Everyone knows that those fixer-uppers could normally be obtained at below market prices. That is the good news. The bad news is that even acquiring a fixer-upper property demands cash, which many newbie property investors simply do not have available.
A answer is to take advantage of a lease option to get into a fixer-upper property, make make monthly payments in cash while you’re performing repairs on the home, and then sell the house to a new purchaser for profit before the lease option period has expired. It’s often worthwhile to attempt to hold the property for a minimum of 6 months or 9 months, in order to give yourself or your subcontractors sufficient time to finish the repairs and then for a home buyer to purchase and close on the fixer-upper before your option is up.
If the house is so damaged as to be uninhabitable, consider extending the owner a lower rent, but assert that all of the rent be applied to the purchase price at closing. This is a terrific way to acquire a strong equity position in the real property without needing to put a lot of money down to start. That also allows for you to take your investment money and use it for repairs.
An offshoot of this scheme would be to find someone who is good with tools to rent the property with the intention of buying at the end of the option period. Every contract will be different, but you can offer 100% of their rent to go toward their down payment, particularly if you are obtaining that agreement on the underlying lease.
Selling this idea to the property seller is often much more simplified than you may expect. After all, you are going to be doing some repairs on the real property substantially, hoping recovering your investment and making a profit. If you fail to achieve that, what’s the worst thing that could happen, from the home seller’s view? They obtain the property back, with at least some, and perhaps a hefty amount of the needed fixes and upgrades finished, thereby increasing the value and desirability of the property!
So if you have great ideas about becoming a realty investor, but find yourself short on cash to get going, one splendid way can be to consider finding a fixer-upper and then offering the home seller a lease option arrangement. It can prove to be a win-win for everyone involved. The house sellers get their money, the purchaser gets a nicely revamped house, and you get to keep a healthy profit, without having had to put up a significant amount of cash!