I had a seller call on one of my signs in San Diego. The house was in a “not so great area.” I decided to set up a three-year lease option for market rent and a $30,000 discount in price.
I marketed the property hard for four weeks, but was not able to find a buyer. The pit bulls next door, the car with the flat tire in front, and the loud radios booming were not exactly wooing my tenant/buyers.
I was pretty disappointed because I knew my potential profit could have been in the tens of thousands. Instead of giving the property back to the owner, I found somebody who had only $2,000 down but was willing to give me an additional $2,400 over the next eighteen months.
I assigned the contract to my tenant/buyers; I took away my liability; and I’m off to the next one. After complaining to my wife about the deal, she reminded me that I had about ten hours into the deal. That’s over $400 an hour!
[Editor’s Note: This is Todd’s third Success Story. Read the others here: Lease Option Nets $68,000 in 30 days! and First Deal in a Hot Market Nets $40,000 Profit]