Making offers on foreclosed properties can sometimes be a daunting task even for seasoned real estate agents and investors. Each bank can required different and very specific requirements that must be submitted before they even look at your offer. Recently, we have been seeing multiple offers on these homes and above asking price offers on many REO (bank owned) properties. Here are some tips and tricks that we have learned to get our offers accepted:

• Pay cash-REO banks love cash buyers. Although this may appear impossible for you to do, see if can move some equity or money around to make it happen. Alternatively, see if your bank will give you a line of credit against another property so you can write a check for the purchase of this new property.
• Offer to close in 2 weeks-This requires either a cash offer or a very organized mortgage broker to make this happen. Truthfully, I often find that it is the REO bank that can not close that quickly because the title work on a foreclosed home can be difficult.
• Remove the inspection contingency-Only do this if you are confident about your analysis prior to making your offer. Alternatively, many banks will give you a verbal acceptance one day and then require you submit your earnest money check and their bank docs within 48 hours. You can use that window to do your property inspection and then not turn the docs in if you need to cancel. Although this not the most professional way to handle yourself, it could prevent you from buying a problem that you did not see when you did your walk-thru.
• Make sure to use a reputable investment real estate agent-Surprisingly, the number of REO agents in Minnesota is actually quite small. Although they don’t have much if any influence over the bank’s decision, they may be willing to give you useful advice that may help you win an acceptable offer. I found that I had to earn the respect of the big REO agents before they would talk to me.
• Do not ask for seller paid closing costs-Banks just look at the net offer. To them a $100k offer with $5k in closing costs is the same as $95k offer with $0 closing costs. In fact, they feel that paying closing costs can just complicate the transaction.
• Do not ask for the bank to perform any repairs-They will almost never pay for any repairs or changes to the property. They are selling it as-is. Just factor that work into your offer price.
• Do not put any time limitations on when you need a response from the bank. The banks are on their own time table. They will do what they want to do, when they want to do it.
• Refrain from any other non-standard language or requests on the purchase agreement which may include: assigns to, access prior to closing, repairs, etc.

Although this is not an exhaustive list of foreclosure buying tips, just using the main ones will help you win more offers. Gosh, on second thought, maybe you will be competing with me and I shouldn’t have told you my secrets! I guess in this market, sadly, there are enough foreclosed properties to go around!

Are you searching for investment properties on your own and frustrated at your results?

Whenever I am working with a buyer and we are looking at bank owned (or REO) properties, the question always comes up:

“How low of an offer can we make on this foreclosed house”?

Just like many other things in investment real estate, it depends. Typically, a “normal” offer will be 95% of list price. I have seen offers accepted as low as 75% of list price. Much below that and the bank thinks you are simply low balling them and most often they will not even respond to your offer. Here is a list (in order of priority) of how I determine how to answer the above question when buying foreclosures:

1. Most often, time on market drives both the price and flexibility of the bank when looking at foreclosures. There are two components under this category that determine how aggressive you can be when making the offer on that bank owned property:
   1. Total Length of Time on Market-In other words, how long has the bank been trying to sell it. The longer it is on their books, the more opportunity you have to make an aggressive/lower offer.
   2. Time Since Last Price Decrease-This is related to the above Time on Market in that the longer it has been since the last price decrease, generally the more aggressive you can be with your offer. The converse is also true. For example: even if the property has been on the market for 9 months, if the price dropped 2 days ago, the bank is going to be inflexible when looking at offers much below the new list price.
2. The current list price relative to the market. The banks have Realtors perform BPOs (broker price opinions) on the houses periodically. If they just recently received a BPO and you make an offer at 75% of that BPO value, they are typically going to be unwilling to negotiate the difference. The number of REOs in a particular neighborhood may also help you as the bank realizes there are other opportunities out there.
3. How strong is your offer outside of the price? Leaving out contingencies, setting a closing less than 30 days out, putting down a larger earnest money check, paying cash, or declining the property inspection are all strategies that make your low-ball offer more attractive.
4. Often, the listing agent will help or hurt your chances to make a low offer. If the property is listed by a seasoned REO agent and it has been on the market for a long time, the agent will sometimes encourage the bank to simply dump the property. Maybe they have not received another offer on it in months or maybe the agent thinks the bank is keeping the price too high.
5. Your buyer’s agent can help or hurt you. An inexperienced investment property agent can hurt your chances of successfully buying a foreclosure at a larger discount. They do not understand the above 4 pricing variables.
6. Although I have never tested this, there is a belief that banks will be more flexible at the end of the month when they are trying to hit their numbers. They may give you a great deal simply because they need a few more houses in the sold category to look good to their bosses.

