1. 47 Comment(s)

2. By Violet Strike (2 comments) | Reply

   JP, You! are just awesome!! Thank you for your kind wisdom!!! I appreciate you!
   Violet Strike 715-256-1801

3. By Demos Loizides (3 comments) | Reply

   JP,

   Your videos and forms are great. I look forward to each new one.

   Thanks for all your time in creating them.

   Happy Thanksgiving!

   Demos

4. By Ken (9 comments) | Reply

   Hey JP,

   Thanks for the latest video (Carving Up The Real Estate Contract Assignment) GREAT Info and GREAT Presentation. I am a newbie and I have questions about sellers reactions to assigning contracts.

   1. How do sellers react when you first tell them someone else will be buying their house?

   2. Do they freak when they see someone else at the closing table?

   3. Do you tell them up front that you will be assigning the contract?

   I understand how the process works, but I don’t hear much from the Guru’s about sellers reactions or the objections from assigning. I would appreciate any clarity you could give on this matter. Thanks again! Love the website. Lot’s of strong info.

5. By Grace Stroup (2 comments) | Reply

   11/26/08

   Hi JP. how are you doing? happy Thanksgiving by the way.

   I just wanted to say thank you for your tips, I think they are wonderful, and I love your picture of you and your beautiful baby, really nice, I love your crystal clear voice and cheerfulness.

   I am a living-caregiver to a 94 to be 2/2/09 Lady, and I am 63- 64 in 3/9/09 And when the Lady passes I would like to do whole sales, what I think I like is because you don’t have to live your home, that is something I am looking for. do you think I can do it?

   God Bless you and your fam.

   Grace Stroup

6. By Don (1 comments) | Reply

   Hi Jp,

   Thanks for the info. It is a great help. Keep up the good work. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

   Don

7. By greg Lazzaro (1 comments) | Reply

   Greg Lazzaro
   jp realy like the info,i have a question? when we are wholesaling a deal to flip using the the assignment contract do we have to pull title or do a title search,before we flip it,please respond thanks.

8. By Dub (2 comments) | Reply

   Absolutely Amazing JP! Keep Them Coming!

9. By JP Moses (111 comments) | Reply

   @greg Lazzaro

   Hi, Greg.

   I typically have my closing attorney start title work as soon as I feel like I have a viable deal. If I’m not sure if it’s a deal or not, I’ll hold off on title work until the deal solidifies. But if I’m pretty sure it’s a deal, it’s full speed ahead from the start, including having title work under way.

   My investor/buyer pays for it at closing…but I try to make sure the process gets started as soon as practical. No need to dilly dally.

   Hope that helps…

   …jp

10. By JP Moses (111 comments) | Reply

    @Grace Stroup – Hi, Grace – yes, you can do it! But I definitely recommend you invest in your education on the topic.

    My suggestion: Start with a book or two. Just a paperback on wholesaling you can pick up at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, etc. Ron Legrand has a good paperback.

    After that, if you’re still game, then try either Preston Ely’s $50 e-book or if you’re feeling frisky, go for Steve Cook’s Wholesaling for Quick Cash (http://REItips.com/wholesalingforquickcash) – it’s in my opinion one of the best courses to teach you in a no-fluff way the solid nuts and bolts of wholesaling.

    There are some other great educational resources on the topic. If you encounter any and have questions about them, feel free to ask. I haven’t read all of them, but alot of them I have and I’ll always give you my honest opinion either way.

    Hope that helps!

    …jp

11. By JP Moses (111 comments) | Reply

    @Ken – Great question, Ken!

    I’ve honestly never had them worry one bit over it. It’s just a non-issue. I usually just set them up in our first “meeting of the minds” together by saying something like this…

    “Just so you know, when we go to closing we’ll probably have my partner close in his name instead of mine…it just works out better that way sometimes. Of course it won’t change a thing in terms of our agreement here…it would just be his name instead of mine on the closing paperwork and he’d be the one showing up at closing…it’s just typically works out better that way.”

    With saying something along those lines, I’ve never had anyone (in over a hundred wholesale deals) do anything other that smile congenially and say, “OK, no problem.”

