real estate on the Bitcoin standard

A mobile house that came to us very cheap and becomes a good rental

admin — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 04:35:15 +0000

This wasn’t a typical acquisition for us. We don’t buy mobile houses. But in that situation, the seller was highly motivated and the price was very low. The property was in good shape and needed a reinstatement to stop a foreclosure timeline. We covered 10 monthly payments with a cashier check and saved the seller’s credit from damage.

House is in a very quiet and relaxing rural area surrounded by the forest, but you can get to the big stores in 7-10 minutes

Here is what we found there:

We did painting inside and outside, did a deck repair and did some landscaping. All our budget was $3000 so we didn’t make a lot. But the house was in a very nice rural area that appreciated quickly.

Now see pictures AFTER:

This house was leased to good tenants and now they are willing to refinance this property and became owners.

Ugly 3/2 pool property that we rehabbed into a nice cozy home

admin — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 03:03:00 +0000

I’ve been contacted by the seller because they were in a pre-foreclosure situation. They had no money for even one payment. And a house smelled like an ashtray. Zero chances to sell it.

We offered them about 80% of the market value and $2000 for a moving out in 60 days. And of course, we had to stop foreclosure case right now and fix their credit.

I had no chance to take more pictures because all the rooms were full of their stuff. And a pool was full of dirt and debris.

We had a lot of cleaning and trash removing here. And a lot of coats of paint to rid of this smell. And we paid to a professional pool company for the pool maintenance. And finally, we did it! We overbudgeted this time.

Here are some pictures AFTER:

the house got a new look!

new paint on all surfaces

wooden work on the front porch

landscaping work

yard cleaning

new carpets in all bedrooms

updated bathrooms

updated vanities

a new refreshing look of the kitchen cabinets

We put this house for lease and it was leased for the next 2 years.

Big 4 bd lodge house that we’ve bought one week prior foreclosure…

admin — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 21:18:54 +0000

This house came to us from a highly motivated owner that has been in default on mortgage payments for more that one and half year. We had a foreclosure auction date scheduled in 9 days and we had to deal very quickly to sign paperwork and to reinstate this property. The reinstatement amount came on the very next day (see a picture).

It was a huge amount of money that we had to send them all cash and asap. We have contacted my friend and we partnered with him on this deal. The market value of the property was more than $430K and we signed a contract with the seller for $320K.

I was in touch with a lander all the time after we sent this reinstatement check. And I was very happy to see the updated status on the mortgage account. No more foreclosure rush!

Our next step was to make an inspection and arrange a closing within 30-45 days. We agreed with a seller one month for a move out time.

Here is what we’ve got:

We had to deal with an unfinished basement, some wiring issues, and other little things. But overall the house was in pretty good shape.

After 2 months of the remote managing of the rehab process, we did a new photoshoot with a local professional real estate photographer. We did a drone pictures of the 10 acres parcel and an updated lodge house.

Pictures AFTER:

To make a story short: we’ve listed the house for $430K and on the first day we’ve got 5 calls and one offer for $440K. We’ve sold this property right in the middle of the winter season!

How we converted 4/2 house into 5/2 house after it was on the listing more that one year.

admin — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 18:12:28 +0000

This property was kind of bad luck for the former owner. He did repairs, he did updates, he did listings and he can’t sell it for a long time. He contacted us after we did a mailing to owners of “expired listings”. We met he signed our offer on the same day.

It was definitely an as-is house with some repairs that were done in a wrong way. And we had to redo it.

Here is a picture BEFORE:

We’ve got a big 2500sqf house where the garage was converted to an additional room without a closet. So it wasn’t a 5th bedroom. It was a big room with a piece of carpet on the concrete floor. Tile floors were done horribly. Painting was … non-professional. And we had to start a normal rehab of this house.

Here is what we did in 5 weeks:

nice big master bathroom with a new floor and new paint

it looks much better!

new shower

new front door, new LED lights everywhere, new paint

more space, new carpets

The guest bathroom is cute and looks like new

updated master bedroom

new paint on the ceiling and on the walls

the garage was converted into a big bedroom with a walk-in closet

kitchen in a new color

updated kitchen

dining area

this is a vacant lot behind a house

we did a new gate on the right side of the property

some landscaping on the front

and some white stones

back yard

trimmed and cleaned back yard

This property was sold in 3 weeks and for a price much more than Zestimate price. We’ve got so many calls from prospects I was tired to answer all of them.

Another 3/1 house that has been saved from foreclosure auction

admin — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 16:59:28 +0000

The former owner of this property has contacted me and we have met on the same day. It was a little house in a nice area. More than 12 months in default, foreclose process going on, reinstatement is about $15k, the house is in as-is condition. There is no chance to sell it “By Owner”.

I did my cash offer that was 75% roughly. And the seller rejected it. I said “I hope you will sell it by yourself” and left the house.

After 3 months I’ve contacted this owner one more time just to remind him about my offer. Now the situation was worse: a reinstatement for the mortgage was more than $21K, they were in a rush on moving out to another address and still had no enough time for this complicated step.