Ultimately, using a seasoned investment real estate agent is really the key if you are going to be a serious investor in bank owned properties. There are so many moving parts and dead ends with foreclosed properties, it is important for the buyer to have someone in their corner that can mentor and advise them.

I have been beating myself up lately over my bad tenants. In the last 30 days, I have had to evict one tenant for non-payment of rent after only 6 months, ask another to leave at the end of the month after repeated police calls (and probably not collect their past due rent), and threaten another with eviction because of non-payment. Plus I have another one or two that are on the edge of eviction for non-payment.

If you remember back to January, I had made an Investment Property New Year’s Resolution to reduce my bad debt expenses. Unfortunately, like my personal goal to lose 10 pounds, I am failing. I decided to do some research and pulled all of my past and present tenant files and tried to find some common theme amongst all the “bad tenants”. I realized that while many of the problems are with the tenants, it appears I am the one enabling their bad behavior. Here is what I found.

If it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it is probably a duck.
While I rarely see a tenant that has a great credit report, the tenants that have problems paying their rent on-time (or ever) have typically shown a history of financial and/or rental problems on their background checks. The ones that have several items in collections especially seem to have issues with rent. I guess paying late and/or not paying a bill is in some ways like criminal activity or drugs, once you get past your first time, it just gets easier each subsequent time to not think about the consequences.

Bad tenants apply here
Over the last 30 days, I have been in full leasing mode as many of my leases expire either May 31 or June 30. Just like someone that leaves one abusive relationship and falls into another abusive relationship (often because they don’t feel like they can demand better), I found that I keep wanting to make exceptions for prospective tenants that have bad traits (I am in no way minimizing the plight of someone in an abusive relationship, I am just making a point). Although it is easy to deny the applicant that lies to you about the recent eviction, it is tough to say no to a single mom who is working 2 jobs but only takes home about $980 per month and wants to rent your $750 per month apartment. Can she and her child live on only $230 per month, even if she claims it is not a problem?

Lose a month of rent or have bad debt because of an eviction-which is worse?
Although I am not a fan of having a vacant rental unit and losing a month’s worth of rent, I believe that is an easier one time event than having to constantly call and hunt down your tenant for your rent. Plus, when you have a tenant that is bad at paying, each month you are also wondering if you are going to see the rent or if this will be the month you need to evict.

Realizing and admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving it. I am committed to demanding better tenants. Here are a couple things I am going to do differently:

• Never book an apartment showing without spending a couple extra minutes on the phone and asking them about their income, rental background, and other details. I think I have been quick to just set up an appointment because I am in a hurry when they catch me on my phone or because I just want to get bodies through the unit.
• If they have a history of bills in collection, run the other way.
• Ask for additional damage deposit if I feel like taking a risk on the person.
• Sticking to the rule that the prospective tenant must make at least 3 times the rent in documented gross income per month.
• Commit to doing a more thorough background check via phone calls to previous landlords and employers.
• Not accepting incomplete tenant applications or missing data.

I have been successful up until this point, but I want to improve my business and strengthen my cash flow by reducing my non-paying tenants. I also want to reduce my work and stress load by having tenants that always pay on time.

Several days ago, I referred to a great post by Chris Lengquist’s at Kansas City Real Estate Investing named: 7 Questions To Ask Your REALTOR Before Looking For Investment Property. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that I don’t do much (if any) self promotion. Without selling myself too heavily, I thought it would be interesting for me to answer those 7 questions so you can see how a full-time investment property Realtor would respond:

1. Are you an investment property owner and/or do you take any specialized classes to assist you with evaluating real estate investment property? I have been an investment property owner since 2002. I own and manage almost 30 units from single family to multi-family in many different parts of the Twin Cities. Additionally, I have attended numerous classes and seminars over the years both as an investor and a Minnesota Real Estate Agent.
   
