At the end of 2008, Sara informed me about an REO property in Indianapolis that was built in 2004, and available from the bank for a very attractive price. The only hitch was that the property needed some rehab and repairs. (Go figure – owners who get foreclosed on don’t always take the best care of their houses.)
In this case, the agreed-upon price from the bank was $57,000. To finance this deal, I worked with a mortgage broker from Wells Fargo that was referred to me by Sara. Since this was a low dollar loan, 20% down plus closing costs only came to $12,000 that I needed to bring to the table at closing. The bank sent the documents via overnight express and I signed them in the presence of a notary public, then returned them with the cashier’s check.
At this point, the area specialist became my best friend and greatest asset in closing the deal. (Her name is Angela, and if you do business in Indianapolis, I highly recommend that you talk with her . . . she regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done.) Not only did the she help me to line up a property inspection and homeowner insurance, but she also put me in contact with contractors to do the rehab work, and stopped by the property during the rehab to keep tabs on the progress. My experience with Angela and all of the other people involved was so positive that I have subsequently decided to pursue another deal in the Indianapolis area. (Repeat business for all of the parties involved!)
Once the rehabs were completed, it was time to contract with a property management firm and rent the property to tenants. This is yet another way that the Platinum network created value for me . . . The property management company offered a rate discount to customers from Platinum, because of all the referrals that have come in from Jason’s organization.
The net result of all this work is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house that rented out for $1,050 per month on a 12-month lease. The total cost including rehab and repairs was $69,000, and my monthly mortgage payment (including tax & insurance) is a whopping $460.57 per month. This results in a 1.5% rent to value ratio, and quite a bit of monthly cash flow. (In keeping with Jason’s “Refi Till Ya Die” strategy, this cash flow can be used to refinance the property and pull out cash for investing in more properties.)
One of the most important aspects to the “Complete Solution” offered by Empowered Investor is the properties that you do not see. The reason the properties you don’t see are so important is because Jason’s team frequently fields requests for low-quality deals that are rejected before their clients ever see them. The diligence and steadfast dedication exhibited by the team at Empowered Investor allows investors like myself to view an assortment of high-quality deals, without enduring the hassle of sifting through all of the “dogs” in hopes that somewhere in the pile of average and unremarkable deals there lives a diamond in the rough. By filtering the deals before they are presented to clients and investors, the team at Platinum provides a valuable service that saves an untold amount of time in research for potential investors. The best part about this process is that I am now free to spend my research time focusing on a few good deals, instead of sifting through pages and pages of marginal deals, resulting in a higher quality for all of my transactions.
The bottom line is that this entire deal would not have been possible without the network of contacts and local experts from Empowered Investor. Jason’s team has done the legwork to find high-quality people and properties in the targeted markets. Furthermore, they have pre-screened management companies to streamline the process of getting the properties occupied by tenants. Thus, the team truly creates a “Complete Solution” for real estate investors.