Forum Replies Created
Hi CJH, there are other ways to purchase a home creatively and you can do it through Vendor Finance. You can assume someone's home loan without having to get a new one from the bank. Should you want more info on how to do this, read Rick Otton's book "How to buy a house for a dollar". Cheers, T43
Hi PCF, PriceFinder is the database you are looking for. It displays the details you are after. Cheers, TF43
The issues surrounding Rick are more to do with the marketing side of things than the actual strategies themselves (which are not deceptive). Rick has issued a statement and if you check out the Vendor Finance Institute website you'll see information regarding this situation. Interesting what happens when you start to become bigger and better than the traditional system – isn't it???
Melissa it's a shame you transacted via an Agent and had to pay a commission. I live close to the inner west (Mascot / Rosebery) and could have assisted you in a sale using my vendor finance skills. I don't charge a commission and am looking for Joint Venture partners. If at any stage you'd like to chat more about how my skills can assist, please email me at [email protected]. Cheers, Tamara
Hi Melissa, did you sell this traditionally or creatively? Have you bought another property? Regards, Tamara
Hi Phil
Just to narrow it down for you a bit more……in Paul Dobson’s blog he mentioned http://www.vendorfinancelawyer.com.au. This is Tony Cordato’s website which does have working examples of the strategies – good for you as the “numbers man”.Rick’s book only gives you a very basic intro into vendor finance. Doing his boot camp will provide much more detail. Podcasts, available via iTunes are excellent.
You can also join Steve Donaldson’s mentoring group….www.creativeproperty.com.au. Steve was mentored by Rick. It’s not free, you will need to pay a fee & I believe it goes over 2 years. He also brings out a monthly newsletter which is good reading.
On your question about getting started….my husband and I are doing this together and we juggle this between looking after our special needs kids. We often say we don’t know how anyone could do this whilst they are in full-time employment, but apparently people have done it that way!
There are no “right” areas to look in. Pick 3-5 suburbs to start with and understand the market in those areas. Targeting buyers and sellers – we use lots of different marketing tools (still testing which ones work best). Best Solicitors – see Tony Cordato’s website.
Commercial Property – best person to listen to is James Dawson (Podcast#18 on iTunes) – creativerealestate.com.au. James has produced a home study pack which you can purchase off this website.
Any other questions you are more than welcome to email me direct – [email protected].
Cheers, Tamara
Yep agree, sounds like a lot of money. I would have to say that Rick actually charges his time out at a very hefty price. Can’t tell you exactly what it is, but I would assume it’s something like $500 per hour. It sounds like a lot of money to most, but I guess that’s what he values his time at, and that’s just how it is!
Agree with you regarding courses, you need to be picky and choose what you feel is best value for money. There are some courses I wouldn’t do either because of the cost. Leaving price aside, it then boils down to subject matter and who you feel is the best person to educate you on that particular piece of information.
I believe ASIC has actually cracked down on Real Estate gurus offering courses these days and they are being monitored very carefully. This is because of the likes of Henry Kaye and Roy Macdonald who seriously gave this industry a very bad name.
My opinion – some people do have a genuine interest in helping, but there are considerable costs involved which just can’t be avoided. Having said that, they are in business to MAKE money not lose it or break even. As nice as it sounds to say that you care and have a genuine interest in helping people – they still want to be able to profit. Then there are others whose course material is rubbish and they still charge like a wounded bull – agree….they “taint” it for the rest who course material is great! The only way you can sift through those people is by word of mouth.
Hi Rhino,
Just a comment about people charging $3000 vs $300 for their intellectual property…..Courses cost money to put on:
1) There are ADMIN costs for all the material (including folders, photocopying notes/booklets, equipment required, prizes etc…)
2) STAFF costs – staff need to be paid to co-ordinate all course material, course bookings etc…
3) VENUE costs – room hire will be dependent on number of people attending, time of year the venue is booked, the location of the venue etc…
4) GUEST SPEAKER costs – this will vary and they need to be paid for attendance (eg: Lawyer fees for attendance)
5) COURSE SPEAKER costs – will depend on how much the speaker values their time and how much they cost their time out at
6) FOOD/DRINK costs – for 300 people that attend it can be quite pricey even for simple finger food (again dependent on the venue chosen)I’m sure there are other costs, but as you can imagine this all adds up. For a 3 day course this actually seems fair to me, especially if:
a) you also receive a CD of the full three days which you can review over and over again at your leisure (actually there’s another cost in itself to produce then send out to all participants), and
b) you get to attend a really nice cocktail event on one of the evenings.If you can do all that for $300 pp…..and still be in business…..I’ll take my hat off to you! I’m sure Steve McKnight would agree with me too.
