When I started four years ago, I got a lot of inspiration from the Success Stories on your site. People need to know that it can be done–even in this type of market. I just closed another wholesale deal which was not as spectacular as my previous Success Story, but I made $7,000 in 33 days with a $10 deposit.
The property was worth $180,000 to $190,000 as a 2-bedroom/1-bath, but the property was around 1,400 square feet. I sold it to another investor who is converting the property to a 3-bedroom/2-bath, and the property would be worth around $240,000 to $260,000.
He got a great deal at $93,000. You can’t go back in time, but the investor bought the property at 1990 prices.
Here are the details:A lady called me, and I called her back a day later because I was getting a lot of calls from my marketing. She told me that she had already sold the property to another investor. I wished her well and apologized for calling her a day later. She told me that she had sold the property for $90,000, and it was supposed to close by March 27.
I told her great, but if for any reason things did not work out, please call me. She called me a day before the closing date on March 26. For more than a week, she could not get a hold of the investor who was supposed to buy her home. I told her that I wanted to meet her at her house and to bring the contract with her.
After reviewing the contract, it was to expire the next day. I told her that we had to wait until the next day, and I would buy the property for $85,000. My deposit was $10. She agreed, and we met the next day.
I marketed the property and found a buyer in three weeks. We had some issues with code enforcement, and I had to repair a fence and cut the grass, so that code would not put a lien on the property.
All it took was to get someone to put about a dozen screws to repair the fence and had someone cut the grass and remove some furniture and garbage. This cost me $150. I paid the seller’s closing costs.
A fellow investor found me a buyer, and I paid him $2,500 out of my assignment fee, and I netted $7,000 in 33 days.
There were only 825 sales in the Broward County in April 2008. That’s 58% below the normal volume of an average of 1400 a month, due to the extreme buyer’s market we are experiencing on South Florida.
I think that real estate investing has a lot to do with your belief system. I know a lot of investors who have given up and closed shop, but I think that the market is starting to change, and I hope that we starting to see volume come back slowly.
Editor’s Note: This is Ricardo’s second Success Story! Read his first: