Making Money Before Christmas

MAKING MONEY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Claude Diamond Said this Was the Ugliest House He Ever Saw!!!

I Love It!  This is a Beautiful House!!

Hey, don’t laugh!  I did this deal 18 days before Christmas.

I bought this ~1380sf house in Birmingham, Alabama as an REO (Bank Owned Property) from CitiBank at $5,250.00 and quickly sold it to an investor/buyer.  The great thing was I bought and sold it - sight unseen with just a bunch of photos from the local Listing Agent and a little research on the internet.  I had the listing agent send me photos of both the good and the bad of the property which I used in my advertising.  I also had him put a lockbox on the door and a sign in the window.  It took a little bit of work to find some good local Contractors and Handyman for some estimates for repairs.  My plan was to flip it without doing any repairs but leave it up to the Buyer with some good numbers and references.

The Tax Assessment value was $58,000.00 and it needed about $10-15K in repairs.

I sold it for $22,000.00 with $5,000.00 down and created a note for monthly payments of $161.00 for 15 years.  Notice the down payment I received was just shy of what I paid for the property!  But what I loved about this deal is I left money on the table for my Buyer to be able to rent-out or sell outright at a profit as well….a Win-Win!  A great way to do business.

I also sold it as an assignable deal to the investor with my approval on the new buyer.  If a Buyer defaults in the future, I will simply take the house back and start over and sell it again with a nice size down payment…after it has been fixed up!  And over the years it will appreciate in value from the low point from when I bought it.

Claude was an awesome mentor to me on this property and helped me through some of the “ins and outs”.  He especially helped me keep what I call a “balanced focus”.  A good mentor/coach is so important, even for the more experienced investors.  I would be more than willing to help others with mentoring as well.

It is ugly, but the little deals add up and are great for anyone.  The deals are everywhere right now, and you can easily make it a “Win-Win” for both you and the Buyer which is so important.

Some last words…don’t hesitate!  The deals are plentiful right now, just go out and do it, you will be well rewarded!  Don’t let anything get in the way of your dream.

   Chuck

Chuck Lidtka

Renton, WA

“Sprint to the End!”