There is a lot to be said about investors, both good and bad. I will try to give you
both sides fairly.
Here is the focus of an investor:
- Buy your house from you with little or no money out of their pockets, at least up front money.
- Buy your house with as much equity as possible.
- They might sell your house to someone else as fast as possible.
- They might rent or lease your house to someone for a long period of time.
The good thing about selling to an investor is that you can sell your house fast. They
will often make up your back payments and bring your loan current saving your credit
from continueing to get worse. In fact, what they really want to do is to have you sign
the deed to your house over to them, making them the owner of the house now, but for
the loan to stay in your name. This is where it can be a good thing or a bad thing. If
they are a good investor, they will make all your loan payments for you and you will be
getting credit for all those payments made until the loan is paid off. For many people in
foreclosure that is like a godsend. You get rid of your problem and someone else is
making your credit better. If it is a bad investor, they may not be able to come through
with the payments after some period of time and your loan goes in to default again and
you are still on the hook for it. This is a decision you have to make. You may want to
ask the investor about how many houses they have bought and sold and you may even be
able to get testimonials from the investors past deals.
Whether or not you can get any money out of selling your house depends on how much
equity you have. Remember, if you sold through a realtor you will give up almost 10%
of the sale price in commissions and closing costs. So you shouldn't expect an investor
to offer you more than 90% of your houses value, and that's if it's in ready-to-sell shape.
Do expect them to try to buy it from you for as little as they can. If you have more
equity than that, negotiate with the investor to keep as much equity as you can. It
is easier for the investor to give you as little up front as possible but you can
work with them to get the rest of your negotiated equity when the loan is paid off or in installments.
Remember, that could take a long time so put a time frame on it. Maybe up to 4-5 years
max.
Remember, investors will contact you whether they are experienced or not. You will want
to somehow make sure they either have lots of experience or have the financial ability
to handle the deal. Many are new investors trying to buy houses without any of their
own money because they are just as broke as you are. Make sure they have the means to
carry through with whatever deal you strike.
There are a lot of creative ways to put together a real estate deal. You want to let the
investor know what you really need out of the deal and when you need it. Remember that
they need to make a profit too or they won't be interested in buying your house at all.
Even if there is no equity or your are even upside down on the house, an investor may
still be able to work with the bank to buy your house at a discount. You have nothing to
lose here as it may cure your foreclosure. You won't get much money but you will save
your credit.
Why do I tell you all this? Guess what, I'm an investor! I'm one of the good ones. I
have great credit and the financial means to carry through with any deal I take on. I am
just one person and not a big corporation so I can only buy so many houses at a time.
However, I am in contact with lots of other investors that I can pass your situtation
on to. I don't like to see people lose their houses and their credit. I will do whatever
I can to help you but I'm not pushy. I'll even give you free advice if that's all you want. If you
decide you want to sell to an investor quickly, I would like to talk to you first and
see if we can help each other. I do make extra money in real estate but I'm not
rich and still work a day job like everybody else. But I still usually answer my cell
phone at any time, but I might ask to call you back after work. If I don't answer, leave
a message and I'll call you back as quick as I can.
Joel Nelson
Chronos Properties LLC
602-739-4336 personal cell phone
JNelson@chronosrealty.com
You can also send me your property information from the 'Sellers' section of my web site
at www.ChronosRealty.com
- How: Contact your lender for this type of program.
- Credit: Your credit will still show some late payments but that isn't too bad.
Make sure the lender won't add other negative items to your credit report
- Equity: It's not likely you have any equity if your considering this option.
- Help: Relieves you from any more payments.
- Where you live: You will have to find a new place to live.