I'm a realtor not because it's a job, an income but because I truly enjoy looking at houses, meeting people and finding a good match.
I like murder mysteries and go to several different murder mystery weekends (I highly recommend the one at the Grand Hotel in MI). Finding the clues and tracking down the murderer....it's like finding the right home for a buyer.
I remember vacationing on the WA coast and coming upon an abandoned hotel and restaurant, right on the beach. I was fascinated. I returned home and began to dig through records to figure out what was going on with this property. Sure enough, it was for sale - not listed, though. It was distressed and very cheap. I couldn't afford it at the time and had no desire to start a hotel business on the coast, but I waa crazy trying to find someone to buy it. Someone I knew had to buy it!! It was too good of a deal to pass up. I didn't find anyone but fortunately it was purchased and restored. It's the Tokeland Hotel http://www.tokelandhotel.com/home.html Finding great properties excites me and finding a perfect match is an adrenalin rush.
There are a lot of folks that have watched too many late night infomercials and have become deluded to believe that they can get something for nothing. We all want something for nothing, that's why we buy lotto tickets and go to auctions. We want to find that stash of a million dollars hidden in the back of a cheap desk we bought at a garage sale for $5, and we believe in Santa.
There are some good deals out there, especially now. But there's a lot of competition,too. I've gone to the free seminars that teach you how to buy a property and end up with $10,000 cash at closing. I've stood on the courthouse steps bidding on foreclosed properties, and I've talked to many people about to lose thier homes because they can nolonger make the mortgage payments. Everyone is talking about the upside down loans. These are making good deals difficult to find. I'll be blogging in down-to-earth terms about why these loans (foreclosures) make standing on courthouse steps a waste of time, Short sales are for the very patient, and Pre-foreclosures that aren't short sales are usually over priced. So what's left? ....hard to finance, great location-bad houses, boarded up, not for sale properties....etc. I find them.
I have bought investment properties and have gone through the decision making process of determining what is a good deal, has potential and will increase in equity quickly. Although I often want to buy more properties, I've found that I derive just as much pleasure finding a great house for a buyer, as I do finding a house for myself (and I don't have to pay property tax or work with contractors.)
I'm looking forward to sharing information in this format and hope that anyone who takes the time to read my blogs will gain in knowledge and $$.
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