2. How long have you been working with investment properties? As I mentioned above, I have been an investor since 2002, but I have specialized in investment properties as a Realtor since I started. I sell only about 1-2 owner occupant houses per year.
3. Can you show me how you evaluate an income property, numbers wise? I use a customized spreadsheet that I built over the years to analyze large volumes of investment properties. It allows me to pull down up to several hundred properties at a time from the MLS and find the best values for my customers in a matter of minutes. See the spreadsheet on the right (click to see a larger version).
4. What are your feelings about cash flow or appreciation? Cash flow is a must. I know that there are other “gurus” out there that say negative cash flow is OK. I disagree. In this market, you can absolutely buy a nice property at a great price and have cash flow also. Appreciation is what we are all in this game for. I like my tenants, but I would rather be spending that time with my family. The cash flow is fine, but I am waiting for the pot of money at the end of the rainbow when I sell everything!
5. What are your hours of availability? I carry a PDA and check it most of the day. I also spend about 2-4 hours per day on my laptop. Typically, I am available from 8am to 8pm during the week and weekends by appointment. This might not be normal for most real estate agents, but it is just how I work.
6. Do you require a Property Management agreement in addition to an Exclusive Buyer’s Agency Agreement? No. We simply sign a Buyers Representation Agreement once we begin to work together.
   
7. Who do you work with concerning inspections, repairs, maintenance and property management? Over the years, I have accumulated many contractors and repairmen that I always refer to my customers. I also always try to have at least one inspector and property manager that I can recommend to my customers.

The above questions are important to ask your Realtor when venturing into Investment Real Estate. I hope my answers give you some insight into what a full-time investment Real Estate agent can offer. Why not work with someone that specializes in investment property?

It is amazing how often I am asked by people starting in real estate investment: “What type of corporate structure is best for owning investment property“. I hear that question more often than I am asked how to find tenants or how to finance the property. Here is some information that I have compiled and learned over the years.

Disclaimer: Right up front I need to remind everyone that I am not an attorney nor do I play one on television. You should seek competent legal advice in your area, regarding this topic. These details are simply what I have learned through reading, executing, and talking with attorneys.

Best entity for Investment Property

Although there are many different business entities (LLC, C-Corporation, S-Corporation, partnership), the easiest to set up and cheapest to maintain, for real estate investments, is an LLC (limited liability company). Additionally, an LLC is very flexible and can have any number of owners (technically called ‘members’). Each member can own any percentage of the company (as long as the total equals 100%). Lastly, members can be other LLCs, corporations, and trusts. This flexibility allows you to customize the configuration to suit your tax situation and liability protection goals.

Tax Implications for the Investment Property LLC

C-Corporations pay taxes on profits generated by the corporation, first. The owners pay taxes again on the profits they receive as dividends. Although, S-Corporations avoid the corporate tax, their corporate structure and number/type of owners is severely limited (S-Corporations can only be owned by individuals, not LLCs or trusts). Fortunately, unlike corporations, LLCs do not pay any corporate tax. All profit and losses “pass through” to the member’s tax returns at the percent that they own the company. This is especially helpful if you own multiple LLCs as the profit and losses from each roll up to your personal taxes (a loss on one can offset a profit on another).

Liability Protection for the Real Estate Investor

As the name implies, an LLC provides limited liability to its members, meaning that any liability created by the company is limited to the company. The members’ personal assets are protected from all claims against the company. Partnerships and unincorporated businesses do NOT provide liability protection. It is critical that you protect your personal assets as a 2005 Congressional study stated: “small businesses bear 68 percent of business tort liability costs”. A properly set-up and maintained LLC can protect the owner’s interests in the assets of an LLC from the owner’s personal creditors.

