![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() |
Real Estate Information |
|
![]() |
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: Americans believe real estate, gold are the best long-term investments. They're wrong, advisors say CNBC Rennie lays off 31 employees from real estate firm, cites ‘changing market’ Business in Vancouver For sale: Mid-century modern-inspired home that backs up to the Loch Raven Reservoir The Baltimore Banner Don’t Trust Your Landlord? Here’s How You Can Find More Information. The New York Times A 24-year-old learned about real estate investing on TikTok. Now he plans to convert a $2 million motel into apartments. Business Insider OT Real Estate Spotlight of the Week: 4295 Saddlebrooke Trail The Owensboro Times Senior Living More Tariff-Resistant Than Other Real Estate, Immigration Remains Big Issue Senior Housing News Brokerage Beat: News from eXp, Anywhere brands, KW, Corcoran, more Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Who's buying up Quincy real estate? What one buyer has spent $78 million in last 5 years The Patriot Ledger Montgomery County and MCB Real Estate Partner on First-Ever Tax Increment Funding to Support $2.8 Billion Investment in East County Montgomery County (.gov) Bray Real Estate releases its April 2025 numbers KKCO 11 News @properties lone star | Christie’s International Real Estate Just Listed One of Dallas’ Most Palatial Homes and We Have The Inside Peek CandysDirt.com European real estate somewhat shielded from tariff chaos Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Real estate sales in Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties for May 10, 2025 Peoria Journal Star Real estate’s winners and losers of the state budget The Real Deal Grant Cardone Shares The 4 Greatest Opportunities For Real Estate Investors: 'Lower Rates Coming' Yahoo Finance Real estate transfers recently processed in Dodge County Fremont Tribune Athens Riviera Set To Lead Europe’s Prime Real Estate Boom With Ultra-Luxury Demand In 2025 Travel And Tour World EG Real Estate: 7 New Listings & 5 Sold East Greenwich News Westmoreland County Real Estate Transfers The Latrobe Bulletin Sherley Real Estate, LLC - Ad from 2025-05-10 The Independent Record Homes.com aims to one-up Zillow with listings ‘boost’ Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Here are businesses on the move in Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties The North Bay Business Journal llinois bill looks to enshrine Clear Cooperation in state law housingwire.com ‘Wildly Inappropriate Behavior’: Real Estate Group Is Accused of Cover-ups The New York Times Property transfers: Marion County sales range from $4K to $595K The Marion Star Trump’s Migrant Crackdown Adds to Miami’s Real Estate Woes Insurance Journal Global Surge in Data Infrastructure Demand Reshapes Real Estate Landscape, Cushman & Wakefield Reports Boston Real Estate Times Tributes – part III: Giving credit where credit is due Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Turbulent times: A mixed picture in European real estate reveals signs of a changing market Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Alexander Brothers Face More Sex Crimes, Including Against Underage Girl The New York Times How’s the Market? AI and real estate The Ukiah Daily Journal Thriving in change: The value of a Realtor and top association Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com What’s next for StepStone after its record real estate fundraise? Secondaries Investor Here’s a snapshot of the area commercial real estate market in April Baton Rouge Business Report TIM SCOTT REAL ESTATE - 82410 Caledonian Record JLL announces senior leadership appointments Boston Real Estate Times Israeli veteran's Cincinnati real estate empire collapses amid fraud allegations - WCPO 9 Cincinnati Number crunching: How have top-down and bottom-up allocation strategies influenced real estate investment and performance during the past 40-odd years? Institutional Real Estate, Inc. When markets speak louder than politics: Real estate in an uncertain economy Rochester Business Journal Real Estate Transactions: Friday, May 9, 2025 Boulder Daily Camera People: Mark Nowaczewski, Sakara Ferebee join Street Commercial Real Estate Northern Nevada Business Weekly NextGen Realty Opens Worcester Office to Meet Growing Demand for Central Massachusetts Housing Boston Real Estate Times 7 unconventional ways to source your next CRE deal Orange County Register Suspect in Houston-area real estate agent's Downtown Dallas killing denied bond reduction FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth After Sierra Leone's President Took Office, His Wife and Her Family Went Real Estate Shopping Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project | OCCRP AIM Media Texas Plans to Sell Real Estate Property to UTRGV Texas Border Business Gold tops stocks as second-favorite long-term investment, real estate still no. 1 - Gallup poll Seeking Alpha Sprinkman Real Estate Announces Expansion to Meet Rising Demand in Madison Housing Market openPR.com Boston real estate firm expands into Worcester, opens Downtown office Worcester Business Journal Form 253G2 Roots Real Estate Invest StreetInsider Welcome to Real Estate Friday! The Berkshire Edge 2 Northwest Arkansas commercial real estate companies merge Talk Business & Politics Real estate transfers: 5/7 Toledo Blade Shelter Island Reporter Real Estate Transfers: May 9, 2025 Shelter Island Reporter A real-estate giant wants sellers to list their homes privately. Will homeowners benefit? MarketWatch Pope Leo XIV’s boyhood home in Dolton was on the market until Thursday. What comes next for the house remains to be seen. Chicago Tribune Norway’s sovereign wealth fund appoints Knapp as global real estate head Private Equity Real Estate | PERE |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
