These are the results of the Fifteenth week of opening up my house flipping business for you guys to see how my wife and I are building back up to 30 deals a year. If you missed the first post explaining what I am doing, please visit This Post.
These are the things I did this week:
FREE Real Estate Investment Lead Manager Released
The free lead manager web application is now available for use.
Check it out here: free lead manager for flipping houses
Update for 2020: We now have launch FlipPilot. It’s an innovative lead pipeline software CRM for real estate investors!
Def Leppard House Is Being Rehabbed
The rehab on the Def Leppard House is being wrapped up and should be finished next week.
Closed On The Historic House FINALLY!
We finally closed on the historic house that I intend to wholesale. I had decided to wait until after closing to push out this deal because the attorney for the seller lives across the street and I did not want any problems with the deal. After I find a buyer and close (hopefully quickly), I will share all of the details. Thanks for understanding.
Gathered Some More Probate Leads
Was at the courthouse last week and gathered some leads for another probate mailing. Sent out first batch for envelope addressing and stuffing. Should be able to mail those out early next week.
Hidden Iron House Inspection Repairs In Progress
The inspection for the Hidden Iron house was completed and some small repairs were required (bath GFCI not working, kitchen needed a GFCI, some roof shingles needed replacing from rubbing branches, 2 garage door panels needed replacing, garbage disposal was leaking). Not bad. Appraisal is complete. Should be done any day now and we will just be waiting on the survey and closing.
Looked At a Death House
Went to look at a house lead from last week where there was a fire in the house. The house has been vacant for more than 2 years. The seller lives out of town and doesn’t visit the house often (if at all). Code compliance is getting onto them about the house (neighbor directly behind it is trying to sell her house and is complaining). Yard is overgrown and there is a lot of trash in the house. It looks like it had been ransacked. Stuff everywhere.
The seller informed me that his mother-in-law passed away in the house due to smoke inhalation. I was expecting major fire damage to this house and was surprised to not see any from the exterior. We (thanks Burke and Brandon, for visiting this house with me) went in through the back glass door which was unlocked. The house did not appear to have fire damage. ??? After practically wading through the trash and around the large mattresses on the living room floor??, we entered the kitchen.
The kitchen had signs of a grease fire that burned the upper cabinets and had very minor smoke damage above. We could not figure out how someone could have died from this fire. The neighbor was outside and we went to see what they knew. The neighbor informed us that the mother-in-law had emphysema and inhaled too much smoke while putting out the fire. Sad. She also informed us that her nephew had passed away from a drug overdose several months prior to the fire incident. I don’t know if that occurred in this house or not.
There was a notice posted from a bank on the window and I now I need to find out if they already had lost the house and did not even know. The seller did mention that he thought there was a lien on the house. I’m sure he was not making payments if he wasn’t sure about this. Now, its been vacant for several years, so I am confident that the bank probably did take the house already. It is strange that the county tax rolls still show the mother-in-law as the owner though.
I’m going to make contact with the seller again tomorrow and see if we can’t get this all figured out. Will definitely need to buy this one super cheap! Wholesale style.
Marketing
Total Leads This Week: 21 🙂
Leads Analyzed
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1400 sf house in a good neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $Make Offer |
| Amount Owed: | $80,000 |
| Repairs: | $10k (based on conversation – unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $115,000 |
| Max Offer: | $75,000 – repairs |
They want to sell, but the husband does not want to have to do the cosmetic repairs they feel are necessary. The husband had just helped fix up their parents’ house and he is sick of doing repairs. That’s what I’m told anyway. Even if there is more hidden motivation, they just owe a little too much. Just in case some sort of deal could be worked out, I told them that if I could do it, my offer would likely be what they owe. That’s not what they wanted to hear. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 800 sf house in a bad neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $45,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $35,000 |
| Repairs: | $? (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $50,000 |
| Max Offer: | $25,000 – repairs |
Too much is owed and there is a lot for sale in the immediate area. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1900 sf house in a good neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $90,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $87,000 |
| Repairs: | none (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $120,000 |
| Max Offer: | $78,000 – repairs |
Seller lives out of town and has tenants in the house. They have this house rented at $700/mo and it should really be hiked up to at least $900/mo or more. Seller says it does not need repairs. A little too much is owed.
Homeowner wants to sell a 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 4500 sf house in a good neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | Make an Offer |
| Amount Owed: | Nothing |
| Repairs: | $80,000 (at least) |
| After Repaired Value: | $420,000 |
| Max Offer: | $196,000 |
I knew what the house would be like as soon as they told me the size and the neighborhood. This neighborhood is full of these houses that were built in the 60’s and they all still have the same style. It’s like some weird sort of time warp. Nobody ever updates their houses. These things are huge too, so it will cost a small fortune to update them. The sellers all tend to have super inflated ideas of their value because the houses seem liveable and clean. But, man are they OUTDATED. Have you ever been to Graceland? If so, you’ve been to one of these houses.
