"Flip This House" Las Vegas Style

I have been an avid fan of “Flip This House” since it debuted several years ago on A&E. I have watched as Than Merrill, Rudy Martinez, and the rest of the gang flipped foreclosures for profit in cities across the U.S. And sometimes, I’ve wondered to myself, where do they find these guys? Some of the decisions that I watch being made on the show are questionable at best, and the outcomes often seem a little...hmm, shall we say, overly optimistic? Many times, when they tally the expenses at the end of the show, there seem to be quite a few fees that are left out of the equation in order to make it look like the flips turned a profit, or perhaps a larger profit than they actually did.

As the marketing director for Team Plantone of Wynn Realty, I work for a house flipper here in Las Vegas that I would bet puts up numbers that can rival any of the stars on “Flip This House.” I have worked with Glenn Plantone for the last four years, and have watched him grow his team and refine his methods to best serve his investor clients. Last year, Glenn successfully flipped 31 properties in Las Vegas, mostly foreclosures and short sales, and this year he is on track to double or triple that figure.

Glenn actually has a very unique method for acquiring, flipping and reselling properties. Glenn starts by acquiring the properties either through short sales, at the foreclosure auction, or post-foreclosure through bank-owned REOs. Once the properties have been purchased, like the flipper on “Flip This House”, Glenn rehabs the properties to better than new condition. At this point, the similarities end. Most flippers, including those on the show “Flip This House”, liquidate their renovated properties to traditional owner-occupant buyers. Glenn takes the system a step further; by first, placing long term renters or lease option tenants in the rehabbed property; and second, selling the property as a turn-key investment property to his investor clients.

Since Las Vegas has led the nation in foreclosures for the last several years, there are many displaced families looking for rental housing. Glenn’s method provides these families with quality, affordable housing. Simultaneously, Las Vegas continues to be a hot spot for investors looking to capitalize on historically low home prices and high rates of cash flow return. Glenn’s method provides them with turn-key investment properties that couldn’t be easier to own...they are already renovated, professionally managed, and have a cash-flowing tenant in place by the time Glenn offers them for sale to his investors.

I have really enjoyed working with Team Plantone over the last several years and watching a true flipping professional in action. Maybe the “Flip This House” producers will take notice some day. After all, Glenn is posting numbers that should make him the number one buying agent in all of Las Vegas this quarter. Until then, we’ll continue to do our thing...flipping houses, Las Vegas style.

If you are interested in purchasing one of Glenn’s turn-key flips or, if you are interested in investing with Glenn, please contact him for more information.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty
(702) 656-3264
gsplantone@gmail.com

www.glennplantone.com or www.vegasforeclosures.blogspot.com

Bank of America to Resume Foreclosures After Final Quarter Hiatus

Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage service company since acquiring Countrywide in 2008, announced that they will resume foreclosing on homes Wednesday, December 1st. This comes after the banking giant self-imposed a foreclosure moratorium in the wake of the “robo-signing” scandal that received wide spread media attention in 2009. While this news is undoubtedly another blow to beleaguered homeowners, it comes none too soon for investors looking to purchase post foreclosure properties. In the final quarter of 2010, investors have found slim pickings at Trustees’ Sale auctions across the country.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also made an announcement on November 24th that they will resume the auction sale of homes that have loans serviced by Bank of America, Chase, PNC Financial and others.

The last several years have seen several cessations and moratoriums on foreclosure proceedings that have caused the pool of available investment properties to dry up until the next wave of foreclosures begins. Many agents have struggled during these times to find suitable properties for their clients. My unique approach to securing homes for my investor clients has insured that we at Wynn Realty Group have actually thrived during these past several years of market flux.

We focus on purchasing properties wherever the best deals are available at the time. This includes Trustees’ Sale acquisitions, short sales, traditional listings and REOs. Once we purchase a property, we perform the necessary rehab and find a lease option tenant. We sell the properties to our investor clients as turn-key, hands off investment opportunities. The properties are already rented to a lease option tenant with CAP rates of between 10-14%. This provides investors with a low risk, low maintenance property with high appreciation potential and built in equity. We also offer partnership opportunities for investors looking to finance our rehabs for an even larger annualized rate of return.

As an example, we recently purchased a 4 bedroom home, 1800+ square feet, only three years old for $84,100 at the Trustees’ Sale. We resold the property only 17 days from the purchase date for $110,000. This particular home did not need any rehab and my investor partner made an amazing 288% annualized return on his money.

A second deal was a 1454 square foot town home with 2 car attached garage (also built in 2007) that we purchased for $70,100. After a quick clean up, we placed a long term renter in the property and resold it 40 days from acquisition date for $88,000. We partnered with an investor on this deal who saw a $6000 return on his money in a little over a month.

