First Solo Flip & I'm in Trouble

[CashFlowDepot]

That's why a HIghest Bidder Sale is different than a typical Open House. Yes, you still do an open house for 2 days with a short fuse on the times that the house is open. By getting as many people there are the same time it create competition and helps the price go up up up. The big different with a HIghest Biddder Sale is that you advertise the house about 25% below market to attract bidders. People submit their bid on a bid sheet during the open house. After the 2 day open house you call back all the bidders, in highest to lowest order. Tell them the high bid and ask if they want to advance or increase their bid. Some will drop out. Some will increase the bid. Auction fever always kicks in so it is just as much about winning the bid as buying the house.

I usually have 200 people come through the house in a two day open house. I will get 25-30 bids. And I always sell the house. Plus you have a built in back up bidder if the high bidder bombs out.

Put up about 50 signs within a 1 mile radius of the house. Also blanket the neighborhood with flyers ( at houses, 7-11, cleaners, restaurants, etc_

I always get a property inspection done so potential buyers can see exactly what they are getting in to. Then there is no excuse to write a contingent contract subject to an inspection. Often the lender will accept that inspection report so it helps to expedite the loan ( if there is one)

Here's part of an article I write about a Highest Bidder Sale I did in Colorado a few years ago. The house sold for more than market value. Even realtors were stopping by to ask me how I got so many people at my Open house.


500 buyers at your open house in two days

That’s how many buyers showed up at the Highest Bidder Sale I did in Loveland Colorado last month.

I usually attract at least 200 Buyer to each Highest Bidder Sale.

Here are some other advantages of doing a Highest Bidder Sale:

(1) The great thing about a Highest Bidder Sale is it has a built in back up buyer just in case the high bidder backs out.

(2) But think about this…You also build a HUGE buyers list in just 2 days. Many buyers at a Highest Bidder Sale are CASH buyers so you can get your houses sold and CLOSED even faster.

(3) With all those CASH Buyers, you get to meet a lot of potential “private lenders” in just 2 days

(4) And I have never done a Highest Bidder Sale that I did not generate interest from other Sellers who want me to do a Highest Bidder Sale for their house. I usually get at least 1-2 options every time I do Highest Bidder Sale. More deals! More profits!

Bottom line, a Highest Bidder Sale is a great way to get your house sold fast, build a buyers list, find private lenders, and get even more deals all in just TWO days!




To Your Extreme Success

Jackie Lange

 

[CashFlowDepot]

Contact Dyches Boddiford in Atlanta www.Assets101.com He might do a new private loan or equity participation financing ( put up $ for share in profit)

Do a Highest Bidder Sale this weekend. Advertise the house below market to get a lot of people there, then sell to the highest bidder. Have a mortgage broker at the house to qualify buyers on the spot. I routinely sell houses at, or even above, market using this method. See more details at http://www.cashflowdepot.com/home/highest-bidder-sale.aspx Use LOTS of SIGNS to attract attention. Make it seem like the circus is coming to town with all your signs to help create a BUZZ about the property.

 

[CashFlowDepot]

You only have about 2 weeks until the have to pay off the mortgage

Even if they start foreclosure it will take a couple of months before you lose the house

BUT...

you need to get aggressive about getting this house sold

Do you have a Highest Bidder Sale scheduled for THIS weekend?
I sent you the book and all the docs so you will know exactly what to do and how to do it

have you contacted Dyches Boddiford?

Another plan would be to contact every single 1031 exchange company -- start wtih www.1031taxfreesale.com
they have a lot of people with a lot of money that has to be spent in 45 days or less for a 1031 exchange.
If they don't spend the cash, they have to pay taxes on it.

do a search at 1031.org for other companies

Contact all 1031 exchange companies to see if they have anyone who would like to invest in this property

be willing to offer 50% of the equity when you do sell it. (it is better than zero equity if you lose it)

hedge funds are buying in your area - contact Blackstone and search the Georgia Business Journal to see which other hedge funds are buying in the altanta area. A quick search revealed this company https://www.americanhomes4rent.com/ is buying about 10,000 homes a month in altanta. they might buy your house

you could structure it to sell them the home below market but hold back a 10% to 20% option for future option ( recorded of course) for future gains

and of course, you should contact the current hard money lender to see if they will extend the loan - it will probably cost you $ but it is better than losing the house ( hard monehy lenders are loan sharks and not the best person to deal with. it is much better to work with private lenders and always.. ALWAYS have an extension clause built in to the loan)

 

[CashFlowDepot]

a Highest Bidder Sale is not your ordinary boring open house. YOu really need to try a Highest Bidder Sale. It is important that you follow the instructions which I emailed to you.

THINK CREATIVELY!

Even though you can't stick signs in the ground,

you can have cars with signs on them strategically places to drive traffic to the house.

