We Buy Condemned Houses in Richmond Virginia

Has your vacant house been tagged “Condemned” by the City of Richmond?  That bright orange sticker can bring a homeowner a sense of dread.  Has this sticker appeared on your property?

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5 Newbie Mistakes in Property Wholesaling

OopsSignThese property mistakes came across my desk just today!

I believe in the power of networking and doing JV deals on wholesale properties, particularly when working wholesale real estate in other states.

However, it is also very easy to blow your reputation by consistently putting forth wholesale real estate deals that don’t make any sense to the end buyer.

Here are five lessons from mistakes that wholesalers presented me this week:

1).  Don’t pitch a “Deal” that is still active in the MLS.

That’s just embarrassing.

The only times I have ever done that is when my offer has been verbally accepted and it’s not marked as pending.  I tell my buyer that I’m waiting for the agent to mark it.  I do that in a phone call with a buyer I have a personal relationship with.

I’ve also done it with a hedge fund where the owner gave my team permission to find a buyer, but I disclose that up front before I mention that to any of my investor buyers.

I had two of these today.  One was even priced higher than the MLS system.

2).  Make sure your comps are comparable.

I had a wholesale real estate deal pitched to me today.  It was one half of an attached house.  The wholesaler pegged the ARV at about 130k, based on his comps.

His comps were sold at 170, 180, 190, but all were single family detached houses.

The subject property was in a block of attached houses where the two sides have different house numbers.

I wanted to find comps that were comparable.   Another townhouse in the same block was sold at 75 and another for sale at 83.

3).  If they don’t come close to our normal formulas, don’t present it.

Yet a third wholesaler today wanted me to buy a ARV house of 385 for 345 with 10 in repairs.

Real simple, if it doesn’t fit the MAO formulas we normally use as fix and flip investors, don’t waste our time.

I know some buy and hold people will go up to 80% with no repairs, but 92%?  Don’t think so.  I made that mistake once and it creamed me on holding costs and sales costs.

4).  Use comps from the last six months if possible, not the market peak at 2007.

This one really got me.  I nearly laughed at unbelief.

I had run comps for the same neighborhood earlier in the day, so I knew that ARVS for the renovated houses were 99k maximum.  Not 160k, 170k as they were in 2007.

Not one renovated and restored house sold over 99k in the last 12 months in that neighborhood.

When I asked the wholesaler for comps to justify his claims of 160k and 170k, he sent me comps dated 2007.

5).  Don’t send an inspection or appraisal that was done in 2009.

A wholesaler sent me a screaming hot deal, based on the numbers he had run.    The numbers were good, the deal was not.

When he sent me the address, I was already familiar with the property.

His wholesale price was over 2x the last MLS price on an expired listing.

Moreover, he even included an inspection report, done in 2009.  None of the conditions present in 2009 were likely to be the case today, as the property is currently boarded up.

Please don’t make these newbie mistakes

Hopefully, I will keep you from making such embarrassing mistakes.

We all make them.  I’ve made my own mistakes in missing items in my inspections, underestimating rehabs, and even making some bad comps in areas of the city where blocks make a difference.  I learn from them and move on.

When a new wholesaler starts making mistakes like that, they will loose their credibility if they keep making them.

So I’ll continue to coach when necessary.  I was the young investor, eager to make a deal.

A mentor came along and helped me with a few deals and I got on my way.

Circumstances force Fast Sale

Exterior_1There are many times when circumstances conspire against you that will force you into needing to sell the house fast.

Selling your home without unwanted delays can also tax your brain beyond its capabilities.

If you are not knowledgeable about how this works, you will have to get a professional homebuyer.  An expert.

It is only professional home buyers like us that will show you the best options to unload your house.

It is even possible to complete the deal within a month, even if you get mired in a protracted negotiation. So, don’t hesitate in asking an expert to help you sell your house fast.

An example of a fast house sale.

An attorney called us a few weeks ago, saying the heirs wanted their estate to be settled.

They got our Cash Offer for Your House in 24 Hours and they accepted it a few days later.

In about 15 days, the deal was closed.

We handled all the paperwork and the seller didn’t even have to pay the real estate closing.

What now?

Get our Cash Offer for Your House in 24 Hours.

If we can make an offer that works for you and us, we’ll handle the disposal of your house fast.





Successful Closing of Complicated Title Case

DCCondosIn August, 2013, SDP Partners LLC participated in an ultimately successful transaction to help a seller unload some condo investments that had gone bad.

The tax lien had been sold and the redemption period was coming up on a portfolio of condos in SE Washington DC.