    And for the record, I make no bones about referring to whomever I’ll be assigning the contract to as “my partner”…because in a very real sense, they are my partner for this deal. It doesn’t matter if we’ve done a dozen deals together or this is our only one, he/she is “my partner”…it’s just easy for sellers to understand. I see NO NEED to go into an education on the art of wholesaling with them.

    Does that answer your question, Ken?

    …jp

12. By James (1 comments) | Reply

    JP, your tips, videos, and forms are fantastic and have been extremely helpful.
    My question: Do you have a REAL good “Letter of Intent” I could use for purchasing real estate, residential and apartment buildings?
    Thanks for your help.

13. By Ken (9 comments) | Reply

    @JP Moses – Yes and Thank you. We have a local title company doing e-closings. I guess this is where neither the buyer nor seller shows up at the attorneys office to close. Have you done this before and if so how did you like it?

14. By JP Moses (111 comments) | Reply

    @Ken – No, I’ve never been part of an e-closing. I’d be interested to hear how it goes if you do it though.

    …jp

15. By JP Moses (111 comments) | Reply

    @James – James, it’s been a long time since I’ve attempted an offer on an apartment building and I used a contract at the time.

    I’ve got a letter of intent I’ve used in Residential situations in the past, but it’s just one I wrote myself…and frankly I rarely use it. Realtors don’t tend to take them seriously in the residential arena, and if you’ve got an inspection contingency in your contract, I don’t see a big case for not just putting it on a 1-page contract.

    But that’s just me personally. I’ll put out a video on my “letter of intent” sometime soon.

    …jp

16. By Bob Cheney (1 comments) | Reply

    JP – Love these tips. I understand the philosophy of waiting until closing to get paid, but does it make sense to get a non-refundable small (10%) deposit from your buyer. Or I guess a similar question would be have you ever had a buyer walk out of the deal before it closed, and what were the consequences?. Keep em coming. Thanks

17. By JP Moses (111 comments) | Reply

    @Bob Cheney – Great question, Bob.

    I’ve only ever asked for a deposit once. And it was someone I wasn’t sure I felt I could trust…just because I didn’t know him. So I politely told him the deal needed $1,000 earnest money that the closing attorney would hold and would be either refunded to him or applied to my profits at closing when all the checks (including mine) are cut by the closing attorney.

    And I’m not sure, but I think we just wrote it into the assignment agreement at the time.

    And I’ve only ever had one buyer mess me over…and it was my own fault in the end. I “trusted” him and didn’t put our assignment agreement in writing. (It was really early on). And guess what?…he stiffed me and claimed we never had a deal in the first place.

    Shame on me for not covering my own bases.

    …jp

18. By Tim Cronin (4 comments) | Reply

    I would take at least half if not all the assignment fee up front,non-refundable, to make sure the assignee closes, and make it clear to them that they must be able to close.

19. By Greg White (1 comments) | Reply

    I’ve heard the term “Flex Option” being used. Where in these contracts specifically is the phraseolgy that distinguishes the contract as a “Flex Option”.

    From JP: Greg, I’m pretty sure “flex option” is a term Tim Mai made up. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I make up words all the time. Like boogerbear.

    He told me one time it’s basically just a regular option agreement, but you tell the optionor that if he finds someone else to sell to on better terms, either you’ll let him out of the option altogether. Hence the “flex” part.

    If anyone knows differently, please step up. But I’m pretty sure that’s how he explained it to me. But it was about a year ago or so.

    …jp

20. By Rachel (3 comments) | Reply

    Great explanation about the assignee contract. Thanks.

21. By tom (3 comments) | Reply

    I notice the more experienced wholesalers get at least $1,000.oo e-money and some record an affidavit of agreement between Seller and Assignor. Guess your relationship with the parties involved would dictate the need for extra insurance.

    From JP: Yeah, I’d say your existing relationship coupled with how many times you have or haven’t been burned in the past.

22. By Tarin Hartsfield (1 comments) | Reply

    Thank you for the info. Right now I’m a novice but I hope soon I will have at least one deal done.

