http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/apa/334336282.html
Since the link will break in a couple of weeks anyway, let me summarize — it’s an ad in the rentals section of Craig’s List intended to attract me to take over someone’s mortgage payments thereby buying a house for less than the cost of renting. Of course the examples given are all for houses with less than $100K remaining on the mortgage, in supposedly in Orange County. Well, the ad is posted in the Orange County Craig’s List. I have no idea if the houses are local or not.
I’m looking to move to Orange County and need a house-sized dwelling, but can’t afford current mortgage rates, so I’m tempted to investigate. What gotcha’s do I need to look out for, or is this likely a scam?
Thanks,
Rebeccah
Replies
Scam of some sort.
Any house with a mortgage that low is a real old loan. Hasn't been a house sold in Orange Co in the last 15 years that would have a payment that low.
Any house with that size mortgage has a HUGE equity, so why is it being repo'ed?
Scam of some sort, contact the lender before you agree to anything.
Joe H
Scam of some sort.Any house with a mortgage that low is a real old loan. Hasn't been a house sold in Orange Co in the last 15 years that would have a payment that low.Any house with that size mortgage has a HUGE equity, so why is it being repo'ed?Scam of some sort, contact the lender before you agree to anything.
------Exactly what was going through my mind, which, combined with the wish that it were otherwise, led to my post.Rebeccah
All the mortgages that I have had are non-assumable. My guess is the mortgage companies want their new closing costs or fees and don't want someone to get into a lower than current rate as well as being out of the loop when taking on an unknown risk.
That's it from me.<G>
Rebeccah,
You will see more and more deals like this in the future. Real estate values have exceeded everyone's wage. We are currently in a correction of the market= value, just like the stock market a couple of years ago.
The best deal, if you are relocating, is to rent. Once you see the rental rate rise to the same as homeowner value, it is time to start looking to buy.
I personally think this will take about 6 years.
The best deal, if you are relocating, is to rent. Once you see the rental rate rise to the same as homeowner value, it is time to start looking to buy.I personally think this will take about 6 years.
---------------------------------------Yes, I keep looking at the sell vs rent out equation at the other end of the move, and houses in my neighborhood are renting for half the price of my current mortgage. It's really a no-brainer.I remember when I moved here, rents were through the roof and going higher, due to the dot-com boom.Rebeccah
Did a google on the phone number. Found out that they are Homes Relief, aka Discount Direct Marketing.
From their website.
http://www.homesrelief.com/getstarted.php
"Get Started
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We Can Guarantee, that anyone can own a home in less then 90 days using the Homes Relief Program. This can be achieved if you are Unemployed, have No Credit, in Bankruptcy or Outright Broke, it doesn't matter. The best part is you can own the home 35% to 50% below the market value. Our program will demonstrate this and we challenge any real estate expert to prove us wrong!
Become A Millionaire: With A Sixth Grade Education; If you can turn on a computer, Read a book, Write a letter, add and subtract, then you can make a fortune buying and selling Preforeclosed homes. There is practically NO RISK...
Lead Generation Site. You will Have a Proprietary web based tool that can attract more sellers than you can handle, and this product can even pay you an income 24 / 7 while looking for your new home. It is like your very own Energizer Bunny! It just keeps going, and going, and going...
Foreclosures Hit a 40 Year High : There couldn't be a better time to get started. Due to the unusual market conditions there are many desperate homeowners who are nearing default.
Immediate Results Fast Turn Around, Many homes have a 30% to 50% equity stake, if you acquire one of these homes with 30% equity for $150,000 and sold it the same day you acquired it, then you could have a gross profit of $45,000 in just one day. The best part is you do not have to risk a dime!
YOU WILL LEARN...
- How to start with no cash if you need to.
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- Save thousands on your taxes using over 125 tax strategies and write-offs.
- How you can earn interest on the Banks money.
- How to Takeover payment on an existing Mortgage.
- How to consistently buy properties for 30% under market.
- How you can close fast (even in 48 hours if needed!).
- How to stay in control of the deal at all times.
- How to avoid the legal entanglements from people who are behind on payments.
- How to increase your cash flow, make an extra $25,000 or more when you resell the property.
- How to use corporations, partnerships, and trusts to avoid the due on sale clause.
- Common seller objections to and how to handle them.
- Key clauses in your paperwork to protect your interests and maximize your profits.
- How to cultivate private sources of funding for your deals.
- How to flip your deals for instant cash.
- Implementing the ultimate planning formula that ensures long term success.
- Learning exactly what you really want out of life and how to get it.
- Going from fearful to fearless in everything you do.
- Reversing the risks for both you and the buyer. Creating WINWIN situations.
- Protecting your rapidly increasing investment assets.
- How to reduce or eliminate investment taxes.
- Proven techniques for filling your homes quickly.
- Simple ways to calculate your profit before you buy.
- Fill out forms and contracts without an attorney.
- Advertising techniques that work.
