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Hi CashFlowDepot folk! I just got a call/lead from our Investor Carrot website. This guy has a house he needs to sell in a very small town. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Kansas City. It is a 3/2 house but I don’t know the value. He owes $35k approximately but I’m not sure the house is worth it.
I need suggestions on what to do with these kind of leads. Do I call a local realtor? Do I try to virtual/online buy/sell this house? Is there someone else who wants this lead? (referral fee?) I’d love to buy some cheap real estate but I’d prefer something a bit closer to home unless I find a way to do it virtually.
Open to all suggestions. Thanks!
HI Darcy
Contact Ben Souchek, a cashflowdepot member. He buys in that area and will pay you a nice referral fee.
It’s harder to sell houses in small towns that are more than an hour away from a major metro area. It’s not impossible, but it is harder.
Small town America can be troublesome. I get leads from my carrot site all the time from tiny towns 100-1000 people out in the middle of no ware. Other than a few bigger metro areas Illinois is very rural. I wish I had an answer. I really feel for these people that I can not help out. I have two under contract now, but I tell the people no guarantee. The closest investors will not touch. I have resorted to craigslist ads. No results yet but less than a week with the ads. Don’t have the time for HBS and my results have been very poor in the past with HBS in very rural settings. Just not enough bodies around.
Of course all suggestions are welcome..
Darcy, I can understand the reports above about the difficulties with small town properties. My own mother ended up selling a piece of land to a longtime neighbor after other attempts she tried flatout failed. After she died, there was the farm house on a piece of crop land to dispose of. I tried exploring the subject with an out-of-county realtor, but with whom I was NOT ready to sign a contract. That didn’t stop him from driving out to the farm house and terrifying my renters with his no-notice but all-too-gleeful announcement that he was going to be “their” realtor — with ZERO authorization whatsoever. They phoned me in tears and moved out ASAP. I was disgusted. In the country, a vacant house is a flag-waving open invitation to thieves and looters.My experience with small town America is that they have far more respect for really honest licensed auctioneers than they do with realtors. I shopped for the local auctioneer with the best reputation, and he handled the process quickly and efficiently. I can understand Don Wede’s HBS difficulties where he would be an unknown in such a community that’s very sensitive to outsiders. I can’t say that would be the case all over the country — I’m just relating my personal experience.
–Dee
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Dee,
I like your idea about an auctioneer. I agree that you’re right about small towns, they don’t warm up to “outsiders” very quickly. I also agree that leaving a farm house vacant is a sign for thieves. We lived out in the mountains in New Mexico years ago and I heard stories of thieves backing their trucks up to houses in the daytime and stealing everything with no worries as the house was “secluded” in the woods. No one around to report it!
It’s good to know that it’s not just about numbers as it is location too. I also think it’s best to not stray too far from home. An hour or so drive should be as far away as I’d feel comfortable with owning or managing property.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions. All is appreciated.
Darcy
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