23. By Donald (2 comments) | Reply

    Thanks for the info. Ill be returning soon as you cover alot of valuable areas.

24. By Dustin (1 comments) | Reply

    Hey JP

    I am a newbie to real estate wholesaling. I am still building up my buyers list. I don’t have a real estate attorney yet, and a lack of funds prohibits me from pay anything up front for one. Should i use my buyers attorney at closing? Also any tips on quickly building a buyers list?

    Hi, Dustin. I recommend trying to use an attorney who’s familiar with investor transactions as often as possible. In fact even better is to develop a relationship with one or two you can do closing after closing with. These people become a strategic alliance and important part of your “team”.

    But in the end, better to close with your buyers attorney than not close at all, eh?

    Your real estate attorney is typically paid for his/her services in closing your transaction at the closing table from whatever funds have been provided to fund your transaction. If you’re borrowing private money, try to borrow enough to cover your closing costs. That, or save up, man.

    If you’re talking about hiring a real estate attorney for some other purpose, you’ll have to clarify.

    Re: building your buyer’s list quickly, that’s a whole blog post unto itself. But I’ll tell you that I built mine fast by posting an add for a 3br/2ba fixer upper in Sunday’s “Investment Property for Sale” section of the paper. Then when calls came in, I told them regrettably that this house isn’t available anymore, it was snatched up by another local investor. “…But I also come across similar deals from time to time…would you like me to call you personally on the next one, before I publish it?”

    That simple ad and system got me around 20 folks to start off with. Then I got all the buyers I’d ever need by networking at my local REIA group as well.

    Hope that helps!

    …jp

25. By Demetri (7 comments) | Reply

    JP,
    I just found this website today and I have to say it’s pretty amazing. My question is when assigning a Purchase contract are you disclosing the amount of the assignment fee. The reason I ask is because what if the amount 50k or above.

    From JP: Hi, Demetri. When you assign a contract, I’m pretty sure there’s no way around your profit being out in the open to some extent. However if you do a double closing – where there’s actually two different closings back to back, an “A-to-B” and a “B-to-C” (you’re “B”) then you could feasibly have your profit not so obvious. Of course, your purchase price would still be a matter of public record for those that would search for it, but at least it’s not rubbed in the nose of your buyer at the time of closing.

    …jp

26. By Jim (7 comments) | Reply

    Hi JP,

    I had a question, when you use a option contract – then find a buyer to assign the contract to.

    I am guessing you are going back and having them sign a purchase contract (either the one you offer or board contract)? then get the assignment signed by the final buyer

    Is this correct?

    Thanks for your help!
    Jim
    

    From JP: Great question, Jim.

    I guess you could do that. But I think it’s just easier to assign your position in the option contract.

    Make sense?

    …jp

27. By Demetri (7 comments) | Reply

    @Demetri – How are investors with wholesalers making big assignment fees or does it just depend on how big the deal is or is there a certain percentage for the assignment fee that you should strve for?

    There isn’t a “standard” per se. It’s all in how good of a deal you can get and what you can negotiate. I’d also say it has something to do with how much you feel you’re worth.

    Admittedly for years I was only getting $1,000 a pop on average per deal I wholesaled. But that was b/c I didn’t see myself as worth enough, so I was only doing marginal deals and/or passing more profit along to the next guy than I needed to.

    Most investors I know commonly strive for $5,000 min per wholesale deal, and many won’t look for less than $10,000. Steve Cook is one of them.

    …jp

28. By Demetri (7 comments) | Reply

    Sorry but I forgot one last question my last comment. So there are 3 contracts that need to be signed when assigning a contract right? The original Purchase Contract(Seller to Wholesaler), Assignment Contract (Wholesaler to Rehabber, Investor, etc.) and Purchase Contract(Wholesaler and Rehabber, Investor, etc.)?

    No, when you’re assigning a contract, you just sign a purchase and sale agreement between you and the seller, then an assignment agreement, turning your interest over to your investor/buyer.

    Make sense?

    …jp

29. By Demetri (7 comments) | Reply

    @Demetri –

    Thanks JP. You are the man!