Setting up an LLC for your Investment Properties

I recommend that you consult with a qualified real estate attorney when you set up your first LLC (or purchase your first investment property). Pay them to establish the LLC on paper and with the state. Have them teach you what should/must be done on an annual basis to maintain both the legal entity of the LLC and the litigation protection of the LLC. This may cost up to $1000 per LLC.  Some attorneys may offer a discounted price.

How Many Properties per LLC?

This is where a good attorney can weigh the liability protection versus the costs. Many advisors will tell you to set up one LLC per property. Practically speaking this is easy when you own 2-4 properties, but it will become increasingly cost prohibitive when you own 15 properties. Not only does it cost about $360 (in Minnesota, using BizFilings.com) to set up an LLC initially, but each year your CPA will charge you to prepare and file the tax return for each LLC (this costs me about $400 per LLC-you can imagine your tax bill if you had 15 LLCs!). Most real estate investors will put 3-5 properties in each LLC (grouping them based upon geography, age, liability risk, or equity position).

Moving your Properties into your LLC

A common misconception is that you must buy the investment property in the LLC’s name. Unfortunately, you would need to use commercial financing (with a 20% down payment) to have your LLC buy the property initially. A “Quit Claim deed” is all that is required to legally transfer the property from your personal name to your LLC. The mortgage(s) will stay in your personal name and it will remain on your credit report, but you will gain the liability protection mentioned above. This Quit Claim deed process requires a simple one page document signed and notarized by all owners of the property and it is then mailed with the appropriate filing fees (about $50-75) to the County recorder where the property is located.

Property Management Considerations

Technically, each LLC should have its own checking account, corporate credit card, and Quickbooks file. Again, as above, this may be possible with a limited number of LLCs, but it can be overwhelming to think about 15 checkbooks, 15 corporate credit cards, and 15 LLCs signing leases and performing evictions. Many real estate investors will transfer their properties into “ownership” LLCs which simply hold the properties. They will then set up a “management” LLC that signs all leases, pays all bills (including mortgages), contracts for all repairs, and retains one or two corporate credit cards. To keep the liability protection intact, you should have a management agreement signed by both the “ownership” and “management” LLC.

Using the LLC

All the work and cost of establishing the LLCs can be wasted if a judge agrees with the lawsuit plaintiff, that the LLCs are just shells. Follow your attorney’s advice, but generally, you should hold meetings (and keep written minutes of the meeting) on a bi-annual to annual basis. You should record decisions and “vote” on changes to the company. Lastly, have your attorney review your work annually to insure you are maintaining your legal protection in the event of litigation.

As you can see, an LLC has many benefits over other corporate entities (or no entity at all). Having an LLC for your real estate investment is an important step in providing protection for both your personal and corporate assets. Consider the creation and use of an LLC as important as learning how to find tenants.

Have you always wanted to buy investment property, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Even though I own a lot of investment real estate, I had never put much thought into when my leases expire. I focused on not having multiple leases in the same building expire at the same time and, whenever possible, never expiring a lease between November and February. With these safeguards in place, I thought I could cut down on multiple vacancies at the same time. What I found out was that I still have to worry about advertising, showings and my upcoming vacancies almost every month.

The old saying is true – you really do learn something new every day. This week I met two longtime investors who have most or all of their leases expire May 31st. They had some very good reasons:

1. You only need to work on leasing at one concentrated time per year.
2. Your advertising dollars go further, as you can place general ads in the newspaper. Because you have multiple units to show, you can accommodate almost any prospective tenant.
3. By setting your lease renewal dates in the spring (preferably June 1), you’re targeting the strongest time of the year to lease your properties.
4. Your existing tenants may have more options if they wish to move to another apartment in one of your other properties.

To begin the lease consolidation process, change the expiration dates to line up with May 31st as your renewals come up. There is no law that all leases must be 12 months long (with the possible exception of Section 8 tenants), so why not a 17 month lease? Longer is better for both you and your tenants. All the tenants I talk to don’t really care how long the lease is when you tell them it is locking their rent for the term!

The process to move your leases to June 1st start dates may take a year or more, which works out fine for me because I can’t physically work on all my properties at the same time. In the event that more than a few existing tenants do not renew, I plan to make some of my leases expire in May, some in June and some in July, which allows me time to work on each unit.