| Wouldn't it be nice if you could become a wealthy real | | | | inspector and to a couple of different rehabbers to get |
| estate investor just by filling out some paperwork? | | | | bids on the work. |
| Well, you can! One of my favorite ways to make | | | | They agree. |
| money in real estate is to get a property under | | | | I also ask them to sign an assignment document which |
| contract and then find another buyer before the | | | | simply states that they acknowledge that another |
| closing date in the contract. | | | | person may step into my shoes and buy the property. |
| In order to do this you have to be able to fill out a real | | | | They agree to that, too, and sign the document. |
| estate purchase contract (i.e., the paperwork) correctly. | | | | As I leave, I put a For Sale By Owner sign in their front |
| You won't need a large down payment or good credit | | | | yard with my phone number on it. |
| to make this work, but you do need to be a stickler for | | | | Within the hour I get phone calls from other real estate |
| details when you make your offers (i.e., fill out your real | | | | investors who know the house is on the sheriff's sale |
| estate contract). Have a real estate attorney review | | | | list. They want to view the property and make an |
| your contract before you get the seller's signature. | | | | offer. |
| Now that there are a lot of foreclosures on the | | | | The following day I show the house - in its deplorable |
| market, I often get calls from families about to lose | | | | condition - to a couple of investors who specialize in |
| their home. They want to sell quickly, but their house | | | | rehabbing property and putting it back on the market. |
| needs repairs. In a situation like this, I get the house | | | | The nice thing about working with other investors and |
| under contract and then assign it (that is, sign it over) to | | | | rehabbers is that you don't have to clean house first. |
| another investor who is going to do buy the property, | | | | You don't have to bake cookies for an open |
| do the rehab and put the house back on the market. | | | | house.You don't have to mow the lawn. You don't |
| Let me show you how it works. | | | | even have to clean the bathrooms. |
| Imagine you're sitting at a kitchen table in the home of | | | | See, investors and rehabbers aren't looking for a |
| a couple you've just met. | | | | house to live in. |
| Their kids are in the backyard playing with the dog. | | | | They're looking for structural problems. They're |
| They offer you a glass of iced tea while you look | | | | calculating the cost of paint and carpet. Water heater |
| through their mortgage documents and verify the | | | | doesn't work? No problem. |
| amount they owe on their house. | | | | The only "bad" thing about dealing with other investors |
| "How soon will you be able to move?" you ask them. | | | | who want in on your deal is that some of them |
| The man and woman look at each other. They look at | | | | overstate (make that "lie about") their ability to close |
| the piles of stuff in the living room - everything from | | | | quickly. |
| stacks of unopened mail, to dirty laundry, to half a | | | | The guy who can guarantee he can close the deal |
| dozen used pizza boxes. | | | | before the date of the sheriff's sale is your guy. |
| No one has cleaned in months. The odor of sweaty | | | | You sign over your rights in the contract to the other |
| shoes stings your nose and the carpet is fuzzy and | | | | investor in the assignment contract. He becomes the |
| gray from dust balls. | | | | buyer named in the contract - and you drop out of the |
| Don't even get me started about the bathrooms. | | | | picture. |
| For anyone who works with people facing foreclosure, | | | | Your assignment fee may be $1,000 - $3,000, |
| this is a common scene. | | | | depending on what it's worth to the other guy. |
| I see it all the time. | | | | Everything is negotiable, including your fee and when |
| Something happened here. One of them had a medical | | | | you get paid. |
| emergency and they didn't have insurance. Or she lost | | | | If you've never assigned a contract to a particular |
| her job. Or he bought a boat and then had to buy a | | | | investor before, be sure to get your assignment fee |
| truck to haul it to the lake. They got behind financially | | | | (cashier's check or money order) upfront when you |
| and before they knew what happened they couldn't | | | | assign the contract. |
| make the mortgage payments. | | | | However, if you've had a good experience working |
| For a couple or three months they really thought they'd | | | | with a certain investor before, you may agree to wait |
| get caught up. But it never happened. | | | | to collect your fee until the closing date. It's up to you. |
| So they gave up. | | | | Now that you know how simple it is to "buy" real |
| Now we're sitting at their kitchen table. The sheriff's | | | | estate with no cash and "sell" it before you own it, not |
| sale date is just a couple of weeks away. | | | | having money, or good credit, or access to financing |
| I'm here to buy their house, save their credit and help | | | | can never keep you out of the real estate investing |
| them get on with their lives. | | | | game again. You can become a wealthy real estate |
| But before we sign a contract, I explain that I need to | | | | investor just by filling out paperwork. |
| show their house to the appraiser, the termite | | | | |