I offered to pay all their debts and stop foreclosure and offered one more month living for free on the premises. And this was exactly what they needed! We have signed paperwork on the next day and after 5-6 days we have stoped a foreclosure process.

Here are some pictures that show what we’ve got after they moved out.

Pictures BEFORE:

The house required another 10-15k in repairs: new paint, new carpets, new appliances, new lights, and yard work of course. We had to work quickly because the next project has been coming soon.

All updates were done in four weeks and a new owner decided to buy it after I sent him the footage. We didn’t list this house. We didn’t advertise it at all.

See pictures AFTER:

New owners are happy to see an appreciation of this property. This area grows fast and today Fair Market Value of this house is higher than they paid for it.

Huge 3000sqf house in the best neighborhood: saving it from foreclosure

admin — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 04:33:08 +0000

We met this family after a call about their big 4bd house. They supposed to relocate and have listed a house for 10 months. And they had only one (!) showing for all these times. It was a classical expired listing case. Even worse: they had no money for the next monthly payment. The situation was only one step prior to foreclosure. We discussed the situation. They needed some cash for moving out and it was a loan against the house $258000 that they couldn’t afford. I made them offer $306000 and we signed contract and a promissory note for $48K. I promised to pay off it in 12 months or less.

I was sure that I will find a buyer for this property in 3-5 months. And I have sold this house in 45 days to an investor. Former owners have got a check with their equity and they were happy to move to a more affordable house.

Our downpayment on this deal was $10 and we profited about $18K after closing with a final buyer.

Here are several pictures like it was BEFORE.

So you can see that the house is in normal condition. But for this area, the house must be in perfect condition and has to be updated a little bit. Our buyer decided to remodel it and to use it for daily rent out.

A happy moment with a seller. Now they can start a new page of their life. With a nice check.

Today this property is making good cashflow to my buyer. And he deserves it! He did a big work for converting it to the airbnb house.

Look at this back yard and at this living room!

Pictures AFTER:

Converting a 3bd outdated house to the nice and cozy 4bd house with 2.5 bathrooms

admin — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 19:11:52 +0000

This was a 3/1 house that we had converted into 4/2.5 house with an electrical heating system, new windows, and new floors. We’ve got it with ugly yellow siding, yellow kitchen, and purple bathrooms. All kitchen cabinets were metal and very heavy. But anyway the house had a charm. And we had to update it very quickly and for a low budget.

We’ve got it from our first offer to HUD. It was only $22000. And I was really surprised when it was accepted! The fair market value of this house today is over $80000 dollars.

Look at several pictures BEFORE

Why they did so small window on the 2nd level?

my biggest problem was the roof. It was an old asbestos shingles. I hate it

poison ivy…

There are three arc windows on the front. We had to order a new custom arc windows

crazy shaped doorways

White-yellow-red. There are cheap plastic tiles everywhere

lack of light in the kitchen and dining area

old and rotten windows

Nice fireplace. It was the best part of the house.

Outdated metal kitchen cabinets.

And heaviest radiators of the heating system (broken)

Living room

kitchen from 1934

The vanity is metal!

hardwood floors. Look not bad by the way

one huge room on the 2nd level

basement

Old rusted heater on the right side didn’t work at all.

Of course, we did a lot of mistakes in this project. We have paid too much for stuff and for professional help, we supposed to renew a lot of old wood parts instead of throwing it into the dumpster. We were afraid of removing or cutting off unnecessary walls.

Look at the process here.

day first: I am removing an old (75 years old?) carpets.

tons of dust is everywhere

crashing tiles in the kitchen.

taking apart all wooden panels in the house.

still crashing tiles.

Removing an old stain.

Framing upstairs: it will be a new toilet room and a new bedroom with a closet.

Our helper is about to remove a wall.

Crashing a bathtub. Only for the strong guys.

I am happy to get my 15 new vinyl windows.

A new shape for the doorway in the living room.

Our helper is doing a ceiling surface.

New electrical baseboard heaters.

New floors are coming soon.

This is J.R. and he is 35 years in this industry.

A wall painting process.

A new bathroom in the basement is coming.

A big dirty hole.

Painting, painting, and painting…

I am doing a frame in the basement.

My wife and a new closet upstairs.

A new bathtub delivered.

Our working space for a couple of weeks.

Ok, it was a hard time learning, creating, designing out of nothing and saving money on everything. But we did it!

Look what we finally put on the market. Yes. I know that I could do these pictures more professionally.

Pictures AFTER:

a new white front, new trims, and new plastic gators made a miracle.

new backside. New trims, new gators, new paint

garage

you can see a new full bathroom on the right

new shower, vanity and toilet

new toilet upstairs

new 4th bedroom upstairs

another bedroom upstairs

updated bathroom on the first level

new kitchen

new floors, new windows, new cabinets. We have removed the wall on the left side.

New floors, new windows in the living room

new floors and new ceilings in the bedrooms on the first level

New front door

A new look of the 1934 build house.

Back yard.