Real Estate Investing - The Job Escape Real estate investing is pretty unusual in lots of ways. Real estate investing is creative. Buying a House in Scotland Buying a house in Scotland is slightly different from buying a house in other parts of the UK. It's not particularly complicated, and buying north of the border can often be quicker, but for those relocating from England and Wales there are a number of points you need to bear in mind. For Sale By Owner - Use This Tip To Sell Your Home Quicker and At a Better Price Your house is for sale by owner (fsbo), Along with columns of countless other FSBO's in the Sunday paper. This one little trick will enable you to have your Ad Noticed by more potential buyers. FSBO Novel Preface PrefaceWe are For Sale By Owners, "FSBOs." We spend our time trying to sell ourselves and others on what we are doing or what we want to believe. Real Estate Investing Works In Your Area Too! I hope you had a spectacular weekend!Things have been going great here at Investor Wealth Academy,and we are very excited about some major developments coming down the line for us later this summer.More on that later. Are You Tired of Tenants, Toilets, and Trash? Wouldn't you rather go to Tahiti? Are you a landlord with rental property whose value has significantly appreciated? Are you ready to cash in those profits and take that trip to Tahiti?Before selling your property, check with your accountant whowill tell you that you will be paying $60,000 in CapitalGains Tax to Uncle Sam. Your accountant will also tell youthat adding another $20,000 to your income by that sale iscalled recaptured depreciation. Real Estate Value: Knowing yours is Key to Mortgage Success The value of the real estate you own, whether it is your personal residence or an investment property, is critical to your mortgage and financial success. If the balance on your mortgage is close to or higher than the value of your property, your real estate is not the financial machine it should be. Apres-Ski European tax haven Andorra enjoys the same fiscal benefits as better known Monaco, adding to property demand from those looking for residency in a tax shelter as well as traditional ski chalet buyers who flock to the country between December and April each year.With the end of the ski season last month many ski resorts in Europe have closed up shop until early December with overseas property owners having little prospect of rental income in the summer months. Property Investors, Scrub Your Thoughts and Start Again - Brazil, Brazil, Brazil! Brazil Property - FortalezaThe PlaceWhat to do in a place like this - You can swim, surf, dive, sail, golf, play ball, ride, explore, bargain hunt, sight see, explore, drive a dune buggy for 100 miles in any direction, or take a jeep up a steep mountain trail. You can explore environmental preserves, or just swing in a hammock and do nothing at all. Green Building Media Fact Sheet - Past, Present & Future PastSpecialized, niche home builders began constructing resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive homes in the early 1970s. The home building industry coined the phrase "green building" in the late 1980s/early 1990s, turning a movement into a quiet revolution. Selling A Home - What Attachments Stay or Go? The home selling and buying process can be confusing. This is especially true when it is a FSBO (for sale by owner) operation. What is Tax-Deferred Exchange? Under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, owners of real estate held for investment or use in a trade or business can swap their property tax-free for "like-kind" real estate.Exchanges are made for people wanting to stay invested in real estate, increase their leverage and to avoid paying hefty taxes upon the sale of property. Cheap Homes For Sale In Great Towns Good Homes Under $50,000? My wife Ana and I found cheap homes for sale all over the country during a seven-week drive, and we even bought one along the way. It was in a pretty little town in the mountains of western Montana, and it cost us $17,500. Tenant/Buyers Have Multiple Options Lease Purchasing affords the tenant/buyer a wonderful opportunity to get into a home today, that he or she can buy tomorrow. But what options are available at the end of the contract? Fortunately, Lease Purchasing provides multiple options here also. Should You Sell Your Home Yourself? Are you thinking about selling your home? Would you like to sell it by yourself instead of hiring a real estate agent? If so it would be beneficial to review the pros and cons of selling your home by yourself before hanging out the sign.PROSSelling your home without an agent means More Money. Fixer Uppers: Dont Make This Mistake Making money with "fixer-uppers" isn't about repairing drywall or planting flowers. It's about using the right approach from the start. Customer Service - The Real Estate Revolution Traditionally, real estate has been viewed as a sales industry. But perceptions are changing. Buying Property in Portugal Portugal has long been a popular choice for people, particularly from the colder climates of Northern Europe, looking to purchase a holiday home or a retirement home. Traditionally they have done so using offshore companies, mainly to avoid estate taxes. How Does Interest Rates Affect New Home Sales and Wheres The Best Place To Build? These real questions on new home starts and interest rates on real estate are answered by a US Master Builder and myself after receiving them from readers of my e-book, "Residential Development Made Easy."Question 1. Real Estate Investing Contracts on Toilet Paper Even if your real estate contract has been written on toilet paper, it's valid.Content of your real estate investing contract is what's important. ![]() |
home | site map |
© 2006 TIGER MEDIA |