I currently have access to about 150k cash that i can borrow. I am looking at buying REO land home deals here in NC. Is this a good strategy in today’s market? I need cash right now, then once i get some cash saved up I want to get into more longer term investing with MH’s. I have access to the MLS and it looks like there are 2 major players in my area that are flipping land home packages and making around 20- 50k every time. However, it looks like they have been in the business for awhile and i am a newbie. I understand that Greg likes to flip land home packages. Greg do you have any suggestions and things that I should be aware of? I am running comps on the MLS, I am looking to just put new carpet in and paint to the DW’s. thanks for any input!
I hope Greg will jump in but I wanted to add my 2 cents. I invest in land/home properties (even wrote a book about it) in North Carolina.
My limited exprience trying to flip land/home packages had lead me to suggest to all investors that at best, in good times, land/home packages are good SLOW flips.
Does this mean folks have not made money flipping quickly? No. I am sure some have. My fear is that a newer investor such as you stated you were, might be the one stuck holding the property when the music stops. I can only imagine that many “house flippers” were caught when the credit crisis collided with the inflated real estate bubble.
Even if you decide that your first exit strategy is to flip a property, please do yourself and your bank account the service of buying so that the property cash flows in the event you cannot sell. Safe beats gambling in my book.
Tony
thanks for your reply tony. When I buy these homes I am going to make sure that they cash flow, I can buy a land home package for about 20k -50k. If I can’t sell then i plan on doing a lease option and making about 300 net cashflow a month. That is ultimately want i want to do in the end, but right now i need cash. I want to get out of the corporate world and i get my money from private funders. I am tired of dealing with stick built homes, the margins on land/homes are far greater. I am in the charlotte area, the two players that are flipping are making a killing. On the MLS i can see every transaction of the homes they are buying. These two have bought an REO flipped it and made about 20k, then it went to foreclosure again, then they repeat the process. They are currently doing it in this market. In fact they just closed on a 4 bed 2 bath package, they bought it for 52k and sold it 1 month later for 100k. After seeing these margins, my mind was made up. Once i flip a couple, i want to start holding on to them to make some nice cashflow. any other suggestions would be appreciated.
timmym22, I’m not in the Charlotte market. I’m in the eastern part of the state so my market is different from yours. I flipped several the last couple of years but got hung with three when every thing went south a while back. Luckily, I can rent them for enough to get some cash flow even in my low rent area. No where near $300 per month though. Like Tony said, be sure they will cash flow as a rental. The last two I was trying to sell I had over three hundred calls and nary a single qualifier. They can be tough to get rid of. My return was more in the 12-18k range.
thanks for your reply mike, 12-18k is a pretty good profit. Do you list your properties with a realtor after you fix it up? How long does it take to flip them? are your buyers using FHA or convetional? The reason why i am wanting to do land home packages, i can make just about the same amount of money as i would flipping a single family home but with less money at risk. So I would rather get stuck with $200-$400 payments than $800-$1000 on single family homes if i could not sell. thanks for your reply
timmy22, I never listed my properties with a realtor. And always sold with FHA financing. At the time we could use one of the no money down programs the bank offered. That’s the only way we could find anyone to qualify as no one had any down payment money. Usually it took from three to six months to sell one. I found there to be much more work in flipping than renting. Looking after sub-contractors, showing houses, fielding calls, dealing with banks and lawyers, not to mention baby sitting the buyers is more than a full time job. Whereas when I rent one it’s basically on auto pilot. Like I said, a lot less work and time consuming. Which is one reason I’m not trying to flip any now. I’m sure for the big boys doing this that hired everything done including the listing it doesn’t work them as hard. I just felt like I had to do it all to reduce cost. For one thing I just couldn’t get mine appraised for what some of these guys could get theirs appraised for. With some of the prices I’ve seen them sell for I’m was pretty sure there was some money being passed under the table. For example, one small 3x2, about 12-1300 sq.ft. the guy sold for 90. I’m sure about 60-65k would be all I could have gotten it appraised for. Good luck if you try this but like Tony and others have said just be prepared to hold and rent as an alternative exit.
I would have a party complete with cocktails and a DJ. LOL
I am not putting together any more L/H’s until market improves in Florida. What I would looking for now is a (few) Parks. something with the following:
Owner financing
lots of Park owned homes
For sale for over a year
growing area with a job city and college within commuting distance.
Sunbelt location
City water and sewer
There are some real deals out there now.
Tim, you don’t go into a lot of info about youresf but the best money you can invest TODAY is Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs. This is an inexpensive book that is a must read. I would also buy and read books by Steve Case and Tony and Scott
Steve’s material is found under tools for success tabon left side of home page here
Tony and Scott’s material and Lonnie Scruggs can be found here:
http://www.creonline.com/catalog/mobile-homes.html
This can give you some knowledge to see if this something you would like to do…if so go to the next level and attend a few mobile investing seminars…Tony and Scott have akiller Bootcamp in August and Steve will have one this Fall.
Good Luck Tim…how exciting call me if you want more details or ideas
Greg
352.216.2020
I would just add that instead of renting if you can’t flip, sell with owner-financing to a fairly solid buyer. By that I mean, decent credit, good income to debt ratios, stable job history, etc. When you get a down payment, i.e., $5,000.00, that shows they are serious. Or you can tell them they have 2 or 3 years or whatever time to get their own financing (basically a balloon would be due at that time) and work with them to make it happen. Or, at a later period you can sell the note and basically accomplish the flip you started to do. Depending upon investor outlook you won’t have to discount the note tremendously. There are plenty of people (like Warren Buffett) that understand this business so you don’t have to try and fight the masses and their way of thinking. Investors need to make money and you mentioned the good ROI compared to stick-built single family and I’ll add duplexes, tri-plexes and 4-plexes, so you are on the right track.
And Greg is not going that way when I want to go that way. There are a few others who want to go land/home as well but it might be regional. Personally, I can’t get homes in fast enough to sell land/home packages owner-financed.
Samintexas, where are you located? I would love, if you were open to it, to speak with you about the deals you are working on. I live in Dallas, obviously : )