They inherited the house and have been trying to sell it through a Realtor. The Realtor has it priced as if it were completely updated and only has one picture in the MLS. I made them an offer of $195k and they are not interested. I’ve passed this on to another investor that said he would pay more and hopefully they can strike up a deal so that I can get a referral fee. I did not save this one for a follow up (even though I still will) and passed it on because I am sure they will find another investor willing to pay more than me. Might as well make a referral fee out of the deal.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1400 sf house in a decent neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | Make An Offer |
| Amount Owed: | $0 |
| Repairs: | $8,000 |
| After Repaired Value: | $75,000 |
| Max Offer: | $40,000 |
They inherited this house from their sister that passed away very recently. The house is in good shape but needs some updating. The area is not the best, but the street is pretty nice. I made an offer of $35,000 after seeing the house. They didn’t flinch, but said they would think about it. They called a couple hours later and said that is was just way too far below what they wanted, though they wouldn’t tell me what they wanted. There seemed to be some motivation that was being suppressed. I will call them back after a couple days.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2000 sf house in a good neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $130,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $125,000 |
| Repairs: | $cosmetic (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $130,000 |
| Max Offer: | $84,500 – repairs |
Seller seemed really high strung and frantic. Probably just really nervous. She just owes too much on the house and I’m afraid I could not help.
Homeowner wants to sell a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 700 sf house in a not-so-good neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $20,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $0 |
| Repairs: | $? (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $45,000 |
| Max Offer: | $? |
Caller’s mother is moving out of state and wants to sell the house. The area the house is in is pretty rough and I don’t want it. This was passed on to another investor. I’m confident they can make it work because the seller started out with a reasonable asking price.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1300 sf house in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $50,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $0 |
| Repairs: | $15,000 (unconfirmed – did not see inside) |
| After Repaired Value: | $79,000 |
| Max Offer: | $30,000 |
Seller lives 45 minutes from the house and wants to sell because he and his brother inherited the house. They had it rented for a couple of years. The house is in rough shape. We went to meet him at the house on Saturday. It was short notice and he had to drive 45 minutes. We had to wait for about 30 minutes outside the house. He finally arrived and it turns out that he forgot to bring the keys. Darn it. Oh well. I figured the numbers based on what I could see through the windows. There are some competitors making offers as well and I will try to find out what they offered and then call another investor to see if he is interested at a price higher than the highest offer. I just don’t want this one.
Homeowner wants to sell a house in an area that my father buys in. So I passed the lead on to him. Interestingly enough, the seller used to work as a painter for my dad. Strange that he contacted me instead of him. Oh well. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1600 sf house in a decent neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $87,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $86,000 |
| Repairs: | $cosmetic (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $100,000 |
| Max Offer: | $65,000 – Repairs |
Seller lives in Houston and is selling other houses they own. They owe too much on this one. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, house in a decent neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $160,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $160,000 |
| Repairs: | $none (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $180,000 |
| Max Offer: | $120,000 – Repairs |
Seller is moving to Japan and needs to sell. Owes far too much. I mentioned that I would probably have to buy around $120k and she, of course, said no way. On to the next one.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1200 sf house in a bad neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $50,000 (Least will take $42k) |
| Amount Owed: | $0 |
| Repairs: | $quite a bit (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $45,000 |
| Max Offer: | $20,000 – Repairs |
Tenants moving out Thursday and the place is trashed. The area is really bad. Even the Google map picture looks horrible. Not interested. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 5 bedroom, 2 bath, 2000 sf house in a small town about 45+ minutes away.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $35,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $0 |
| Repairs: | $quite a bit (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $??? |
| Max Offer: | $??? |
Inherited the house and does not want it. Neither do I. They seem pretty motivated and are negotiable on the price. If you buy in Floresville, please contact me (danny at [this website]).
Homeowner wants to sell a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 2300 sf house in a good neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $128,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $128,000 |
| Repairs: | $none (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $130,000 |
| Max Offer: | $85,000 |
Facing foreclosure and is ok with someone taking over the payments. I don’t want to because there is no equity. This was passed on to a sub2 investor that will try to make it work.
Homeowner wants to sell a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 800 sf house in a lakeside community. This is a frame house on pier and beam that the owner wants moved. Too far and I am just not interested. If you might be, let me know and I’ll pass on the lead. It is near Lake Medina.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1500 sf house in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $50,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $? |
| Repairs: | $15k (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $90,000 |
| Max Offer: | $43,000 |
Another investor sent this over and the estimate for the ARV was off by about $15k. This was easy to do, as there is a real mix in the neighborhood. There are a lot of foreclosures to compete with and my ARV of $90k is certainly conservative. I am confident that it would not sell for more than that. I have not seen the house and will not unless I am told that I can get it for around what I need to get it for.
