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Real Estate Information |
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Dont Buy Ugly Houses!
Ugly houses can be great investments, but we don't buy them. We understand that there are lots of valid ways to make money investing in real estate. Buying and rehabbing ugly houses is certainly a good one, but we've chosen a different strategy. Our strategy is to buy good homes that are ready, or nearly ready, to move in. It has worked well and generated consistent profit deal after deal. Can't imagine getting a good deal on an attractive house? Believe it or not, there are bargains to be found because nice houses do go into foreclosure, people do move, and people still need to sell fast for a lot of different reasons. Sure, not every house we buy is beautiful and has an immaculate lawn. But you would be surprised at how many "ready to sell" houses are available at below market prices. Like anything else, it takes work and know-how to find good houses. Here are three good reasons to look for clean, attractive houses. 1. Rehab and marketing time is greatly minimized. In many cases, you can show the house even before you buy it. In fact, if a house is clean and ready to show, we insist that we be able to show it during the time between signing the contract and closing on the house. We are closing on a house in Chattanooga, TN this month that we sold before we even bought it. How did we do that? The seller was motivated because they had already purchased another house. We actually put a contract on it with the contingency that we would have it sold before we bought it! Our system of selling almost all of our houses on lease-to-purchase contracts keeps our average marketing time down to a week or two, so the contract with contingency was still very attractive to the seller. The house was ready to sell. We only spent about $500 to fix it up. We sold it through a lease-to-purchase contract before we bought it, and our profit is $14,400 on this deal. 2. There are few rehab surprises. In our experience, no matter how carefully you examine a house before you buy it, there are always unexpected expenses in the rehab phase. It's just hard to foresee some things until you begin remodeling. Of course, we prefer to keep these surprises minimized. Nice houses with little or no rehab are great for minimizing the surprise. Incidentally, this is a good reason to have a home professionally inspected before you buy it. It's also a good reason to budget some contingency funds for houses that do require remodeling.3. Free up your time. You may enjoy the rehab and remodeling, but the path to true wealth in real estate is in finding and making the deals. If you are buying nice clean houses, then your time is spent in the deal making, not in managing the remodel projects. Because we've made the choice to buy attractive homes, our profit margins may not be as extraordinary as some rehab deals might appear. We don't have any stories of buying a house for $35,000, investing $35,000 in rehab and then selling for $100,000+. Instead, our path to wealth has been through buying nice homes from motivated sellers at below market prices. We sell these houses through lease-to-purchase, or "rent-to-own" contracts at market or slightly above market prices. Our profit is generally $15,000 to $20,000 per house and our marketing time is usually less than two weeks. You can do the math and see that buying nice houses can be very profitable for an investor. In our case, we prefer to handle more deals with these consistent profit margins, than work through the added stress of ugly houses. Blake Watson is an active real estate investor,author and coach with Lucky 7 Seminars, a real estate investment training company headquartered in Chattanooga, TN. email: blake@lucky7seminars.com
MORE RESOURCES: She Found a New Way to Sell High-End Houses: Mock the Rich The New York Times The Improbable Revival of Manhattan’s 666 Fifth Avenue Office Tower The Wall Street Journal Like Real Estate? Earn 12% With AWP Seeking Alpha 'I’m not rich, but I bought 8 properties': How a Jerusalem teacher became a real estate shark Ynetnews Mel Foster Co. School of Real Estate offers pre-license courses Quad Cities Business Journal DHHL Delays ʻEwa Real Estate Swap To Make Sure Donation Isn’t ‘Dirty Land’ Honolulu Civil Beat Local real estate investment firm details positive federal tax policy changes for investors SiouxFalls.Business Richland County property transfers recorded Sept. 8-12 Mansfield News Journal Take a look at two expensive new build Squantum homes for sale: Photos The Patriot Ledger Real Estate Startup Aims to Help Clients Make Smarter, Data-Driven Decisions National Association