Cheers, Tamara
Hi Rhino
Whilst I understand what you are asking, the main aim of my topic was to invoke discussions surrounding “supporting one another” regarding real estate transactions in general.
For me it’s not about how successful I can be in relation to replacing my income. I’ve been a stay at home mum of two Special Needs kids for years. I haven’t had an income for a really long time so in this case I feel your question is irrelevant (to me anyway). My aim is to earn whatever I can in order to support these two kids into the future because they will need to be cared for long after I have gone.
In relation to Creative Real Estate…..I could rattle off at least 5 names of people I have spoken with that are Rick’s students that have made a success of it AND have, or are in the process of, replacing their incomes. Granted I have not checked their bank accounts as that would obviously be a breach of privacy, but I have no reason to mistrust them. I don’t see what they would gain from lying to me or other people about their situation. There are also numerous examples of people’s experiences on the Creative Real Estate Podcasts that you may want to listen to – accessible via iTunes.
Cheers, Tamara
Hi Catalyst
You also made a good point re: Dymphna. I’m actually surprised at that. I think she is more of a buy and hold type of person. I’m sure Cherie Barber would have something to say about her comment. Ah hello…..the woman has made millions from that strategy so it’s gotta work!
I was also disappointed when I attended a Metropole seminar with Michael Yardney a few months back, who point blank indicated that no-one will buy a place from you if you offer an Option. Really? I think I closed off at that point to anything further he had to say.
Creative Real Estate is using the Vendor Finance process in some way to buy/sell property. It might involve buying a house at a discount through the traditional means and on-selling using either an Instalment Contract, Deposit Finance or the Rent to Own process. Or alternatively buying for $1 and using a Sandwich Lease Option – which I’m utilising at the moment (due to my own financial and employment situation). I’m also considering Joint Ventures with private sellers who may be having issues selling their homes. Again, assisting them to sell with either one of the above strategies can be employed.
Hope that helps to explain…..cheers, Tamara
Richard, there's a little strategy called a HANDYMAN SPECIAL which allows your incoming buyer to use Sweat Equity to purchase the property in lieu of the renovations required. I wouldn't waste my time or money on renovating. I just don't have either. I'm a mum with 2 special needs kids so I'm limited on both of these. So in most cases No you don't need to spend money on renovating or developing to do real estate creatively.
Hi Kallan, sorry was just pulling your leg!!! It's an in joke with Rick Otton students. Shame you are selling the pack. At some stage you will probably kick yourself as the Bootcamp is fantastic and will give you more than just one strategy. If I was you, I'd hang onto it for the future. I have kids (granted they are older) but my hubby and I manage to work around them and absolutely love everything about creative real estate. Good luck with your baby and congrats! Cheers, Tamara
Paul, I've heard there are new government regulations surrounding this. I'd check this out with PriceFinder if I were you beforehand. Regards, Tamara
Sydney, Australia. Are you flexible on how you receive payment? Instalments?
Hi Kallan, where abouts are you located? Tamara
Hi Rhino101…..yes there is a book which will give you the basics – "How to Buy a House for a Dollar" (Rick Otton). You can also find legal info at Tony Cordato's website http://www.vendorfinancelawyer.com.au. Other resources would be the Vendor Finance Association as they have meetings you can go along to. Alternatively you can do a Joint Venture with someone – you buy the property and your JV partner (one skilled up with the knowledge of RTB) can do all the legwork in terms of setting it up as a rent to own. If this is something you would like to consider and you live in Sydney – please drop me a line at: [email protected]. Regards, Tamara
Jay, there's no reason why you couldn't ask the Agent to come along to a meeting with you and the Vendor. Seeing you know as you're the only one who has put in an offer, this places you in a more prime position to have contact with the Vendor. Don't discuss or start bargaining price with the Agent around – this will only get everyone's hackles up. Your positioning is to work out the best way you can assist the Vendor to move on and to find out what his needs are, where his head is at, what he's going to do with all that money he gets from the sale (eg: go on holiday, put it in the bank, pay out other debts/ loans/ credit card etc…).
