First Deal Help

was there a fire or mold or just someone wanting to renovate and gave up, and why did they give up? Was it money or foundation problems or some other major repair? I think you have to research and find just how much you can offer in order to make a profit.

Deans last blog said to offer 65% of asking price & then subtract rehab price ontop of that & thats what you offer.I believe thats how it would work.
good luck!

Matt B

Amy- you need to get a good rehab contractor to take with you to visit property.

Get estimates of repairs and time for completion and THEN consider an offer price. You'll need to know ARV

Cases like this don't work with the cookie cutter x .65 approach, but they usually can be money makers!

I don't know how this can be, but Zillow has it appraised at $194,900, but Eppraisal has it for $408,823 and another site has it for $461,700. How can there be such a wide swing on appraisals?

don't use Zillow as your 'appraisal'; you want to get comps from recent sold properties nearby. Ask a real estate agent to give you those comps.

As Mike and Matt point out, you need to know what the rehab cost is, then you add closing costs, holding costs, and your fee. That will give you your maximum offer.

good luck!

you really need to go look at the property and best if you can bring your contractor with you, or someone who can visualize the repair scope. My main concern if the property is gutted down is to check all the wiring is still intact. As the property is vacant, it could be vandalized and believe or not, vandals take wire to sell copper. Rewiring a property could be costly. Secondly, don't go by the values provided by Zillow. Best way is to get with your agent and ask him to provide you with actual comps. After you truly see what's going to take to fix that property, do your math using the actual comps and make them an offer. Check also what REOs are selling for in the neighborhood as this will give you an idea of what distressed properties are selling in the area. Dont's forget that seller is competing with REOs, short sales too. Let us know how that goes.

What are you planning on doing with the property once its yours??? If you are planning a quick flip and have the right exit stradegy I wouldnt be to concerened about and exact price. Shoot an arrow out and get a response.....
When in doubt GET IT UNDER CONTRACT !!!

an 'investor' who had watched too much "Flip this House" and wanted to try and got in over his head--happens ALOT, so don't you be one

Did just get an email from seller who says the owner was going to rehab the home himself, but got sick and had heart surgery. The project stopped dead in its tracks due to his health condition.

Hi get your contractor to give you a rehab price, check your comps with a Realtor and check the house over very well and leave nothing to chance and I agree with all the other advice you have gotten here on this post.What a Family we have here, Jim

I reached out and am having 3 contractors come out to give me an estimate on repairs for this house. I have a partner here from DG that wants to put an offer together after I get these bids...wish me luck that this works out! Thanks for all the advice!

The 65% is figured on ARV not asking price. And the ARV would be based on comps.

Karen