You can hire people on craiglist to stand on corners holding signs

There is always a way!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CashFlowDepot]

I was doing a Highest Bidder Sale in Plano Texas. They have a $100 per sign fine but they usually just take them up.

I was getting steady traffic at my HBS, but all the sudden it stopped. I knew Code Enforcement probably took up my signs.

But I always have more signs to put up and did that.

Traffic at the house started up again.

But an hour later, it slowed down.

Sure enough, Code Enforcement took down my signs again.

But I had four big 3 foot x 4 foot signs in front of the house.

I punched a hole in the top right and left corner of each one
then used a zip tie to turn the signs in to two sandwich boards

My daughter and her friend were helping with the HBS.

I sent them out on the sidewalk next to a busy street to walk up and down the street with their sandwich board on.

We kept plenty of traffic, got lots of bidders and sold the house for more than I thought it would sell for.

Moral of the story... have a plan b, a plan c, etc... and come to a HBS prepared for anything.

 

[CashFlowDepot]

I did a quick search for staging companies in Atlanta. found this one
http://www.thesimplystagedhome.com/

I don't know anything about them

But some furniture in the house would sure help!

Or try this...

For one of my high priced Highest Bidder Sales on a vacant house I had an option on, I went to a nice furniture store in town to ask if they would stage the property. They could advertise the furniture for sale.

I sold the house faster because it was staged
It did not cost me a penny because the furniture company did all the work
The furniture company sold most of the furniture to the home buyers.

try it!

win win for all

You definitely need a lot of flowers at the entrance near the road and at the entrance to the house and on the back patio

Make the house feel like a HOME

 

[CashFlowDepot]

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS

International buyers see all real estate in the USA as a blue light special. Make sure you get flyers about your property to the international schools in your area.

Also send out a PRESS RELEASE to local media and also free online PR sources and PRWeb.com The press release helps attract buyers worldwide

Focus on the positive attributes of the property and the house.

 

[codo3500]

I'm a realtor, but in Australia, so it may be a bit different here.

Here's some VITAL bits it seems like you're not doing (as nobody probably does them there):
- Stage the house. This means renting high-end furniture, including paintings and everything. You need to make it feel like a home - people don't have an imagination, so help them visualise it with gorgeous furniture and decorations.
- Get professional photography - for the sake of $150, once it's furnished, get a professional to come and do it. They'll bring proper lighting and everything, it'll look 100x better than it currently does.
- Do an auction - and leading up to it, do 15 minute open houses, just a couple of them. By cramming everyone through in a short period of time, they'll think competition is through the roof.

This may all cost you a grand or two, but it works every time here. People really don't have an imagination; by doing the place up with great furniture you're letting them walk in and go "Wow, I could afford to live here!?"

 

[PopEmersen]

So last week between jury duty and emergency room visits I wasn't able to do the proper marketing the HBS called for so I postponed the auction until this Sundy the 29th. Also, we had a showing on Thursday. The guy liked the house and even drove up the driveway into the garage several times. Didn't hear from him all weekend.

So on this past Saturday I started the marketing process for the HBS, I created 2 CL listings listing the auction. I printed 100 flyers and put those flyers on cars parked in the Kroger and Walmart parking lot accross the cross street. There was a wedding at the park in front of the house, those cars got flyers too. I also put up signs through out the neighborhood with flyers attached to them. I put a brochure inside the place too.
Sunday, I had the yard cleaned again.

Tuesday, the guy that saw the house puts an offer in. We go back and forth and Wednesday we agreed and are now under contract so I won't have to have the HBS BUT going through the HBS process, it really seems like the best way to sell a home. If I could have done it over, I would have had an HBS the week after all the work was done. You get the mometum of the house be REALLY fresh and clean plus the landscaping is top notch right then. You also get to control how the process goes and you get to keep the commission. On my next flip I will do the HBS. One more thing, I can't do RE investing and this high pressure gig. When I did those other 6, that's all i was doing. These 10 hours at work hampered the project.

You live and you learn, just happy to have it under contract BUT we all know its not official until the names are signed during closing. Thank you guys for all your suggestions.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ZCP]

5 day sale http://www.howtosellyourhomein5days.com/
It works. Did it in the Acworth area. Friend of mine did it twice in Alpharetta.
As a tip, bake (don't burn!) cookies while everyone is going through the house..... It keeps you in the kitchen talking and makes the house smell great....

 

[CashFlowDepot]

I am curious what kind of work you put into it . What percentage do you usually make off these? In my area the banks have gotten better at controlling the foreclosure market so the value is not taken down so much, meaning flippers are not left as much room to make profit. For that price range I would expect it to be immaculate and staged. The bathrooms are a turn off. Just trying to help.

You definitely need more CURB APPEAL. Flowers near the street and at the entrance to the property.

Half of the battle is getting them to the property. The other half of the battle is getting potential buyers to WANT to come inside. Flowers Flowers Flowers will draw them inside.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[PopEmersen]

Closing was this past Friday, and all went well. Learned a lot. On to the next endeavor.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[HardParked13]

1. Join an off-roading forum
2. Find a member looking for a new home
3. Tell them how awesome it would be to drive their Jeep up the driveway every time they come home
4. ???
5. Profit

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CashFlowDepot]

I have the HBS scheduled for this weekend. I also have the option of showhomes of atlanta moving in a home manager this week. Basically, they stage the home for free, pay the util, and landscaping till the home sells. With the HBS this weekend, should I do it?

Never heard of 1031 but I will look right now. On my way to HD to get a million signs. Contacted Dcyches have a call with him today.

Glad to see you taking ACTION! Remember to get a creative mortgage broker at the property to pre-qualify people on the spot. Why would they do this? They get a lot of leads of people who might want to buy a house and need a mortgage.

a 1031 will not work for this property. YOu rehabbed it with the intention of reselling.

GET THE HOUSE STAGED ASAP!!!

Are you following the advice in my book?

Are you posting on craigslist daily? two times a day would be better? (you will need to use 2-3 different emails)

Did you send out a press release? You can get someone to write it at www.Fiverr.com and send it out too.

Do you have a BIG sign in front of the property? not a little 18 x 24 -- I'm talking about a 3 foot x 4 footer printed on both sides.

I am finishing up my Panama Relocation Tour on Thursday afternoon (tomorrow) so I will be checking in to see if you have any questions. I'm leaving on Saturday for Ecuador for a few weeks but I will check in when I can to see if you need anything. It might be faster to email me at jackie at cashflowdepot dot com

You WILL get the house sold this weekend!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChickenHawk]

Beautiful house. It looks like you did a great job on the renovations!

Hey, a small thing that might help... The house sits high up on the street, which equals a problem, a steep driveway. However, usually in houses like this, there's also an upside, meaning a kick-a$$ view from the front of the house. Is there a great view from the house? If so, consider adding a few photos of the view, maybe a shot or two from the front entrance, or even from the upper floor.

Personally, I hate houses with a steep driveway, but when there's a kick-a$$ view, I find myself stopping to consider them anyway.

Also, did you try an open house? If you're that desperate, it might be worth doing.

 

[ChickenHawk]

Are open houses not typical? I know nothing about real estate so I'm curious.

True, they're fairly common, but lots of sellers and real estate agents view them as a waste of time because very few of them result in an actual sale. But maybe an open house, combined with the recent price reduction, might bring some buyers out of the woodwork.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[randomnumber314]

We had an open house but it didn't go well due to weather and it was a quick turnaround. I can't do the signs because the City of Atlanta has a strict sign ordinance law with fines BUT I think I can do the flyers.

@CashFlowDepot THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ADVICE!

what are the fines? Think of it as a cost to advertise. $100 a sign, at 50 signs is still cheap.

 

[1step]

Vacant, I did staged on a home before and it didn't add value. The home didn't sell faster or for a higher price.

Wondering how you came to this conclusion? Seems like everything I have heard indicates staging clearly adds value.

How did you test this on a home to conclude it offers no value?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[PopEmersen]

I have the HBS scheduled for this weekend. I also have the option of showhomes of atlanta moving in a home manager this week. Basically, they stage the home for free, pay the util, and landscaping till the home sells. With the HBS this weekend, should I do it?

Never heard of 1031 but I will look right now. On my way to HD to get a million signs. Contacted Dcyches have a call with him today.

 

[PopEmersen]

So I have done 6 flips before using a partner. This time I did one solo. I found a home in ATL in a great location, but a horrible driveway.

Here is the listing
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1900-Harper-Rd-NW-Atlanta-GA-30318/35916027_zpid/

Here's why I am in trouble. I took at 6 month loan from a Hard Money Lender. The loan is due 7/10, I don't have a buyer, I got turned down for traditional refinancing, and I'm out of capital. I've had showings and everyone says it's beautiful home, but everyone hates the steep driveway.

I've called 5 different concrete guys, 3 ignored me and 2 called me back to say the same thing, nothing can be done. They driveway has to go from the street to the garage floor, and you can't lower the home or raise the street.

I have had several rental inquiries and I am willing to do that, but I couldn't get refinancing. I dropped the price this weekend and we have had increased activity so that's good, but no offers. I had an idea of actually getting a tenant, go through the whole process of signing the lease and getting the deposit, take that to a bank and see what they say.

What do you guys think?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Unknown]

I wouldn't pay a dollar to live in Atlanta...with that said the auction idea is probably your best shot to sell it fast if you can't get financing.

