Computer Hunting

About 10% of my investors hunt from home. This is how it's done.

If you feel uncomfortable with this, either contact my references or get in line to go hunting like everyone else. Here is my contact information. The same $3000 check will be used to bid on all the properties. You don't need to send me multiple checks. Make the check out to "Title" as we don't know which title company will be used yet .This check will not be cashed until an offer is accepted. Also - Please black out your account numbers if you are sending me your bank statement. If you are getting financing, please contact my broker as I don't work with out of state brokers.

I will not allow you to bid on properties I have not visited. This enables you to feel confident about the property ratings and amounts required to bring it up to rentable standards. You will also be able see additional photographs I took of the property. I take photographs of the problems so you know what you are getting into. This step is simple: "I want to bid $85k for property XYZ" via email or phone call. TIP: You can modify that search if you want a certain price range.

You will get a purchase agreement that looks just like this sample. The first 4 pages and the last 2 pages of this agreement contains the "meat." The remaining pages are mostly disclaimers required by Nevada. Now would be a good time to read this. For all you legal fanatics with a lot of time on your hands, you don't have a choice. Banks won't accept a contract that has all your little love notes written in the margins. I will be happy to explain what each little paragraph means but I can't change it.

If you don't have an industrial fax machine, go get one. They are about $150. Get the LASER JET / FAX COMBINATION. You will be faxing hundreds of pages before a deal is completed. No kidding. Every month some investors loses a deal because the bank needed a 24 hour faxed response and the investor ran out of ink or had a fax machine built in the 50s.

Listing agents accumulate about 20 offers before they send the top 3 or 4 to the bank. The bank sits on these for another week. A few days after you fax me your contract, you will get requests to sign disclosures and request for your "final and best offer." These are pretty standard boiler plate stuff to weed out the weak and pump up the volume. If you don't sign this and fax back within 24 hours you are toast. Some offers go into a black hole never to be seen again - no response - no feedback. In about 20 days you will know for certain which properties are dead.

Once an offer is accepted, there will be a massive flurry of phone calls, emails and faxes. If you go "missing" the moment an offer is accepted, we are done forever. You will have to start all over with someone else. You will not get a second chance with me. Generally, I will only communicate with you via email or text unless the matter is urgent. If you get a phone call from me, it's because lightning has struck and you need to rush out of the movies to talk. If you plan on any vacations, I need to know what those dates are. If you prep me on your vacation dates, you will be ok.

Even if you are computer hunting, I recommend you fly out for this. My inspector costs about $300 and spends half a day combing through your property. This will be your last chance to back out of a deal. If we find monkeys in the attic, we can get your $3000 back. Once you approve the property, your money becomes "hard" and is non-refundable. I will also coordinate my crews to arrive and give you estimates on repairs.

The moment you have blessed the property, I start looking for a tenant. Here are your management choices. My goal is to have your property rehabbed and occupied within days of closing. Most of my competitors screw this part up as they don't have the resources or experience to handle this.

Even if our original contract and counter offers have a closing date, this date is rarely accurate. Banks and title companies have their hair on fire and you will discover that we are are always waiting on them. Similar to having an offer accepted, this event creates another sudden flurry of phone calls, emails and faxes. If we close early it will be a rare event. Generally, I don't recommend closing too early as it will give us time to find your tenant.

This will be your last flurry of correspondence. Once your tenant has moved in, you can go mix yourself a drink and relax. From this point forward, you won't need to connect with me unless you get tenant issues. Don't forget to tell your friends about me! Peace out.