We can fully document all of the 24 flips that we have completed just this year alone! If you are interested in purchasing turn-key, high quality investment properties with renter in place; or if you like the idea of partnering on our rehab projects, please contact me to talk about real estate opportunities here in Las Vegas.

Wynn Realty Group and Glenn Plantone - Go With the Flow!

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

Glenn Plantone is the 4th Busiest Buyers’ Agent in All of Clark County, Nevada!

Based on official escrow data for Clark County, Glenn Plantone is the 4th Busiest Buyers’ Agent in all of Clark County, Nevada for the third quarter of 2010. In the third quarter, Glenn closed on 17 properties for his buyers. (This doesn’t count the additional properties that Glenn listed and sold as a seller’s agent.)

Glenn Plantone specializes in identifying excellent investment opportunities for his investor clients in the greater Las Vegas area. Recent data has shown that over 50% of all current buyers in the Las Vegas market are investors, and this is the niche that Glenn has chosen to focus on. He currently represents buyers from China, Canada, and all across the United States and specializes in helping these out-of-town investors purchase turn-key real estate investments in Las Vegas with CAP rates upwards of 12%.

Glenn has recently moved to Wynn Realty Group in order to spearhead a new branch office completely devoted to understanding investors and catering to their needs. Glenn and his team buy and sell houses, condos, townhomes, and high rise condo units. They do short sale flips and purchase properties for investors at the Trustees’ Sale. They work with owner carried financing and negotiate short sale listings with an in-house negotiator. They also have a property management division dedicated to handling investors needs and making it easy for investors from all over the world to own cash-flowing property in Las Vegas.

Of course, Glenn is always welcoming new clients, so if you are looking to invest in this exceptional Las Vegas market, please contact Glenn for more information. However, Glenn is also currently seeking dedicated, motivated agents for his expanding office. Glenn currently has more leads than he can handle and he needs to bring a few good Las Vegas real estate agents onto the team to help close deals. If you are such an agent and would like to increase your income substantially, come speak to Glenn about working with the company that follows the flow of the Las Vegas real estate market.

Wynn Realty Group and Glenn Plantone - Go With the Flow!

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

CNN Money Labels Glenn Plantone One of the New Vulture Investors? Oh Well, I’ve Been Called Worse

They say any publicity is good publicity, and I couldn’t agree more. So when CNNMoney.com featured me in an article titled “Vulture Investors: They're Back - And Making a Bundle” I was...well... pleased. If by vulture, they are implying that I am swooping in to find life and profit in properties that are regarded by many as dead and worthless, then I can live with that analogy. And they certainly are right about investors in this market being able to make a bundle. I believe we are currently living in the best real estate buying climate since the Great Depression...perhaps better.

So, it is with great pride, that I re-post excerpts from the CNNMoney.com article:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- These are the glory days of the residential real estate investor. Low prices, rock-bottom interest rates and stable rental markets have created huge buying opportunities.

Although conditions are very favorable, investors have to be adaptable because the market is evolving rapidly... Foreclosure auctions are no longer a fertile hunting ground... Tanya Marchiol of Team Investments, which has operations in about 10 states but focuses mostly on the Phoenix market, says, “"Amateurs have come in and run up the prices. In 2009 I bought 76 properties at foreclosure auctions, at an average of about 60 cents on the market dollar. This year, I've bought four."

Glenn Plantone faces a similar situation in Las Vegas. A veteran real estate broker and investor, he has switched from buying mostly foreclosures and repossessions to short sales almost exclusively. That's because the inventory of distressed properties available in Vegas is way down, to about a two-week supply.

"The banks make better profits with short sales, so they're not foreclosing," Plantone said. "They've switched staff to processing short sales and they've gotten faster at processing them."
He tries to purchase properties for at least 10% less than what he considers to be true market value, then he does some light rehabilitation and sells them to some of the 3,000 buyers he works with.

Since prices have fallen about 70% in some Vegas communities and rents have only declined by about 20%, it's possible for his investors, who are cash buyers, to make money from the first month the homes are rented.

"We're getting cash flow (net return on investment) of 12% to 14%," he said.
He doesn't completely ignore potential profits from home price appreciation because he believes the town is bouncing around the bottom. (Homes already sell for below what it would cost to build new homes.) He does not, however, emphasize that aspect of the investment.
It's the income from rentals that's paramount right now.

The beauty of cash flow, of course, is that even if the prices decline another 10% or 20%, the investors should be able to live with that.

"I tell them to plan on holding for five years," he said. "With cash flow, there's no need to worry about price drops."

To receive more information please contact me.

Glenn Plantone
gsplantone@gmail.com
(702) 769-9872

What is Transactional Funding and Why Do We Need It In Order to Flip Properties in Las Vegas?

