HELP! I've Read Books And Want To Begin ASAP, But All Investment Properties In My Area Are Gone
I live in South Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia to be exect and it seems like all of the investment properties have been snatched up. I am looking to rehab single family homes. My second option (Camden, NJ) needs to be put on hold because HUD deeds are delayed due to a backlog in the County Clerks office. PLEASE HELP!!! I'm looking to start rehab investing as soon as possible. I've already begun to build a database of Hard money Lenders in my area. I would appreciate any suggestions you can give me. I am young, anxious and ready to start my career as an investor.
I ran in to the same problem here. so I am investing in virginia(3000 miles away). I chose virginia because I have a good friend there who wanted to partner up with me and start investing. I also attended college there so I know the town pretty well. the bottom line is you may have to go as far as you need to go for investing. maybe not 3000 miles, but it will depend on how bad you want to start your rei carrer. now I know people will tell you that you can invest anywhere, but the truth is ANYONE can not invest anywhere. make sense? if you the new guy start investing in a highly competetive market, you will find out quickly that seasoned veterans of rei are gonna kick your butt and beat you to it. and I dont care what late night guru tells you about "the secret way nobody knows but us" crud. you will need lots of money and contacts before you can pee with the big boys so i say go play with the little kid markets untill you get big and come back a bully. example, in the town I invest in there are several good cash flowing multiunits for sale, plus several fixer uppers at good deals. if I pulled that up on my mls in this town i would find nothing, there gone before you can even make an offer. just be sure to do the homework of any town you do invest in..ie.cost of living, job market, average days homes are on the market..etc etc. good luck, dont give up.
Define what you mean by all the investment property seems to be snatched up? Do you mean owned by someone? They are always owned by someone, you just have to find the ones that are motivated to get out of the game. Try newspapers, MLS, foreclosures, divorces, probate, tax liens, etc, etc.
Howdy CLF, welcome to the community.
For starters, all the investment opportunities are NOT all gone - the ease ones may not be at your fingertips, but I don;t care what anybody thinks, there are always opportunities - in fact the seller's may not even know they want to sell, yet.
start by deciding what area you want to buy your investment properties in, then become the local expert in that area. start contacting the property owners with deferred maintenance, anyone you think might be getting tired of tenant problems, etc.
Before you know it, you could own more properties in a convenient area that you would ever imagine.
It has always bothered me when i see people want to go far with their initial purchases, i am now up to 4 houses on the same block i bought a home on only 4 months ago.. I agree the initial deals can seem hard to find - but they are DEFINATELY out there - AND THEY ARE LOCAL.
Don't get discouraged - that is for people who will find any excuse not to be successful in this business.
If you still can;t find a deal in a month, send me a PM and I'll give you some suggestions that have worked for me.
steve
oh really? thanks for clarifyng the fact that everything must be owned by someone. like I said before, there are people that will tell you that anyone can invest anywhere, just like the people replying to this post. the problem is they have not been everywhere in the country and done investing and therefore can not intelligently comment on the area you or I live in. its easy to sit at a computer and say "hey you can invest anywhere, go for it!" it is a whole diiferent situation to actually do it. I'm not saying it is impossible to be a new guy and get some good deals in a highly competative market, but it will be twice as hard and take twice as long to do compared to a less competative one and yes there are degrees of competition. go to auctions, look in newspapers, make calls, look at the mls? guess what, so are a million other people, half of which have more money and knowledge than you. do whatever you feel like doing, I just really wanted to give you some advice i have learned. I listened to people like these and had to find out the hard way that anyone cant invest anywhere. just be careful of those gurus who are pumping you up with unrealistic goals, I think there may be a few replying to your post's. again, good luck and dont give up.
and just to reply to feltmans comments. think about this for a minute, you got a guy in MN telling you there are good local deals in NJ? I tell you what, forget everything I wrote before, contact feltman, he is obviously very smart. I meen to tell you that you can invest in a place he has never been? simply amazing.
dlitedan,
if you reread my post, you will see that my advice was to invest in ones local area FIRST - not to take the grass is greener mentality.
If someone is going to be successful in this business, they will be able to locate deals in ANY metropolitan area. There are always motivated sellers in every city; this fact is, in my opinion one of the true benefits of this forum; we can share some ideas and concepts from all over the country.
Although purchase prices, rents and appreciation vary from town to town; an investor should be able to locate a deal within a easy drive to their home. All you need is 1 motivated seller with equity to get you started, given that there are something like 2,000,000 homes within a 2 hour drive, don;t you think at least 1 of them might be available to you?????
dlitedan,
Appreciate the candor, here's mine.
I live in southwest florida, one of the hottest markets in the united states. A neighboring investing/real estate guru company pumps out new investors every week that will buy about anything that doesn't move and most can't calculate cashflow. Appreciation in my area and those around me has averaged 20-40% over the last few years.
In the last 4 months my partner and I have closed on 24 units all with cap rates over 9.5. And only one of these had more than 5% put down. I also want to point out that I read my first real estate book in April of this year and my partner shortly therafter.
dlitedan, being realistic is one thing but telling someone they cannot do something becuase you cannot is crap.
