While perusing our forums yesterday I stumbled across a question I’ve seen more than once before. It actually seems to pop up in the FH Community every couple of weeks or so…
“When flipping houses, how do I know I’m using the right contract? I’ve got plenty of contracts and am not sure which one I’d use.”
It’s a fair enough question. So I started typing a reply…but it just kept going. Ok, maybe it’s time to turn it into a full blown article…
Deeds and Notes and Contracts…OH MY!
If I had to make a list of things that seem most intimidating when you’re first getting started in real estate investing, I believe I’d put “the paperwork” right at (or at least near) the top of the list.
I remember all to well what it was like when I got started. The documents involved in even a “plain vanilla” real estate transaction were enough to make me go completely cross-eyed. And here I was trying to get into real estate investing – surely all the more complicated the contracts must inevitably be, right?
Well thankfully it didn’t take long before a few friendly folks were kind enough to set me straight and ease my contract apprehension. And if you’re feeling at all intimidated or maybe even paralyzed by the paperwork you should or shouldn’t be using in your real estate deals, allow me to do the same for you right now.
Today my inbox gifted me an intriguing piece of news from Springwise (a guilty pleasure for my daily fix of entrepreneurial ideas).
It was a brief bulletin reviewing an innovative, new marketplace for real estate co-ownership that’s just been born on the net. And after taking a little closer look, I’m struck by some interesting implications and possibilities for some home buyers and real estate investors.
Home Equity Share is a match-up service, conceived by attorney and real estate broker Marilyn Sullivan, that brings together potential home buyers and investors - specifically investors who want to put some money into a deal with minimal hassles and no monthly payments to make.
An 80% Loan With Only 3% Down? (No, Not Like You Think)…
While perusing the blogosphere over the weekend, I stumbled upon an interesting bit from JohnChow.com - a fascinating write-up about a “flip” transaction he’s just been a part of - but not with the kind of real estate you and I are used to dealing with.
Now you may not know John Chow, but in the world of professional bloggers you could say he’s considered one of the “big dogs”. His blog is a top online watering hole for folks who want to learn about blogging and how to hone their craft to a fine art.
Last week John posted his dissatisfaction with a recent drop in revenue from one of his website’s ad blocks. The Google “pay-per-click” ads he’s been using have apparently turned lackluster in their performance, prompting him to put the ad spot up for sale to the masses for a flat thousand bucks. That’s how it all started….
Ok, so when I started this blog, I really wasn’t planning to post nearly every day. Really.
In fact I’ve been planning all along on a pace of maybe once or twice weekly once I get used to it – as long as there’s something relevant and worth sharing with the real estate community of course.
And yet here I am yet again, posting for the fourth time this week. But hey, these juicy morsels just keep popping up in front of me, and the wannabe-writer in me can hardly stand it if I don’t find some way to share ‘em. And so share I must.
Today it’s because of an email I received – a golden nugget that surfaced in an inbox full of mostly spammy rubble. (Anyone else in the 250+ spams/day club? Sheesh. Thank goodness for my spam killer…)
Anyway this email, from Cris Chico of Absentee Owner Profits. It wasn’t long and drawn out – just a few simple words and a link to a short YouTube video.
I’m a sucker for online video, so I followed the link. And I’m so glad I did…
If you’ve spent any quality time carousing with us in the Flipping Homes Community as of late, then you may recall resident short sale guy Shaun McCloskey recently posting his intentions to conduct a private phone interview with an as-yet-unnamed, full-time BPO agent.
He also invited you to submit your own questions for the interview – anything you might want to ask a BPO agent if you had him under your spotlight, truth serum in hand.
For investors who do preforeclosure/short sale deals, the BPO valuation is probably the single most important aspect in determining whether or not your offer to the bank will be approved.
Imagine the edge you’d have over other short sale investors if you really understood BPOs, inside out.
I wasn’t going to post another blog entry today - I really wasn’t. But a bit from the Inman News Blog (a well known online watering hole for the real estate industry) just grabbed me today.
Spotting a brief article posted today outlining the details of real estate guru Wade Cook’s recent federal conviction, I feel compelled to throw a thought or two out for you to chew on here as well - especially after yesterday’s integrity-related mortgage fraud post.
Wade Cook has been in the hot seat a while now for allegedly filing false tax returns and obstructing the investigation, and according to Inman guest blogger Marlow Harris of 360 Digest, apparently was convicted last Thursday on seven counts and sentenced to almost seven and a half years in federal prison. Ouch!
So what happened? What when wrong? Was it a slow spiral down a slippery slope, or was this cab driver turned real estate flipper and seminar teacher a bad seed from the start?
While enjoying a bite for lunch today I was perusing the Flipping Homes community discussion forum for a bite of real estate investing banter, when I stumbled across a quick post from “FosterCA” referencing a Realty Times news piece today entitled, “Illegal Flipping in Beverly Hills?” (thanks, FosterCA!)
Hmmmmm, interesting. Laying my chicken wrap and Mr. Pibb aside, I dug a little deeper.
A glimpse at the seedy underbelly of real estate investing…
Apparently a couple of “highly successful” Beverly Hills real estate agents and two licensed appraisers allegedly schemed to purchase houses at market value while asking the sellers to keep hush-hush about the actual purchase price. Then they’d inflate the purchase contracts to make it look like they paid hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of dollars more than they actually did…
Dear friends and colleagues from the Flipping Homes community,
It’s been a long time coming. But after investing some sizeable portions of energy and more than a few caffiene-enlightened late nights, we’d like to take this opportunity to proudly announce our next step in the ongoing evolution of Flipping Homes 2.0…
The Flipping Homes blog is born!
……and the crowd goes wild! (at least in my head)
Ok, well at least some of you are excited. …………..Ok, well at least I’m pretty excited. :)
Frankly I’ve been working my tail off in the last few months and weeks to bring this thing to life, so it really does sort of feel like we just gave birth to a baby……eh……some kind of weird blog baby……I guess……
It’s a fair enough question. So I started typing a reply…but it just kept going. Ok, maybe it’s time to turn it into a full blown article…
Today my inbox gifted me an intriguing piece of news from 
While perusing 
Ok, so when I started this blog, I really wasn’t planning to post nearly every day. Really. 
If you’ve spent any quality time carousing with us in the 
I wasn’t going to post another blog entry today - I really wasn’t. But a bit from the 
While enjoying a bite for lunch today I was perusing the 
Dear friends and colleagues from the 
comments