Contracts and Offers

Most offers to buy a house are accompanied by a check. This check is generally referred to as the "earnest money deposit." The basic reason for the deposit is to impress the seller that the buyer "earnestly" intends to purchase the property.

The amount of the deposit varies from purchase to purchase, depending on a variety of factors. If a property generates a lot of interest, a buyer may make a larger deposit to convince the seller that their offer is stronger than the others. During "hot" markets, deposits are generally larger than during slow markets.

So I kind of think that on one of my offers the agent is trying to run my offer up by telling me there is another bid on the same house for a lot more... He said by law he cannot tell me what the offer is...

Someone told me tonight that I can legally ask to see the actual written offer to see what the person offered...

Does anyone know if this is true? I wouldn't think it would be but wasn't forsure!

Thanks,
Shaun

If I were to do an assignment of contract would I have to have already signed the purchase contract with the seller for me to assign it over to the new buyer? Or would I have to tear up the original contract and have the seller and new buyer make a new one on the spot for it to count as an assignment of contract? I don't know how all that would work, could someone please fill me in on the details. Thanks.

If I were to do an assignment of contract would I have to have already signed the purchase contract with the seller for me to assign it over to the new buyer? Or would I have to tear up the original contract and have the seller and new buyer make a new one on the spot for it to count as an assignment of contract? I don't know how all that would work, could someone please fill me in on the details. Thanks.

I am having trouble with cash flow. I am looking at a fourplex here in Arizona. The units are renting for $650 each. I have used worst case situations with my cash flow chart. I am using current taxes which will go down. I pay water, sewer and trash. I have the insurance in, maintenace in, miscellaneous of $3000 in, pest control, management fees of 10%, vacancy rate of 10% and my total expenses are $17,000. My net operating income is $11,112. The total debt service is $4,050 which leaves a positive cash flow of $7062. That is a positive cash flow of $588.50 per month. My question is...what is wrong with this picture? I have not made an offer yet and it has been sitting on the MLS for 119 days and they just dropped the price $5,000! What am I waiting for?

Tom

Using a real estate option to control land can turn a small cash investment into big profits. And the downside? You can lose all your investment, and many options DO expire worthless.

An option is a simple concept. You pay for the right to buy something within a certain amount of time at a certain price with certain terms. But you have no obligation to follow through and buy it.

Example of a Simple Real Estate Option

Suppose you want to build a home on a piece of land that is for sale for $52,000, but you are not sure you'll be able to. Since you don't want to lose the opportunity to build on this particular piece of land, you decide to try to "tie it up" with an option. You tell the seller you might want to buy it for full price, but you are not sure about your financing yet.

Discover How Real Estate Options Can Help You Get Rich Instead Of Everyone Else And Learn How Options On Real Estate Allow You To Profit On Properties You Do Not Own
WHO really makes money from property sales and what are "real estate options"?
First, who really makes the money? The Seller makes money. The Realtor, Bank, Appraiser, Lawyer, Insurance Agent, and even the City, County and State tax collectors make money, but the BUYER pays (even if the 'lucky' buyer buys a distressed fixer upper for no money down, he pays).

What is a lease option?
This basically means you are leasing or renting a property with an option to buy it at a future date. The future price of the property should be fixed at the time the lease-option is signed.

Usually there is an up-front payment of some amount to purchase the option. The amount can vary. Sometimes the monthly payment is larger than normal and the excess is used to purchase the option. In some cases, the option money can be applied toward the down payment for the later purchase of the home.

Lease-options are usually done during a slow real estate market. During a hot market, the seller can simply sell the home in the regular manner.

What risks does a lease option hold for the buyer?

I've got a deal going for $1,400,000.00 and I'm trying to figure out the best way to have the realitor write it up. The owner has agreed to $1,000,000.00 cash at closing. I want to make this a no money down deal. I was thinking something like,the owner carrying a second for $400,000.00 and then maybe discounting it later.But, I'm thinking I would still half to come up with 20% down this way. Then, I heard of something called a gift back! I figure if I can up with a way, I should be able to walk out of closing with $120,000.00 in my pocket.The banker doesn't have a problem with a second. Any ideas?

The purpose of posting this topic is to learn once and for all, everything we can about Assignment contracts. I know Dean tells us pretty well in his books but some of us need a little more detail.

To all REI pros out there, if you would please help us rookies with the following-we would be forever grateful.... Thank You!

Favor #1-- In step by step detail, please share with us how an Assignment of Contract comes to be. How do you approach the Seller? What do you more or less say to them when you introduce yourself as an investor? Better yet-Can you provide a real-life experience of when YOU did an Assignment of Contract and explain it step-by-step in detail?