Real Estate Investing: Always Have a Back-up

Over the last two weeks, events have unfolded that have reminded me of an important truism in real estate investing.

“Always have a back-up!”

This was played out in dramatic form with a deal I’m closing tomorrow. A wholesaler friend of mine brought me this great little three bedroom one bath home tucked away on a dead end street where pride in ownership is alive and well. The electric and plumbing is already upgraded and this rehab is cosmetic with the exception of adding a bath.

I’m buying it for $52,500 and the as-repaired appraisal came in at $86,000. Not a bad spread. This is the kind of deal I like!

When I called my hard money broker, she was delighted and we moved quickly toward closing. I was only waiting on the closing time

That’s when the wheels fell off.

It seems my broker’s money source decided he was only going to invest in property valued at $250,000 or more. Yikes!

So, I went to back-up hard money broker number 1.

The broker took his timeabout 5 daysto finally tell me that he only wanted to loan about 60% of the as-repair value. No way. Not when I can do better...