of REALTORS® Real Estate Notes: Downtown Hilton hotel opens Nashville Post The ‘Most Colorful Home in Queens’ Has a Dark Secret The New York Times Matt Curtis Real Estate Completes 150th Home Build in Guatemala, Extending Global Mission of Service Huntsville Business Journal I'm a Real Estate Investing Pro: This Is What Investors Should Know About Truck Stop Investments Kiplinger Commercial Real Estate Roundup for Sept. 12, 2025 Idaho Business Review Real Estate Transactions, Sept. 15 edition Hopkinton Independent Calvin Harris Accuses Financial Adviser of Stealing Millions to Fund ‘Boondoggle’ Real Estate Project variety.com Bay Area’s historic Green Gables estate sells for $85 million after steep price cut San Francisco Chronicle Inside 83 South Fullerton Avenue, a Montclair Colonial Revival with historic details - Bergen Record Bill Gates former Florida mansion hit the market for $23.5 million Treasure Coast News Detroit among the best U.S. cities for first-time real estate investors ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4 Buyer in $7.5M Palm Beach house deal is daughter of late Texas oil heiress Caroline Hunt Palm Beach Daily News Property transfers: August sales range from $5K to $600K in Crawford County Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum Central Mass. real estate transfers, Sunday, Sept. 14 Worcester Telegram For $23.5 million, Bill Gates former Jupiter Island home could be yours. See photos Treasure Coast News Monroe County property transfers: Sept. 16 The Herald-Times Real Estate: September 1 to September 5 Newport This Week One of these Quincy homes could become city's most expensive sale ever The Patriot Ledger Texas now restricts Chinese nationals from buying property. Is it alien land laws all over again? The Guardian Ocean-to-lake estate hits the market at $134 million in Manalapan, south of Palm Beach Palm Beach Daily News Homes in New Hanover County sold for lower prices recently: See how much here - Wilmington Star-News Homes in New Hanover County sold for lower prices recently: See how much here Wilmington Star-News Press Release: Korrin Petersen Joins Bowditch’s Real Estate and Environmental Law Practice Bowditch & Dewey Calvin Harris Accuses Financial Advisor Of Stealing $22.5 Million For Real Estate "Boondoggle" Stereogum ‘People are getting a chance to invest in real estate’ realnoevremya.com Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CAR.UN) Confirms September 2025 Monthly Distribution Yahoo Finance Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CHP.UN) Declares C$0.064 Cash Distribution for September Yahoo Finance The 36 Top L.A. Real Estate Agents of 2025 The Hollywood Reporter Best Real Estate Projects 2025: Channel 24 The Business Journals Our newest list ranks New York's largest residential real estate brokerages Crain's New York Business A glance at Dayton's top commercial real estate transactions, totaling $18.8 million The Business Journals What will $1,500 a month rent get you on the Treasure Coast? Best value is in Fort Pierce Treasure Coast News HAR.com Expands to Include Commercial Real Estate Listings Realty News Report University of Alabama business school receives $5 million donation The Tuscaloosa News 66K-sf property near Rice Village sold Texas Real Estate Research Center Dunlap & Moran real estate attorney named to Best Lawyers in America 2025 Sarasota Herald-Tribune AI and analytics key to navigating ‘exciting inflection point’ in real estate, UBS CIO says Pensions & Investments Homes in St. Joseph County sold for lower prices recently: See how much here South Bend Tribune Churches tackle 'ambitious' growth plans with real estate The Business Journals 261-unit River House along River Walk sold Texas Real Estate Research Center Calvin Harris Accuses His Financial Adviser of $22M Theft: ‘Absolutely Breached That Trust’ Billboard Inside Savannah Homes: 3 fully furnished condos overlooking Chippewa Square for $6.995M Savannah Morning News Best Real Estate Projects 2025: Sutter Health Park Upgrades for MLB Play The Business Journals Hawthorne Capital Named Fastest-Growing Real Estate Company in the Americas by Financial Times Business Wire Navigating home inspections, objections and appraisals in Colorado real estate The Chaffee County Times Strive305: Tico Casamayor & Irvans Augustin Talk Real Estate with Natalee Lima & Denise Sainz Miami's Community News Rare two-family waterfront home in Fairhaven sells for $1M. Weekly home sales SouthCoastToday.com Basin Street Properties names new leaders amid restructuring The Press Democrat Signs of more affordability, inventory in mid-Hudson Valley real estate market this fall Times Herald-Record |
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