30. By Demetri (7 comments) | Reply

    When wanting to sign a purchase contract, most Realtors want a pre-approval letter. Is there any way of getting around this? I want to assign a contract to a ready investor. When I make an all cash offer, won’t I need to show proof of funds when doing that or should I just go the standard route by saying that I am working on financing through my broker???

    Hi, Demetri. Yes, it’s true that most Realtors worth their salt will ask for a pre-approval letter before submitting your offer. Though in today’s market, you’ll find them increasingly willing to consider ANY offer that’s put in front of them, because they’re desperate for some action. FDIC listed properties have even started accepting verbal offers if you can believe that.

    Here’s the deal: As a wholesaler, even though you don’t plan to actually OWN the property, you should still be able to close if you had to. This means you need to source some funding of some sort in order to be able to stand behind your offers. That’s my opinion anyway. You can’t, with integrity, say you’re able to close on an all-cash deal unless you really have access to that cash, either through private funding, a friend, HELOC or something.

    Bob Norton is a private lender and he talked much about that in our second call session, which you can listen to free here if you like.

    If you honestly can’t get a prequal letter from someone…anyone…then you might want to consider dealing with option contracts instead of purchase agreements. And making fewer offers where Realtors are involved. I have yet to ever have an actual homeowner (non-licensed) ask me for proof of funding, and I always just tel them “We’ll most likely be closing this in one of my partners’ names”. And they never seem to bat an eyelash.

    Hope that helps – thanks for the question.

    …jp

31. By Waren (1 comments) | Reply

    I can not down load your forms, other then that thank you for your knowledge its very good.

    Waren, what are you experiencing? Can you be more specific? They’re Microsoft Word forms, so you’ll need Microsoft Office or Open Office in order to open them.

    My best,

    …jp

32. By Demetri (7 comments) | Reply

    What if you run into a contract with a Non-Assigabilty Clause. I know that you can purchase the property in the name of an LLC and then sell the company for that assignment fee, but what would you call that fee on the HUD1?

33. By Ed (5 comments) | Reply

    Thank you for sharing JP. Videos and forms are both outstanding. Production value on the videos is first class.
    Best regards,
    Ed

34. By maurice (1 comments) | Reply

    in wholesaling when i put a option on a property do i still need to jump on the title process or should i just let my buyer start it when i assign the it to him ?also should i use a assignment of option or assignment of purchase agreement ?

    Hi, Maurice. Personally I don’t usually spend time/effort on the title work until/unless I have an interested buyer…and if it’s an assignment you’re using, then an assignment of option would be what you’d want to use to assign it.

    My best,

    …jp

35. By jason (4 comments) | Reply

    JP,
    What do you think of Thomas Lucier’s book “How to make money with Real Estate Options” as an educational read?
    Thanks!

    I’ve never read it! What do you think about it?

36. By jason (4 comments) | Reply

    I went ahead and got the book, I am about halfway through it. It has opened my eyes up to using options in ways that I never thought about. So it has helped me to think more creatively. I will give more feedback when I finish!

37. By Jared (19 comments) | Reply

    Does the assignment agreement have to be used with an order to puchase contract?

    I’m not sure what an “order to purchase contract” is. Do you mean a purchase and sale agreement? If so, you’ll probably want to replace the option with an actual P&S when you decide to exercise your option. That’s what I’ve done. Not sure if you have to or not…I just do.

    …jp

38. By Jared (19 comments) | Reply

    Should there be an “as-is” statement on the contract or is it not needed?

    Hi, Jared.

    An “as is” statement isn’t needed…because it’s your option whether to purchase or not. This is a unilaterial agreement, not bilateral. Basically means the seller’s contractually stuck with you if you (at your option) decide to buy during the contract…but you’re not obligated to. Hence the name. That’s all the “out” you need.

    Hope that helps!

39. By Jared (19 comments) | Reply

    Thank you,by the way,for having this web site. It is really helpful to someone who is new in some of these areas. I believe this site will be very helpful to me to expand my buisiness. It is deeply appreciated that someone would share this information when most investors would keep it a big secret. Bless you J.P.