- Dealing with Sellers in foreclosure and bankruptcy.
- Learn how to control negotiations with sellers.
- Copies of all the paperwork, blank and filled in samples.
- How to beat out other investors by 30 days.
- And much more."
And some complaints.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff248792.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff248794.htm
Now reading between the lines my guess is that what they do is to charge you a $149 and for that you get acess to to some computer generated list and it is up to you to try and make a deal.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
unless if you are paying the intrest only
unless if you are paying the intrest only
My thought, too.
My other thought was, what if these are not the only mortgages on the properties?
Those 800 & 1000 sf houses were not 300K 30 years ago. So, I can't but help wonder how "encumbered" the notes being offered are. Could be somebody's defaulted re-fi or the like.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Sheesh. OK, end of discussion. Thanks for looking this up for me.Rebeccah
Wow, I never knew you could google phone #'s
I did mine and it came up along with a link to a map, very interesting. Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
Wow, I never knew you could google phone #'s
Yeah, you can search fax numbers, too.
Check out whocalledus.com to find out who that 309-821-0055 caller is, too.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
count me as someone who just learned a new trick too!
cool.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Actually these are two different things.When you google a phone number google reconize it as a phone number and will try and find it in directories, specially for commercial numbers. In this case it did not find any.But it also treats it as anyother group of symbols (letters) and finds ones that match. That found the company website and several other Craigslist with similar ads.Then I was able to google on the company name to get get the complaints..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
I wouldn't be surprised if you can get a rent-to-own deal in OC from someone who is in distress. Trouble is, everything has been so expensive there for so long that who has any equity? If you buy into SoCal right now you are buying in at record high prices. I would absolutely rent. Hell, I should sell my house to someone and rent it back, I could save hundreds per month.
"Trouble is, everything has been so expensive there for so long that who has any equity? If you buy into SoCal right now you are buying in at record high prices."Not really, David. In the past 6 months house prices in OC have dropped as much as 10% and only the best ones are selling. In Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, values have dropped nearly 30%. My realtor projects 2 years before stocks of houses forced to sell due to sub-prime mortgage defaults clear out and prices recover.
My BIL has a house in the Kroeger-Melrose district in Anaheim, old Craftsman style bungalo he's going to be selling pretty quick.
Not cheap, probably half mill or thereabouts.
Joe H
On the local scale of things, even in the current slump, that *is* cheap.It's about what my Bungalow in Oakland is worth, or maybe a little more. I hope not a lot more. But I can't afford it anyway.Rebeccah
The ad has been removed now, but what was the mortgage rate. Right now, rates are at abouf 5.625%. Thats almost record low. i've been selling real-estate for the past 5 years, and they have been up and down a bit, but have stayed under 7.25%even with 0%-5% down on a no-doc loan. Thats not bad considering they were in the 20's at one point.
Well, the subject line was a low rental price (1029/mo or something)for a 3BR/2Bath house. The body was an image, not text, that gave a phone number and maybe 3 examples of amounts remaining on mortgages of houses available to be bought "for less than the cost of renting" by taking over the existing mortgages. The examples were all less than $100K outstanding. No interest rates were given. This was posted in the housing rentals section, not the real estate for sale section. There was no mention in the body of the house listed on the subject line.After BillHartman did me the favor of googling the phone number and then researching the company behind it, I went back to Craig's List and flagged the ad as spam.Rebeccah
Good for you for being a good samaritan and flagging that add as spam!
When I read your origional post, the first thing that popped into my head was that age old bit of wisdom which so often applies...
"If it seems too good to be true, that's because it is"" If I were a carpenter"
Keep in mind that property laws "out West" are entirely different than in other parts of the country. I have seen these local quirks used to take advantage of many a newcomer.
Where in Orange County are you looking to move?
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Parenting has always been a mix of sage life advice and inexcusable laziness.
Anywhere I can find a suitable job.My fiance has family in Irvine, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Orange, and other cities; friends in Tustin, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Long Beach, and others.Rebeccah
There is a house not far from me here in Cypress that may be cheap. I'll be honest, it's next to some lower income renters and the area has had problems in the past - BUT - all the spots back there are being converted to new condos and the neighborhood seems to be changing fast. The house would be a real serious fixer upper too.
I only suggest it because you might be able to breath life back into it again, if you want to trade a lower entry price for more sweat equity.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Parenting has always been a mix of sage life advice and inexcusable laziness.
Rebeccah, I lived in Costa Mesa & Newport for the last 40 years until I got the hell out.
I doubt there is even a fixer in Costa Mesa for $600K, $700K is what I see for fixers in the CM area. Newport tear downs are over a million.
Santa Ana is not where you want to be.
Actually, So Cal is not the place it used to be. Taxes are high, traffic is unbbelievable, illegal aliens are taking over & what kind of job are you going to find that is going to make a house payment and leave you enough for rice & beans?
Can't you find a nice boy from somewhere else? :)
Joe H