Vacant houses are everywhere and they offer an abundance of opportunities, especially in today’s market. Cities across the nation are scrambling to cope with the massive growth of vacant houses currently on the market due to the fallout from the lending crisis. Capitalizing on the existing economic condition can be almost effortless, when investing in vacant homes and abandoned properties.

There is a myriad of reasons why a house becomes vacant. The house could be in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure. It could just have been abandoned due to a death, divorce, or a forced job transfer. The home could also be the object of an inheritance where the heir could not support financial or contractual obligations associated to the home. The cause may also be simply because the landlord got burned out. Whatever the reason, it should be viewed as both an advantage and an opportunity.

Vacant homes are the best niche to invest in because they are easy and they offer a lot of advantages to an investor. There is little money involved out of pocket and credit is not relevant. An earnest deposit, also known as a “good faith” deposit is usually but not always necessary. Also, dealing with banks or hard money lenders is not needed. In addition, contractors, inspectors, appraisers, and tenants are not involved.

There are five steps in the process of buying and selling an unoccupied house. First of all, you need to generate vacant house leads. Although driving the neighborhoods yourself involves time and legwork, it is one way to locate houses in the area that are not being lived in. It allows you the ability to physically see characteristics of a vacancy. Homes with no curtains in the windows let you see the interior, missing furniture or pictures on the walls. Doors and windows that are open, broken, or unhinged are also good indicators. Piles of newspapers on the porch or driveway and a mailbox overflowing with mail are pretty good signs of vacancy as well. The doors may even have stickers from the city citing code violations. Another sure sign that a home is vacant is a missing electric meter.

But if you do not personally wish to or physically cannot go out and about and peruse the streets, you can opt to use a bird dog. This individual does the leg work for you and then sends you the leads for a nominal fee of typically five to ten dollars per lead. They allow you to leverage your time, efforts, and abilities. Hiring a bird dog is well worth the money in the long run. For example, one hundred or two hundred dollars paid to a bird dog for generating a good lead that results in a twenty thousand dollar profit for you is definitely money well spent.

Once the house is located, the seller is the next point of contact. Speaking to the neighbors initially may sound like a good idea, but often proves to be too much information that is not relevant to what you need to know. On the other hand, talking with the neighborhood watch patrol would probably offer more insightful information. Tax polls which can be contacted either online, by telephone, or at the tax assessor’s office can also be useful resources. Skip trace systems and services can also be employed. They have the ability to search for records that are not made available to the general public. Unfortunately, these systems and services are not free.

Houses without for sale signs are interesting prospects. For one thing, they are not listed in the MLS. The harder the seller is to find, the more profitable it will be for you because the competition usually gives up so easily. If you are dealing with houses that no one knows are for sale and you are the only one to find the owners, you have all but eliminated any competition.

After connecting with the seller, the next step is to make an offer. It is best to use a proven script which will give you control over the conversation. After the terms of the purchase and sale agreements are understood and accepted by both parties involved, you can proceed to flip the contract to another investor. By using the Assignment of Contract, you put your name on the contract as the buyer and then sell that contract to your buyer. Since you did not close the deal on the house, your name never ends up in the chain of title.

This type of deal is an easy sell to your investor because you bought low and will sell low quickly. For this reason, it is imperative that you have progressive buyer list. Buy low and selling low also allows you the ability to make a profit with little or no money out of pocket. An earnest money deposit, also known as a “good faith” deposit is typically needed. And if a simultaneous closing, where your buying of the home and your selling of the contract to your investor at the same time is brought into play, you can use the buyer’s money to pay the seller. Credit is also not a factor when dealing with this type of transaction. The best opportunity to buy and sell vacant houses is right now! For those will to take action, the possibilities are limitless.

Author: Jeff S Adams
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

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