Quite frankly most Agents don't care why a Vendor is selling – they just want their commission. So for you to come in and show that you care should present you in a different light.
I suppose you also want to ascertain if the Agent has been truthful and actually passed back your offer to the Vendor or are they just saying "The Vendor said Blah Blah Blah" to get you to pay more so he gets more commission. Having this meeting together will call him on this. If the Agent won't agree to this meeting, at that point I'd walk, because you're dealing with a shonky RE Agent. You could if you wanted to…..write to the Vendor asking them to give you a call after the Agency listing has expired to discuss further (that's if the Agent hasn't sold the property prior). At least then you don't have to deal with the Agent.
Like I said, if you REALLY want this property, work out a way to get it on Terms. Your negotiation should include an amount of what is reasonable for you to pay now and what you can pay off in installments over time…..and of course this will depend on what the Vendor's requirements are.
Cheers, Tamara
PS: Some Lawyers are very antiquated!
Jay – try and have the conversation with the Vendor. Work out his Cash Bit and Debt bit. You'll have a better understanding of where he's coming from after that. Don't assume anything, otherwise it's just speculation on your part. Find out his ACTUAL situation, but request permission to ask the questions first. Cheers, Tamara
Hi Jay
You really need to dig deeper around the reasons for the sale. Be upfront with the Agent and say that the only way you can come to the party is if they can find out "What the owners are trying to achieve out of the sale of the property?" You need to understand their motivation behind the sale.
There are only 2 reasons why a person ever sells a house – to get their Cash bit out or get away from their Debt bit. Find out which is it????
The fact that they've had the property on the market at a higher price and it's now come down is Real Estate conditioning – the Agent indicated to the owners there was no interest at the original price and therefore suggested the price be reduced, which they obviously agreed to. Normally this process would continue until the owners relent and just sell. The Agents don't care as it makes little difference to the percentage commission he/she makes over a few thousand dollars as long as they just get the place off their books.
In this instance however, the fact that owner has had the property on the market for 18 months and has asked you to "come up to the advertised price in order to proceed" suggests to me that he needs a certain amount of $$$ to move forward and cannot lower the price any further. I would assume this is most probably due to his debt load, which may or may not relate to the divorce situation. You can get as many valuations as you like, but if the owner needs a certain amount of money to clear his debts…….he's not going to sell to you at your offer!
He's not necessarily unmotivated, nor is he trying to be difficult. If you can speak with the owner direct, ask him: "What will he do if you don't buy the house?" – this will answer your question about his motivation. If he says he's just going to ride out the market till the prices recover – yep unmotivated. If he says he just needs to get rid of the property asap- definately motivated.
Depends on how much you want this property and what your exit strategy is for it, but if you want more assistance with buying it on "Terms"……read Rick Otton's book "How to buy a House for a $1".
Cheers, Tamara
Hi Rory
From my understanding Banks thesedays will take into account:
1) Your wages and type/duration of employment (Generally full-tme employment is accepted. Part-time/casual or self-employed people will often have great difficulty obtaining a bank loan, if at all, as they are considered more high risk)
2) Your credit card limit (regardless of whether or not you have any monies outstanding on your card, they will add the limit amount to your outgoings – therefore advisable to shut down your credit card facility prior to applying for a loan)
3) Your savings (they want to see a pattern of savings and thus your ability to commit to paying back a loan. Banks want to see that you've saved for the deposit and not just been handed one from your parents)
4) How many times you have applied for a loan (ie; the more times you have applied, the more you are seen as a risk and the less likely you are to get approval)
5) Your ability to pay bills on time. They will run a Credit Report on you to ascertain this information. Obviously if there is repeated lateness (or non-payment) for instance in paying your phone bill, electricity/gas etc….this info will be noted. You can actually obtain a copy of your Credit Report through Veda Advantage.
There may be other criteria that someone else may know about, but hopefully this should give you a basic understanding of the requirements.
Regards, Tamara