40. By Jared (19 comments) | Reply

    When I ask about the “as-is” on the contract I was refering to the wholesaling of a contract to another person.

41. By Jared (19 comments) | Reply

    When wholesaling a property would you only need the assignment contract page or the options page to do the transaction with the buyers and sellers and which do you recommend?

42. By Jared (19 comments) | Reply

    Yes, it is the same as a Purchase and sales agreement. You will probably undrestand what i’m wanting to know in my question on wholesaling. thanks

43. By Michael (2 comments) | Reply

    What I heard of the assignment of contract was great, BUT the second video stopped playing at about 6 min 41 sec.

44. By Verice (1 comments) | Reply

    Do you have a clear contract assignment?

    I don’t understand, Verice. After watching the videos above, is the 1-pager I’m giving you here not clear to you?

    …jp

45. By Samuel (1 comments) | Reply

    hello um honestly I’ve been searching for the agreement and still have yet to find it I even searched dodeals.com and searched for the agreement which was included in one of the forms in the bonus section I was going througha nd sadly I didn’t find it please if anyone can give me a link to it or a way to get it or fax it to me that would be much appreciated

    Hi, Samuel. In right the blog post above, my friend.

    But hey, here’s a shortcut for you: Just CLICK THIS LINK and the form will download right to your computer. Easy as pie

    My best,

    …jp

46. By John stigers (1 comments) | Reply

    In the purchase of sell agreement there is one line for the buyer and two lines for the seller. Do I sign as the buyer and have the seller sign twice?

    Hi, John. No actually the two lines for the seller is in case there are two sellers…as in husband and wife, or whatever.

    …jp

47. By Erin (1 comments) | Reply

    Hi JP,

    With regard to contract assignments, I’m confused about what my responsibilities are as opposed to my potential investor’s responsibilities; and the timing of everything. Your input for the following would be much appreciated:

    So after you get the seller to sign the Equity Purchase Agreement…

    1. Who sets up (and possibly pays for) the contractor’s estimate for repairs? You or your potential investor you will flip it to?

    Hi, Erin. I estimate my repairs myself for the most part. I might bring my contractor in for an assessment on something everyone once in a great while if I’m uncomfortable with it for some reason…but even that can be handled with a quick phone call most of the time. I typically provide my rough repair estimates to my buyer if I’m quick flipping a deal via assignment…but always urging them to do their own repair estimates and take mine with a grain of salt. What is a $10k rehab to me might be a $5k rehab to another guy and a $15k rehab to another. But don’t spend money on it – my opinion.

    2. Who obtains and pays for the termite report if one hasn’t been completed recently? You or your potential investor?

    Definitely the end buyer. I’ll do a visual inspection for termites myself, as part of my own assessment. But unless I have a real reason to suspect termites, I’ll leave that piece of due diligence to the end buyer I’ll be assigning to.

    3. With regard to researching clear title, should you specifically order a “Preliminary Title Report” or can you research it another way?

    Personally I just make sure the contract is contingent upon clear title (most always are) and then let the closing title company let me know if there are any problems. They’ll be running full title for the sake of the buyer’s title insurance.

    4. Who orders and pays for the Title Insurance?

    Around here it’s the end buyer…but I guess anyone technically could. If for some reason you wanted to include it as a benefit of the deal that you’re paying for all closing costs including the buyer’s title insurance…then you could. But I never have. It’s just part of the buyer’s closing costs in my mind.

    5. If the buyer is supposed to reimburse you for these things, is it on top of your finder’s fee?

    Try to avoid things you need to be “reimbursed” for. Just set a fee you want to make, and if you have any expenses to incur (which should be rare and few) then be sure you’re making enough money to feel OK with eating those expenses — consider them covered by your gross profit. Make sense?

    Thanks!
    -Erin

48. By Trent Nieffenegger (1 comments) | Reply

    JP,

    Thank you for your generosity in offering such valuable forms. I did a quick scan and found a few that I can implement right away. Keep up the great job of “paying it forward” for those of us two steps behind you.

    God Speed,

    Trent Nieffenegger

Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.