Rule #1 - Strike While The Iron Is Hot

I weed through around 30 properties that are sent to me through the MLS every day through my company 60 Day Realty (SHAMELESS PLUG - follow @60dayrealty on twitter). I also go through roughly 50 properties that are sent to me through Craigslist. Add in the auction houses I go to review weekly and the FSBOs I drive by and I'm looking at roughly 100 properties a week.

In that 100 properties I may find 5-10 that interest me and only 1 that I'll make an offer on. I'm a fairly conservative investor (though in this market I should turn that around) and I'm picky about what I buy. It will either have strong cash flow in the bad parts of town or I am able to get it cheap enough to make cash on a flip in the better parts.

As I look back on my first few months in the flip/rental business, I spent a lot of timing being nervous about whether or not the buy was worth it. I had done my numbers, my instincts were good... I was just afraid to pull the trigger.

And then I would lose them.

Why?

B/c someone else was also looking at the property and wasn't afraid to stare success in the face and act.

If you are sure about the property, the finances and your goals you should never hesitate to pull the trigger on buying a property. In the beginning I lost too many homes that I now would LOVE to have back.

What are your thoughts? How can people overcome this hesitation?

The Starting Four

I learned 4 hard rules early on when I started flipping houses. They were learned through many days and nights filled with blood, sweat and tears. For noobies out there thinking of getting into the business... start with these basics.

I am always looking to build onto this list. I will elaborate on why I have chosen them through this week!

1. STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT
2. TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN
3. IF YOU CAN'T CUT A CHECK YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT
4. PARTNERS IS A DIRTY, DIRTY WORD

Are there any RE lessons you have learned the hard way? If so, PLEASE leave a comment! I am building the list and would love to read your rule and story.

Since January!

I've been working on a Short Sale that is not with a Realtor since January. I saw it on Craigslist on Jan. 2 and called the guy immediately. We wrote up the contract and got it over to the servicer in less than two days.

That's when everything got screwy.

Once you get involved with the servicer or the bank, everything slows to a snails pace. I read here how to work it faster, but I've got the feeling that it would probably only help a little.

So after almost 4 months, the bank finally sent out for the BPO. I let the guy in, he got his info and I'm now hoping beyond hope that I'll hear something in the next few days.

Next time I'll just find out how much it is to reinstate the loan and move from there.

Lesson number 7584 learned.

Banks, Money and Poor Consumer Protection

It was only a matter of time before banks realized a better way to deal with the housing situation. Too bad it is to the general publics' detriment.

The Chicago Tribune has posted an article stating that banks in certain areas are foreclosing on the properties but then not taking possession of them. The areas may have low property values or home values are not expected to rise. So instead of paying property taxes and maintaining the home in hopes of a sale that they see never coming, they are just abandoning the house.

In my opinion, a lot of the blame for the current crisis is to be placed on banks and a lack of their own personal responsibility. Now they are hurting home owners by allowing these foreclosed homes to deteriorate in the suburbs, neighborhoods and cities.

A house is very much like a living thing. It needs to be taken care of and people living in it for it to survive. If you take that away, it will quickly fall into disrepair and become a weight around the value of the surrounding properties.

Meanwhile, banks get a total write off of the loan while boarded up homes and neighborhoods grow and local tax revenue declines. Meanwhile, there are long delays before the government entities can take possession due to back taxes.

Put the houses on the market and allow investors to buy the properties. There are plenty of people out there willing to invest in them at the right price.