A business partner successfully put the entire portfolio under contract from the seller.

However, the title was so messed up it took lots of extra hours to sort it out.  Within a month, the transaction finally closed before the redemption period transferred title to the tax certificate investor.

The back taxes were paid off.

The home owners association dues were brought current.

We were successful in locating another investor who stepped in towards the end to take these condos into their rental portfolio as income producing properties.

The seller solved his house problem.

Another investor got performing condos into their investment portfolio.

We made a small fee out of putting the two together.

The only people not entirely happy were the tax certificate investors who were days short of getting the deeds to condos for the price of the back taxes, but such is life.

Great Cash Flow from MultiFamily Properties

DuplexMultiFamilyImagine a Multi-Family property that you acquire for $70,000.

The five units bring in a total rent of $3000 a month, or $36,000 a year.

You can have a good local property management company manage your property for you and still make a great return on your investment.

There are still places where demand for multi-family housing is a great need.

You might want a duplex, triplex, quad, or even a small apartment building.

If you are on the hunt for multi-family properties for your portfolio, we might have something in our inventory for you.

I have at my disposal a nationwide network of investors who may have a multi-family for you if I don’t have one ready to go.  I can help you find what you are looking for.

Simply leave a comment, or pick up the phone and call Chris directly at

804/719-1489.

I answer my own phone.

Ugly and Trashed House?

UglyHouseWe will buy your ugly house.

We’ve been buying homes in Central Virginia since 2003.

One was a two story structure with only three walls (one wall had fallen away).

  • Do you have an house that might qualify as one you don’t want to look at?
  • House that is beat up?
  • A house that is ready to be torn down?
  • Maybe vandals have broken in and stolen the plumbing.
  • Maybe you started to rehab the house yourself and it got out of hand.
  • Maybe it’s just 40 years out of date.
  • Maybe you inherited the house you grew up in and it still has the same curtains in your room from 30 years ago.

It doesn’t matter.

Some sellers simply tell me their home needs severe updating.

It doesn’t matter how ugly or outdated the house is, we buy houses quickly, as-is, often for all cash.

Get our Offer in 24 hours.

You don’t have to make the repairs on your house, or anything else like that.  It’s that simple.  Get our Offer in 24 hours.

Sell your home slowly

It’s a Buyers Market. People Are Taking Their Time Looking – Because They Can

I talk with a lot of sellers who just can’t sell their homes anymore.  Inventory is way to high, and sellers are still asking for last year’s prices.  Check out this article about the Virginia housing market

Surviving the Housing Slump

Newsweek puts up an article called Surviving the Housing Slump and offers 5 ways that homeowners can use.

Tips for Avoiding Foreclosure – HUD

HUD has put out a document for homeowners entitled, Tips for Avoiding Foreclosure – HUD.  They are pretty simple

  1. Don’t ignore the problem
  2. Contact the lender as soon as possible
  3. Open and respond to mail from your lender.
  4. Know your mortgage rights.
  5. Understand foreclosure prevention options. (Selling in one of them)
  6. Contact a HUD approved housing counselor.
  7. Prioritize your spending.
  8. Use your assets to recover the debt.
  9. Avoid foreclosure prevention companies that charge fees up front.
  10. Don’t loose your house to foreclosure recovery Scams.

If you decide to sell your home to avoid foreclosure, you can rest assured that we will treat you fairly and with respect.  There are no upfront fees and we will tell you quickly if we are able to help you.  Give us a call, at 804/719-1489, or Get offers from us in 24 hours.

Foreclosure Scams explained.

Mortgage Net Daily spells out several foreclosure rescue scams and good advice to help sellers avoid such scams.

  1. Upfront fees: Some unscrupulous scammers charge hefty upfront fees for their services, claiming to help the homeowner, and then fail to deliver.  On the other hand, I know of one company of integrity that does charge an upfront, but they are able to do what they say.  The fee is reimbursed to the seller when the investor purchases the home.
  2. Equity stripping: a sale to an investor and a lease back to the seller, often with onerous terms.
  3. Refi-Refi-Refi: your lender constantly churning your loan to incur fees and costs.

We affirm that we treat all sellers with fairness, integrity, and with respect.

If you want to sell your house quickly, no matter where it is in Richmond Petersburg area, we will try to help you.  We’ll buy your ugly house, tired house, worn out house, or pretty house.

Call Us at 804-719-1489 or fill out our Get Offer in 24 Hours form at our sister website to see how we can help you today.  All calls and emails are confidential.