreal. My realtor and I both passed on that area. Too much speculation for a cheap (250K) nothing special townhouse. Yeah...that's cheap around here. But we saw too many for sale or rent. And I doubt that there is a decent rental market out there just yet. The sales agent said that they had gone up 40K in a year if you are interested.

 

Just talked to the guy and he said it was in need of repairs and they negotiated the $3500...we came in at the exact same price...and for whatever reason he picked theirs and didn't both to counter

but you do make a good point dave...this rediculousness has finally reached closure

 

Did they ask for a quick closing? Was their financing plan more attractive? Did they offer a cash back deal? Were they paying cash and cutting out some closing costs?

Lots of factors that could have made your couple of bucks chump change.

 

I've been telling my wife for a year that we need to get a rental property. Is it difficult to get into? I'd really like to buy something small, just to get started.

 

You really are touched in the head, aren't you?

 

Depends on a lot of factors:

Your credit rating
cash flow (Can you carry for months if you need too?)
Local market
Ability to cover downpayments, repairs, etc...

You'd kinda have to decide what you want to do. Buy & rent to just cover the mortgage? Or try and make cash off of it by flipping it? (If the local market supports this with fast appreciation.)

Take a look at new developments in your area. See what kind of closing costs are being subsidized if you use the builder's lender. I know that Ryland is in Fredericksburg...and they generally offer 10K towards closing....which is really decent.

 

A great book

The Weekend Millionare's Secrets to Investing in Real Estate

will answer most of your questions on investment rental property

 

I'm always leery when I see money for nothing deals as one of the main investment methods. That and the complex ways to make money from day one.

Sounds a lot like Carleton Sheetz....ya know?

But who knows...if the rest of it gives you enough information to be useful...then it's worth the cash...maybe.

 

Don't let the title fool you. It is the best "how to" book out there with current information. Most books of this type turn out to be more motivational than anything else. Not this one it is true nuts and bolts of how to make it work. Worth every penny of the $14.95

 

We'd probably buy one to turn it around, initially, to get some more money for investing long term. The appreciation around Richmond is pretty good. Even the older homes are selling quickly for much more than the original purchase price.

Eventually, I'd like to have two or three rental properties that could provide some long term income.

10K for closing? That seems like a lot, but I guess everything up in that direction is. I'm so glad we never moved up there - I don't know how you do it. Traffic, housing prices, politics...