How $20,000 ‘Junk’ Under Market Value Properties Make Me Rich

Many under market value real estate investors cannot believe that I have become very wealthy by buying and selling below market value ‘junk’ houses for $20,000 or $30,000. The fact is, I have bought and sold hundreds of these distressed properties in the last 15 years in San Antonio TX.

There always is very strong demand for these little, profitable under market value houses. We have so many blue collar, Hispanic workers here who have rented forever and want to buy a house but do not have credit. I consider it a great opportunity to work with these people so that they can buy their own house.

Just because the house is unattractive to you or I does not mean it does not hold value for some buyers. Most of my under market value buyers are contractors, and they can repair the house and turn it into a very livable little home. These are great little houses for the out of state investment property investor. Note that the house is always sold at fair market value, never above fair market value.

For example, the house below was said by some people to be worthy of a tear down. They are not wise investors; I have been criticized on ‘investor websites’ such as Bigger Pockets for this type of investing. Frankly, they are fools – conventional thinking, 20% down, rental property investors.

I have made a few million dollars off of these ‘junk’ owner finance properties that many so-called ‘investors’ overlook, and provide a house for a hard working person to live in. But note – investing in under market value properties and owner financing them takes cash. It’s an advanced investing system for out of state property investors with cash.

Most of my  blue collar worker buyers had rented for years, and some of them had truly ‘slumlord’ type landlords; I’ve heard the stories from my buyers. Buying a house via owner financing such as this can be a better option for some workers, as long as the house is priced at fair market value.

Here are the details:

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$20,000 cash purchase, $5000 in rehab, 65 DOM, sold for $39,900 owner finance (Fair Market Value), ROI 12%.

This is an example of our lower priced affordable home, but still an excellent investment in property. These houses will sell in our neighborhoods in San Antonio TX. It is a 4/1 on Colima Ave. in the 78207 zip code. It was purchased by the out of state investment property investor for $20,000 cash, which was well under market value. He had it repainted in and out and the door secured, and other minor fixes. That cost him $5000 total in repairs.

Houses in this range and location do not require major repairs and upgrades to resell.

We then sold the house with owner financing to a qualified end buyer. The buyer was qualified according to SAFE Act – documented income, tax returns, pay stubs, employment verified. All Dodd Frank underwriting rules were followed.

Terms:

  • $3000 down
  • $400 per month PI/TI
  • 30 year amortization
  • 10% interest (legal in TX – sorry Bigger Pockets!)
  • No prepayment penalty
  • No balloon
  • Final price: $39,900 (FMV)
  • ROI: 12%

Note: The final price for the owner finance buyer is FMV and DOES NOT constitute ‘predatory lending,’ which is illegal per Dodd Frank regulations. Sold comps in the neighborhood on properties of similar size, age and condition are approximately $39,900 to $49,900 – if elec and water work and roof is not leaking.

A CMA was run on similar houses within a two mile radius. Max value in that area for similar houses is $99,900 for an immaculate property that has been updated.

More photos of this below market value property:

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It has been occupied by a blue collar, owner finance buyer for a year, and I know that many repairs have been made to it. All the while, it has returned 12% ROI of passive income to the investor.

Buying and selling these little ‘junk’ under market value properties has been very good to me, and can be for you, too. You also can buy nicer homes here in San Antonio and do the same thing, if this type of property is not your cup of tea – such as this under market value property.