I just thought I’d share with you the recent success I’ve had. I started my dreams with buying my first rental in March 2004 with no money down. I took a home equity line of credit and used it for the down payment. I’m leasing my two-unit this week and should clear about $400 to $500 per month net income.
I began visiting Creative Real Estate Online in April 2003 and have read much on real estate investing: Carleton Sheets, Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Allen.
My really cool story, however, is the flip I just did with a bank repo two-bedroom house I was going to fix up and resell. I’d never done it before, but I also bought it using my home equity line. The house was listed at $12,000. I offered $10,200 cash deal.
Basically, I found it listed in an MLS of a neighboring town. Apparently, the broker who gets the listings in my town just lists them in his own town’s MLS, not in the MLS for the town where they are located. There are never any signs in the yards, either. He does so many repos that it must seem not profitable to have someone out all the time doing that for him.
I went to Lowe’s and got a store credit card to fix up the property myself. (0% interest for twelve months) Actually, I priced out and put on the card $1,600 worth of materials to fix it up (to be picked up later).
I was going to contract a furnace installation ($2,300) and painter for the outside (approx. $500 to $800) and new windows ($2,000).
This house should have ARV (after repair value) of $39,900. I had reserved all the materials and was ready to start when my friend asked why not put it in paper “as is,” so I did! My ad read:
WEST SIDE two-bedroom Handyman Special $17,000.
I had a couple calls the next morning, and the first guy to come look gave me $500 deposit and no dickering on the price.
I laughed when I got in the car after taking the deposit and said to myself, “This is too easy.” I think I like the idea of flipping houses. No dirty work, and now I take names and numbers (from calls on the ad) and have lots of people on my new buyers list. I must have at least ten names wanting just what I advertised.
Thank all of you and this forum [Main Real Estate Forum]. I love it and get excellent ideas because of you all. Thanks and God Bless!