Month: June 2005

One of the things that amazes me in the real estate business is how many investors leave hundreds or thousands of dollars on the table at closing due to errors in the closing documents.It is a mistake to assume that the HUD is correct or that the closing documents are correct. You need to take the time to read all the documents carefully before closing on any deal.

These are some of the areas to check thoroughly. If there is a realtor fee, make sure the percentages are correct and the payment amount to the realtor is right. Make sure you check the per diem interest to see if this figure is calculated correctly. Make sure that the figures on the HUD from the insurance company, a termite inspection, a home inspection or any other fee that should be carried to the HUD is correct. There have been many times when these figures were either incorrect or there were fees on the HUD that I had already paid out of pocket before the closing.

Check to make sure that the pro-rated tax figures or association fees are correct on the HUD. If you are due pro-rated taxes from your seller, make sure they show up as a credit on your side of the HUD. If there is a new loan amount or a payoff figure from a loan company make sure these figures are correct. This is another area where I have frequently found errors.

Make sure you also check loan documents carefully. Check the interest rate, the balloon and the amount of the note. I had a note and mortgage just this week where I was funding the deal for the buyer and the payee of the note and mortgage was the seller instead of me. They also had the balloon date wrong on the note. It showed a ten year balloon instead of a one year balloon because someone added a zero. If there is an interest only payment to be made each month, make sure this is clearly stated in the note and mortgage. Also make sure that terms for late fees are clearly stated if you are the person holding a note for your buyer.

All of these are important points to check before any closing occurs. Don’t assume the title agent will catch it. They do many closings each day and they usually are unable to catch every mistake. In addition, very often the title agent is transferring figures they got from other people such as the realtor or the lender or the insurance agent so they my not be aware that these figure are incorrect. It’s your closing, make sure the documents are correct so you don’t leave thousands at the closing table.

For more information on finding motivated sellers and closings, take a look at my web site at marketingmagiclady.com.

Finding the owners of pretty houses who need to sell is one of my favorite ways to make money in the real estate business quickly and easily. There are lots of great ways to do this.One of the ways I find pretty houses in “distress” is to simply look for them at the same time I am looking for vacant ugly houses. They will still have high grass and closed curtains and mail loaded up in the mail box just like the ugly ones. One of the best ways to find these houses is to do it on the weekend when people are home. This makes it so much easier to spot a vacant house, and you can stop and talk to neighbors when you find one. Another way to find pretty houses is to simply put signs at the entrances and exits to subdivisions you want to buy in or at subdivisions where you know there are pre-foreclosures.

I put signage and flyers door to door in newer subdivisions that have built in the last two years. My thinking is that folks move into these homes and then realize they got into more than they could afford or they are being transferred somewhere else for work. We have definitely bought a few houses this way. Usually these folks will simply deed you the property.

I also mail to out of state owners. These are the folks who live in a property only part-time. Sometimes they just get tired of making the trip and keeping up the maintenance on the home for whatever reason and they are ready to sell. There are good deals to be made with these properties.

You can also hire someone to lay flyers door to door in neighborhoods you want to buy in. The sooner you can get your marketing into someone else’s hands, the more money you can make in this business. We also have friends and family members who have our signage on their vehicles. This is a good way to reach market areas you wouldn’t otherwise. These folks travel to different places than you would and your signage will get seen by people who need to sell. This has continuously been a good source of leads for us.

I also solicit companies who work with people needing to sell their homes, like moving companies, carpet cleaners, storage companies and attorneys. We offer to pay them a fee if they find us a home that we buy. These are people are in the public working with folks who need to sell on a daily basis.

For more information on finding motivated sellers of pretty houses visit me at marketingmagiclady.com

One of the best ways I know to take your business to the next level is to find the really motivated sellers. One of the easiest types of properties to find are ugly houses and these are some of the most highly motivated sellers once you locate them.There are lots of great ways to find ugly houses. One of the easiest ways I know is to find them during your travels when you are driving. I’ll bet you pass bunches of them everyday, you just have to take the blinders off to see them. These are the houses that have high grass, no mail box, broken windows, papers everywhere and no car in the driveway. Copy down the addresses and follow them up later. Another way to find these ugly houses is to simply enlist the help of “bird dogs”. These are folks who will help you find the ugly houses, like family and friends. They probably drive a different route than you do each day and therefore they will find ugly houses you would never see.

You can also enlist the help of a realtor to help you find ugly houses. They usually have some listed, and if they know you are looking for ugly houses, when they get a listing for a house that fits your criteria, they will call you first, which means no competition for the property.

One way I like to find ugly houses is to enlist the help of local code enforcement. They are the ones who “tag” houses for a variety of reasons. They want to see their neighborhoods improved as much as you do so they are generally willing to help you by telling you what’s wrong with the house and how to find the owner.

Another great way to find ugly houses is to use direct mail. You can do a mailing targeted at middle to lower income areas since there seem to be a higher number of ugly houses in these areas. Then let the sellers contact you!

There are several ways to find the owners of ugly vacant houses. One way is to simply look them up on public record. Remember that the harder they are to find, the better deal you’re going to make! If that doesn’t work, go talk to the neighbors. They will tell you whatever you need to know if they think there is a chance of making the “eyesore” go away. Another way to find the owners of these properties is to use a skip tracer or a private detective. Whichever method you choose to employ, get the job done!! These are deals just waiting to be made!!

For more information on finding the owners of ugly vacant houses, visit my web site at Marketingmagiclady.com.