CLFInc, who sounds like he really wanted help. I would talk to your competition. Take them out to lunch, pick their brains and figure out what you can incorporate into your strategy. Sometimes people get pigeonholed and only read real estate books. Read as many as you can but when you need a break, read the business books as well. Jack Welch, Lee Iaccoca, Guiliani, all have excellent books that may give you a different slant on the real estate game and your approach.
GL CLFInc
Welcome to Grandview, USA. Where nobody ever gets sick, Nobody ever dies or gets divorced. No one ever looses their job or moves away. Every home is as happy as Ozzie and Harriet's, and the Cleavers'
There are always investment opportunities. You might not be able to make it work, but it is usually lack of know how that limits your ability to make something work, not an area.
Jeff
If you don't think traveling to Jersey City, NJ is a big deal then drop me a line **Please See My Profile** may be able to help.
I get a lot of calls from distressed homeowners in Willingboro. This month, there are at least 20 families that face mortgage foreclosure.... If you actively farm and solicit these "potential leads" it won't be long before you have a renewable source of opportunities.
There are no shortcuts. If you need help in the structure and implementation of a unique marketing plan... let me know.
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rayhigdon, your success is very impressive and I am happy for you. but once again, just because you have done it there does not meen anyone can do it anywhere. I highly encourage evryone to try investing in the area you live, that just makes sense. start by trying to buy the house next door and then go from there. but, and this is a big but, if someone is trying in a market and using all these techniques everybody in the world uses and they still have no success after a long hard time of trying, they may want to consider other areas that are less competative so they can get there feet off the ground. that is all I am saying. if someone chooses to try and invest in the same area with no results for 5 or 10 years then by all meens go ahead. I just wanted to let someone know there are other options.
Hello CLF
I am a realtor here in Philly and NJ and I will agree with you somewhat . There is a sudden surge in Re investors and that does make it competitive in the www.industry.Opportunities are diffrent depending on your area but they are out there.
good luck
I will put my two cents into this topic.
I have invested in Florida and that is 1500 miles awa and did it with great sucess. I have also bought real estate close to home..
If you can't find property, then place and add stating your looking for distressed property to buy, foreclosures, going thru a divorce, ect. People will call you. Place the ad for a week and see what happens.
CLF--I've lived east coast, west coast and down south, and always found deals to be had, however they take a different face and what I see to do to them adapts as well. Pulling up a 1 minute browse thru Philly's www.realtor.com I see 186 properties single fam/multi under $125K. Many slummy looking multi's under $50K--if winter weren't around the corner I'd be tempted to catch a plane myself. When I see those monsters I envision all I could do with some serious rolling up of the sleeves, and paint--the character in those old buildings is amazing! We're hacking out an investment living here in Phoenix where everything is similar construction and the older buildings are from 1950, not turn of the century. I would pick a tree lined street and start buying them up one by one, rennovating and renting until I had a chunk of beautified neighborhood valuable to starter home buyers. I hear the grumbling (what the clientele are like in the neighborhood) get the support of a few locals and you'll have help out the wazoo. I did it in California on one property in an area most people wouldn't park their car in. The local tough guy thought I was so crazy he stopped by to meet me and before I knew it I had the loan of his nephew for the summer to keep him out of trouble and tough guy himself was hanging upside down off the roof peak to reach the spot I missed when I painted. 6 months and $50K later all I had done was painted and cleaned (alot) and rented 5 units all the while, I not only cut a tidy profit but bettered a neighborhood and made some interesting friends. Point (yes I am getting there) at some point you have to put the books down and go to it, and your best tool may be your own ingenuity. Get creative. If the area is "bad enough" the city may even have funds available to rennovate with. PS I only scanned the first 3 pages of properties in your area. Call me dirt in my nails and a smile on my face!
I'd like to thank everyone for taking their time to educate me. Everyone's ideas have been so helpful and I'm sure that I will use them all. I honestly did not expect to get this much feedback and this quickly. My main goal is to have something secured by my 25th birthday as a gift to myself. I'll be turning 25 this Sunday, so I have a lot to do. I continue to look forward to your advice. Thanks again. Cassandre a.k.a. CLF,Inc.
CLFinc:
Forget about HUD. There are other deals out there in your own backyard!
You should start out with the 'absentee' owners in your area as well as start driving for dollars trying to locate boarded up or vacant houses. You can then contact the owners directly. The key is to create your own list of houses to start bidding on...
Best Riches,
Jeff Adam
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Wow- you guys really get to the point. I think I have been analyzing stuff for far too long and really need to go out and start looking at properties!
Thank you - group - for the encouragement!
ps -- Any helpful hints on the best way to determine rents in an area? I'm selling my own townhouse soon (in Illinois) - thought I would see what opportunities it may offfer me!
Here's an idea. Why not find some of the owners that are listing with real estate agents. Approach them and simply state that once their contract is completed for them to contact you.
They already agree to take a cut in the aksing price by at least 6% for the RE agent. If they went full contract then more than likely they lowered their asking price.
See the picture (6%, lower asking price. Your deal getting better)
You make a slightly better deal based on the lowered ask and RE Agents commission.