I have written several articles lately announcing the return of profitable flipping conditions in Las Vegas, NV. Las Vegas has led the nation in foreclosures since the real estate bubble burst approximately three years ago, and we have seen our home prices plummet to $0.30 on the dollar or less. Simultaneously, this wave of foreclosures has created a large demand for rental properties as former home owners become home renters. This has resulted in rents that have remained relatively stable as the prices of homes have steadily dropped. This unique set of circumstances has generated positive cash flow scenarios for investor buyers that haven’t existed in Las Vegas in decades. It has also created a niche for those looking to flip properties once again.

Most of the foreclosures that are being sold at auction, through bank owned REO listings, and short sales need only minor, cosmetic repairs to bring them up to rental standards. Investors willing to purchase these properties, can put $5K-$10K into them and then turn around and sell them to investors for a reasonable profit. These investors are still able to purchase the property at a price that makes it possible for the property to generate strong positive cash flow at prevailing market rents.

The catch in this process is that, in order to acquire a property at the Trustees’ Auction or through short sales, the prospective buyer has to come with cash. Many flippers (such as myself) have the resources and ability to flip multiple properties simultaneously, but lack the personal cash reserves to tie up more than one or two properties at a time. This is where transactional funders enter the picture. My transactional funders loan money to me on a very short term basis in order to purchase properties at the auction, through the banks, or with short sales that have been approved and are under market value. These funds are always protected by a first position lien on the property. Once the properties have been successfully rehabbed and held for the minimum time period specified by the bank (usually 30 days), they are resold to my investor clients and my transactional funders are repaid in full. The transactional funders usually see their money tied up for no more than 35 days and they are paid 3% on their investment. This equates to 36%-156% annualized returns on the average transaction. Some sell in as little as a week others in a little over a month. Returns can be adjusted if properties take longer than 35 days to close to ensure that the funder is making a minimum 24% return on his money (annualized and guaranteed).

If you are interested in providing transactional funding for upcoming projects, or to receive more information on the over one dozen flips that I have successfully completed within the last few months, please contact me:

Glenn Plantone
gsplantone@gmail.com
(702) 769-9872

Flipping Short Sales In Las Vegas Provides a Win-Win-Win Situation in 2010

I have come across a very exciting niche in the Las Vegas Real estate market that is creating a win-win-win scenario for me, my short term funding investors, and the “end-user” investor buying our properties. Over the last several months, we have completed 10 deals and have had terrific (and fully documented) results on all of them.

So what am I doing?

First a little background: Over the last several years, Las Vegas has received a lot of press as the “Foreclosure Capital of the Nation.” This is true…foreclosures in the Las Vegas valley in 2008 and 2009 reached record-breaking highs, and led the nation. However, what most people don’t realize is that the inventory of bank owned REO properties in Las Vegas has PLUMMETED over the last six months. Last year, 75% of all home sales in Las Vegas were foreclosures. Now, the current bank owned inventory of available homes (not pending or contingent) represents only about 10% of the total homes for sale through the MLS in Las Vegas. Additionally, over the last year, the number of homes sold in Las Vegas has drastically outweighed the number of homes returning to the banks via foreclosures. This shortage of inventory of “bargain” priced REOs has created a huge demand for the REOs that do enter the market. Many investors, including all-cash buyers, are finding themselves shut out or locked in bidding wars when trying to purchase an investment property.

The solution: I have found a solution to this predicament that provides my investor clients with a turn-key, extremely profitable property and generates a large, safe return for my transactional funding investors as well.

Here’s how it works: I continually search for and tie up short sales that have substantial equity. This process takes anywhere from two to eight months to secure bank approval. Once the short sale is approved, I use short-term transactional funding to purchase the property from the bank. My funding investors are guaranteed either a 24% annualized return on their money (if they invest for a single deal…in and out in less than 30 days typically) or 18% annualized return for long term investors who want to park their money to be used for multiple deals over a several month or year period.

After the property has been purchased, I bring in a team to quickly rehab the home and get it into turn-key condition. We then place one of our pre-screened lease-option tenants in the property. This lease-option tenant buyer puts down a nice size, non-refundable deposit on the home and then pays higher than market rent. This saves our investor property management as well as maintenance fees and provides a built-in buyer for the property down the road.

Here is an example from one of the properties that we recently flipped: It took me ten months to negotiate this particular short sale with the bank. Ultimately the home was purchased by my transactional funder and I for $109,000 (it sold new for $254,000 three years ago.) It is a 2100 square foot, four bedroom home in a newer area of Las Vegas. We were able to put a lease option tenant in place immediately who pays $1495 rent per month and put $4500 down (non refundable lease option payment.) As soon as we closed on the purchase of the home at the $109K price, we re-sold it to an investor buyer looking for a great hands off investment with a great return. The sales price to the investor was $129,000. The "cap rate" return of cash flow for the new owner is 13%. If he sells it to the lease option tenant after the 2 year option period, he will net a 27% return on his investment.

