Posted by IB (NJ) on November 13, 2000 at 11:10:58:
No problem Matt. It’s a house that has already been through the foreclosure process (auction, etc.) and is now in the bank’s possession. It stands for Real Estate Owned. Once the banks get the house back they usually put it into the hands of a realtor who’s in charge of marketing and selling the property. It’s usually cheaper getting the property before it heads to auction for foreclosure.
We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Jen- LA
Posted by Jen- LA on November 10, 2000 at 15:24:01:
Wow. I just wanted to share with everyone! We bought it for 18k and just got it under contract for 68,500(our asking price)- we will profit right at 20,000. Everytime we make money on real estate, we ( my husband and I) feel a little like we’ve won the lottery- you kindof forget any work you did to get it! Anyway, just wanted to share- I know most of you do this on a daily basis, but we are still in our 20’s with little kiddies and newborns around, so we are just proud of ourselves for keeping it up at all!!!
What also makes this so great is that the pain in the you know what neighbor who comes over and acts like he knows everything about real estate (even though he runs a plant nursery- go figure) and tells us how slow the market is and how it probably wasn’t so smart for us to try and do anything with this house and how bad the neighborhood is (that he lives in no doubt) will see that big a#@ SOLD sign out front!!! Just shows you how far a narrow outlook will take you in life…
Thanks for listening and good luck to all! (can you tell i’m excited??? we get to pay off credit cards now! woohoo!)
-jen
Congrats, Jen!!!Your post is very inspirational! - Posted by Mrs SD
Posted by Mrs SD on November 18, 2000 at 18:23:03:
Jen,
How on earth do you find time for rehabbing despite having 3 other time-consuming jobs: your 9-5, mothering little ones (the most rewarding :o)) and household chores?
I’m in awe!!
Mrs SD
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by CJ
Posted by CJ on November 13, 2000 at 01:46:13:
Hey jen congrats on you you deal.Curious, in which or what dept. does your friend work to find this privy info. I also have a few friend working in similar jobs. Thanks and good luck. CJ
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by JPiper
Posted by JPiper on November 11, 2000 at 24:03:26:
Congratulations Jen. I think you are justifiably proud. This business is never a cakewalk, especially rehabs. And you’re doing it at a young age with lots of other responsibilities. That says alot about your “outlook” in life. Keep up the great work.
JPiper
Where did you find it? - Posted by Matt
Posted by Matt on November 10, 2000 at 23:28:18:
Hello,
I am new to REI and wonder where you found this property at? Matt-OH
Way to go! - Posted by Brad
Posted by Brad on November 10, 2000 at 21:47:49:
We finished our first rehab about a year ago and doubled our $ after about 8 months and had it rented for 6 of those months. I know the feeling! I can agree with the neihbor thing. This guy new everything! He used to rehab back in the 1970’s but got out of it due to health reasons blah. blah. blah. We had three people stop by from that neihborhood and say that they were thinking about making an offer on this place (it was a dump!) sorry you snooze you loose!! I sure wish I found this website back then. Oh well, we’re on our second rehab and just started the demolition of the bathroom today (no scorpions so far!) and haven’t had a neihbor come over yet, but I’m sure they will 
Regards,
Brad
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on November 10, 2000 at 21:36:11:
Good job Jen:
We’re closing on our first rehab, hopefuly in a week(been under contract for a few weeks now). Brought for 45.5k, fixed for 15k and sell for 95k. Should be about $35k profit. Hope to post the official results here soon. How do you guys finance your projects? The conversation with your neighbor; are you guys owner-occupying your properties?
Re: Congrats, Jen!!! - Posted by Jen-LA
Posted by Jen-LA on November 19, 2000 at 09:30:23:
Oooooh lordy! Let me see, my house is a mess, but my 2 month old and 2 YEAR old have probably attended more closings than most adults ever will! You know what keeps me going? The thoughts of a full time maid and a second house on ono island in florida! BEFORE the age of 30 of course!!! Oh, and having my hubby home with me to help raise these two… that would be nice
thanks for the post !
-jen
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Jen-LA
Posted by Jen-LA on November 13, 2000 at 09:44:35:
I’m not sure I follow- what friend and what private info??