 

[PopEmersen]

We had an open house but it didn't go well due to weather and it was a quick turnaround. I can't do the signs because the City of Atlanta has a strict sign ordinance law with fines BUT I think I can do the flyers.

@CashFlowDepot THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ADVICE!

 

[D11FYY]

5 day sale http://www.howtosellyourhomein5days.com/
It works. Did it in the Acworth area. Friend of mine did it twice in Alpharetta.
As a tip, bake (don't burn!) cookies while everyone is going through the house..... It keeps you in the kitchen talking and makes the house smell great....

Lol make bacon then its guaranteed to sell .. Unless their vegetarian .

@CashFlowDepot is giving some great advice as has @codo3500

Have you not had any luck at all? Even a offer?

 

[CommonCents]

what are the comps?

I'd look at taking new pics and having them brighter on a sunny day. Was a little dark inside.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[D11FYY]

Vacant, I did staged on a home before and it didn't add value. The home didn't sell faster or for a higher price.



Great idea



Everyone is saying new pics. Need a new realtor seems like.

Just because it didnt work once previous dont write it off just yet give it another go, you dont have anything to loose by trying.

 

[D11FYY]

I would
1) Phone around and get staged furniture in
2) Get better photographs and yes on a Sunnier day - I buy and sell cars it sounds silly a photo on a nice day at the right time makes a significant diffrence - the feel good factor from just looking at it.
3) Plant some flowers do up the garden nice - Women love Gardens and Kitchens - (Women decide if the guy buys it or not haha - not meaning to be sexist.)
4) Get flyers made with the new photos and make them available on your own website so people can view anytime without seeing the price you actually paid for the house.
5) Go hand them out at the mall , local shops , salons etc. and arrange another open viewing offer incentive for showing up they could view and spread word!
6) Stop knocking things back and just try something different

Best of luck and hope you flip this around!

 

[CashFlowDepot]

Thanks Peevee

 

[yulthebull]

this may or may not have been mentioned already and I'm not sure its a viable option but how about paying the buyers agent 4 or 5% instead of the standard 3

 

[xmartel]

this may or may not have been mentioned already and I'm not sure its a viable option but how about paying the buyers agent 4 or 5% instead of the standard 3

To expand on this, here's a trick I learned if I'm ever in a tight spot. I've never had to use it yet, but I've seen other home builders around here do it.

Not sure how it is done there, but in Canada it's free for buyers to use realtors, so most people do. They control 80% of the market. I've been quite successful selling without them, but it can be difficult and if you try and circumvent their monopoly they blacklist you. Even if you're willing to negotiate a commission if a realtor does bring someone, by not using one yourself you can often find yourself missing out on the majority of the buyers. Even if the property would be perfect for their client, they won't show it.

I've learned that instead of fighting it, use the system to your advantage. I've done it in a few different ways. But I'll give you 2 real life examples of 1 method in action. You just have to remember, realtors are people, and most are motivated by making a lot of money. They like to say their clients needs come first, but I've found in reality that's not true at all for 75%+ of the realtors out there. Money talks.

Example 1

There was a home for sale in the 550k range on street filled with 400k homes. The owner was an aquantance of a family friend. It was on the market for 6 months without selling. Instead of dropping the price like most people do in that senario. They offered a bonus 10k commission to the buyers agent on top of the regular commission (6-4-2 around here split 50/50 between sides). It sold in 3 days for asking price.

Example 2

A high end home builder in my city built an 800k home on spec. Sat for quite a few months without selling. Lowered the price to 775k. Still didn't move. So they raised the price to 850k, and made the commission structure 0% for anything under 800k, and 100% for everything over. It sold for 850k within the week.

You have to be careful with how you structure this method, you don't want to rip people off. The 2nd example bugs me, it's genius, but I don't like it. The buyers agent's greed surpassed his obligations to his clients and they over paid by probably 100k vs what the home should have sold for.

You only want to do this method in moderation and structured properly so that you're not taking advantage of people.

Every realtor now knows about the 2nd deal, and that realtor now has a shady reputation. So does the builder to some degree. And if those details ever got out into the buying public, it could seriously harm the reputation of that builder.

 

[CashFlowDepot]

Reporting live from beautiful (but chilly) Cuenca Ecuador...

great report on how the full court press of a Highest Bidder Sale worked to get the house sold.

You can do a fantastic job rehabbing a property but if no one knows about the house you can't sell it. Your marketing efforts drew attention to the property.

Hopefully the next time you will be able to go through the whole process of doing a 2 day HIghest Bidder Sale, accepting bids, doing the round robin to get the price up up up, selling the house in only 7 days from the time you start the marketing, and having a back up buyer ( just in case the first one bombs out).

Highest Bidder Sales work!

Did my Highest Bidder Sale book help?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.