As for my transactional funder, because we had the home sold and closed within 7 days, the funder earned $2400 on his investment (he put in $80,000 and I put in the rest of the $109,000 purchase price). This $2400 in one week equated to a 156% annualized return on his money. As soon as we got out of this deal he was able to move immediately into another very similar transaction that ended up cashing out with nearly identical numbers.

In all cases, the transactional funding money is fully protected by a deed on the property that is being purchased.

If you are interested in getting these kinds of safe, guaranteed returns for transactional funding or are interested purchasing these kind of turn-key investment properties (with cap rates of 10%+ in many cases), or if you know an investor looking for these kinds of returns, please contact me for more information. I do pay referrals for those bringing investors.

Glenn Plantone
gsplantone@gmail.com
Office: 702.656.3264
Cell: 702.769.9872

Transactional Funding Proves Profitable for Investors

The recent credit crunch and rapid decline in home prices in Las Vegas has created an environment that is once again ripe for successfully flipping properties. I have been acquiring properties at the Trustee Sale in Las Vegas, performing very light rehab, and then immediately flipping them for a modest profit. In many cases, the people buying the houses are investors looking for a turn key property that they can begin renting right away for strong positive cash flow.

I have now completed this process with almost a dozen properties and it has been a win-win-win situation for all parties involved...the third party being the transactional funder. My transactional investors are receiving returns of over 100% annualized on their money!

Here is a recent example:

We purchased a townhome at 9122 Dancing Snow for $62,500. After closing costs, repairs, and costs to sell, we were into the property for $68,651. I was able to sell the property to a happy investor for $74,995. This resulted in a profit from the flip of $6,344. The funder, who had invested $65,000, was repaid in full plus their funding costs of $1,900 in 10 days! This resulted in an annualized return of 108% on the investor’s money!

If you would like to review all the details of this transaction
CLICK HERE.

Here is another example:

We acquired a 3 bedroom/2 bath townhome at 6868 Skypointe for $66,500. The property sold in 7 days for $79,995. This resulted in a profit on the ip of $9,156. The investor put $68,000 into the property and was paid $1,360 for their funding. This represented an annualized return of 104%.

In case you are wondering what kind of investment this made for the investor who purchased the property...once purchased for $79,995, the unit was rented for $975!

If you would like to review all the details of this transaction
CLICK HERE.


If you are interested in transactional funding, please contact Glenn for
more information.

(702) 769-9872
gsplantone@gmail.com

HUD Drops 90 Day Seasoning Rule - Makes Acquiring and Reselling Foreclosures Even Easie

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a temporary policy change that will have significant positive benefits for anyone looking to acquire foreclosures, especially those looking to fix and flip.  Previously, FHA has required that any borrowers seeking to finance their home purchase using an FHA loan, must purchase the property from a seller who has been the owner of record for 90 days or more.  This has made it difficult for investors looking to rehab gutted foreclosure properties and resell them for a reasonable profit since they then had to either hold the property for 90 days (dramatically increasing their holding costs and decreasing potential profit margin) or they could not sell to buyers looking to purchase a property with an FHA loan product.  The 90 day seasoning rule also made it difficult for investors or primaries looking to purchase REOs using FHA loans.  With the available inventory of REOs shrinking and demand rising, banks are usually able to liquidate their best REOs on the open market within days or weeks of taking title after a foreclosure.  Since the bank did not, in those cases, own the property for 90 days or more, those looking to pick up bargain priced REOs using an FHA loan couldn't do so.

This will all change starting February 1st when HUD will begin a one year period during which the 90 day seasoning requirement will be lifted.  In a document announcing the change, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, "As a result of the tightened credit market, FHA-insured mortgage financing is often the only means of financing available to potential home buyers.  FHA has an unprecedented opportunity to fulfill its mission by helping many home buyers find affordable housing while contributing to neighborhood stabilization."

"FHA borrowers, because of the restrictions we are now lifting, have often been shut out from buying affordable properties," said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. In the same document Stevens states,  "This action will enable our borrowers, especially first-time buyers, to take advantage of this opportunity."

The temporary lifting of the 90 day seasoning requirement will come with some restrictions that are designed to prevent abuses. Probably the most significant is a clause stating, "In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions."  It appears that all that is necessary to meet these "specific conditions" is to show that substantial improvements/repairs have been made to the property to justify the extra cost.  This should not be a problem for rehabbers as they can show these improvements via receipts, before-and-after photos and descriptions of work completed etc.

This change to the FHA guidelines is scheduled to only last for a year, so now is definitely a great time for investors interested in flipping properties and home buyers looking to purchase a residence to jump into the market.  If you are interested in purchasing REO properties for investment purposes in Las Vegas, foreclosure capital of the nation, please contact Glenn Plantone today.

Glenn Plantone (702) 769-9872 or teamplantone@gmail.com