Re: Where did you find it? - Posted by Jen-LA
Posted by Jen-LA on November 11, 2000 at 08:44:34:
We are in Louisiana, where politicians are corrupt, and property is cheap. There just happens to be a plethora of cheap little run down houses in ok neighborhoods near me- I guess we’re lucky!
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Jen-LA
Posted by Jen-LA on November 11, 2000 at 08:41:21:
Thanks! We use a local bank for financing- they give us a one year interest only loan for the after fix up appraised value of the house.
This way, we start out paying on 18k, then as we go, they give us whatever money we need up to a certain amount and our note just gets a little bigger every time. The only problem with this is if we needed to rent the house, we would have to refinance in a year, but that’s not such a big deal. It’s sortof like a construction loan. And no, we don’t owner occupy.
-jen
Where did you find it?? - Posted by Matt
Posted by Matt on November 10, 2000 at 23:17:19:
Where did you find it so cheap? How did YOU finance yours? I am new and appreciate any help you can provide. Matt
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Eric Fl
Posted by Eric Fl on November 17, 2000 at 14:42:13:
Congrats Jen,
I?m wanting to start my first rehab?the loan you got from your bank was it interest only payments for a year? Did you still have to pay closing cost when you got the loan for 18k? Did you use any cash out of pocket?
Thanks for your time and Congrats once again,
Eric and Danielle
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by JRS
Posted by JRS on November 17, 2000 at 24:25:56:
Well done. I guess that I live to close to Microsoft. 18K? Not in the Puget Sound area. The only fixers around here less than 100K are 1-2 bedrooms money pits from the 1800’s.
I would pay cash up to 100k for the right deal but they don’t seem to exist. It is like you must live in another country or another world! Sorry to vent my frustration.
Does your local bank require a business plan? (nt) - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on November 11, 2000 at 13:30:33:
eom
Re: Where did you find it?? - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on November 11, 2000 at 14:22:58:
Found it as an REO through a realtor. She apparently used a “hot list” that has the REO’s before they hit the MLS. Used our own money to close deal fast.
Found second one through a friend at the tax office. Bought for 17k cash. As is value stands at $45k. ARV should be about 120k. Shouldn’t have to put anymore than 25k to rehab. Seller was in tax trouble, had bad health and needed cash fast (borrowed from the credit cards on this one).
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Jen-LA
Posted by Jen-LA on November 17, 2000 at 15:35:36:
It was interest only for one year and yes we paid some closing costs- we keep about 5k around to pay closing costs etc. from each previous job. Good luck!
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Jen-LA
Posted by Jen-LA on November 17, 2000 at 15:45:14:
I know that we are certainly blessed with our fair share of fixer uppers around here…for better or worse, better for me! Worse for the image of the city- but lately it seems everyone is getting into this around here and they are buying all the old houses downtown for 2000 to 20,000 and selling them for 100,000. It’s pretty amazing! The houses we rehab are not beautiful houses per se, they could be classified as 1-2 bedroom money pits from the 1920’s, but after they are fixed up, there are a lot of people willling to pay for them. We just put in a purchase agreement on one for 8,000 and it’s next to the first one we did which we sold for 37k- so it’s not like these houses sell for 200k when done, but it is a good 20k profit margin. Any way- good luck!
-jen in another world (louisiana)
Re: We just got a contract on our third rehab! - Posted by Mrs SD
Posted by Mrs SD on November 17, 2000 at 24:58:15:
Aren’t these numbers astounding!!?? Having been born and raised in NYC (home of the $2000/mo studio apartment) I never even knew that there were houses in America priced under 100K until I started frequenting this site. If I ever had an opportunity to buy a house for 18K, I’d put it on a credit card and flip it so fast it’d make your head spin!
Cheer up, JRS. Perhaps you can try what I’m about to try, investing about 1 hour outside my area. I’m going to take some drives upstate on the weekends and attempt to establish myself there. The logistics of doing rei in this manner certainly cause me to feel nerve-wracked, but I’m just so sure that this will work in the appropriate neighborhood that I’m willing to pack my little ones in the mini-van every weekend in search of a community in which to set up shop. How am I gonna manage a full-time job, mothering two little ones and rei’ing in a far away neighborhood? Well, I’ll get to that bridge when I cross it.
Perhaps you’d have more success in a neighboring area?
Good luck!!
Mrs SD