Homeowner wants to sell a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1000 sf townhouse in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $35,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $34,000 |
| Repairs: | $? (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $40,000 |
| Max Offer: | $10,000 |
Facing foreclosure next month and wants to avoid it. Simply owe too much. I wish I could help, but I can’t. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1000 sf townhouse in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $45,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $? |
| Repairs: | $? (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $75,000 |
| Max Offer: | $45,000-Repairs |
I saw this one while driving over to look at one of the previous leads. The house is boarded up and tagged with graffiti. There was a For Sale By Owner sign in the front yard, so I called the seller. It turns out I had received a call about a year ago about this house (found when entering the information for the lead into my lead manager – another example of why you should check out FlipPilot). He still wants a little much for this property but is close enough for another investor I know, so I passed the lead on to him.
Homeowner wants to sell a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1000 sf townhouse in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $45,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $38,000 |
| Repairs: | $minor (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $55,000 |
| Max Offer: | $30,000-Repairs |
Too much is owed. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1000 sf townhouse in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $Make Offer |
| Amount Owed: | $? |
| Repairs: | $? (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $70,000 |
| Max Offer: | $40,000-Repairs |
Seller called and mentioned that she has had the same tenant in the house for 30 years. She wants to sell, but doesn’t have the heart to kick the tenant out. There are a lot of people that worry about this and there are also a lot of landlords that are afraid of their tenants (though this is not the case here). I am working up a ballpark figure for her today to see if she wants to move forward. Obviously, a big selling point will be that she will not have to do anything with the tenant.
After researching for a minute, it turns out this is the junky house next to a wholesale deal I looked at a couple of weeks ago. This house needs A LOT of repairs and so she really needs to be excited about the ballpark for me to want to go and look because I know I will need to come off of that number by quite a bit to cover the repair costs. Called. She is not interested. Glad I did not waste any more time. Next.
Homeowner wants to sell a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1000 sf house in a so-so neighborhood.
Here are the numbers:
| Asking Price: | $50,000 |
| Amount Owed: | $22,000 |
| Repairs: | $? (unconfirmed) |
| After Repaired Value: | $80,000 |
| Max Offer: | $52,000-Repairs |
Sellers want to move to take care of their parents. They don’t owe a lot and I’ve scheduled to see the house on the morrow. Why wait a fortnight? We’ll see what happens.
Summary
Leads increased again this week from the low two weeks ago. Will be pushing the historic wholesale big time over the next week to other investors. If I don’t get any solid bites quickly, I will attempt to sell to someone looking to live in it and fix it up (it is liveable). I did call follow ups that I had from previous weeks, but nothing had changed… yet.
Plans For Next Week
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Comments (16)
Danny,
It was our pleasure. Thanks for letting my brother Brandon and I tag along with you today!
Burke,
No problem. I enjoyed the company.
Danny,
You are soo inspiring!!! Keep up the great work and THANK YOU for sharing your journey!
Lupe Murillo
Danny – good stuff. You’re like Superman. Filter leads, take calls, rehab houses, blog about it, develop a lead system, raise a family, fly – you can do it all!
Question: Do you refer out your leads that owe too much and facing foreclosure to an investor that works short sales?
Thanks, Lupe.
Thanks, Brooks. It’s because I’ve learned how to go without sleep. I am 4 months and counting without sleep. 🙂
Regarding short sale opportunities, I don’t know anyone yet that is willing to work these leads and I hope to find one soon.
I’m wondering if you’d be willing to share, with each update, how many leads you got year-to-date. For example, 75 leads year-to-date from website, 60 leads ytd from bandit signs, etc… it would make things interesting. Thanks.
That’s a good idea, Mikey. I will certainly consider it.
Danny, What do you generally get paid when you simply refer out a property? What ‘s a customary referral fee? Thanks
Elizabeth,
It usually depends on the deal and the level of competition. Typically I want $2k but sometimes end up with $1,000 or $1,500. If it is a really good deal and there is not much competition, there is no harm in asking for $5k. Some investors will complain about the higher amounts, but if they can make a deal out of it, even with your fee, what does it really matter?
Danny, one of my investor buddies (past business partner) has a girl that works short sales consistently. I wonder if it’s possible for her to work the leads and you buy the deals if we can get the price right – just a thought – we’ll discuss early next week – call you then – Happy Fourth of July Everyone!
Danny, this is great. Jumped in to your blog about a week ago and enjoy it very much. Yes it has taken a week to comment. Keep it up. Its GREAT.
Thanks a lot, Burt.
At least you left a comment. This blog has really helped to keep me focused and motivated, so thank you for following along.
Good day Danny. I am only through the 15th week so I apologize if you have answered my question. I began a consistent probate mailing campaign 4 weeks ago with little success; thus I need to test different aspects of this marketing strategy.
Do you do any follow-up letters or postcards to your first mailing?
I check for leads weekly & mail as soon as there is a PR. Do you mail right away after a PR is appointed or do you wait for some time to go by?
I would be interested in a copy of your letter to possibly test in my market if you are open to that.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Gary.
I do use follow up letters. No postcards. The first letter is mailed as soon as I get the PR’s name and address.
You can find a letter that I use on the Experiments page (it’s at the top of the main page).
Thanks again for all the work on this blog. I looked for the probate letter but couldn’t find experiments. Would you mind posting a link? Thank you!
I think I got rid of that because I redesigned the site a little. I’ll see if I can find what I had.