I’ve reported earlier about the king of the Trustee’s Sale, Page Ventures LLC. They had purchase 75 houses on the courthouse steps by mid-October, when they morphed into NRES NV1 LLC (NV2 and NV3 are also registered with the Secretary of State). NRES has gone on to purchase another 25 properties.. Total investment – $16,167,252. This is just in Washoe County. I don’t know if they are active elsewhere, but I bet they are. Douglas County is their home base.
68 of the 75 Page Ventures properties have resold. Total investment was $9,831,193, and total sales price was $13,637,788. That works out to a $3,806,595 gross profit and a 45% gross margin, averaging a $56,000 gain per property. These gross numbers exclude any work that was required to bring these properties up to salable condition and any real estate commissions. My guess is that these costs average about 15%, leading to a net profit margin of about 30% for what is typically a few month hold.
7 of the 25 NRES properties have resold. Total investment was $1,565,531, and the total sales price was $2,371,300. Gross profit of $805,769, 51.5% gross margin. 7701 Kevin was a grand slam for them, skewing the average gross profit margin.
Page / NRES is quick and aggressive if they have misjudged the market. 6205 Elk Ivory was raised from $549,900 to $579,900. 849 Alpine View was reduces from $899,900 to $799,900, and 480 Winding Way was reduced from $799,900 to $749,000.
It looks to me that the pace of acquisitions by NRES is slowing, and the pace of sales is definitely seizing up. Could it be that their tactics have started to poison their own comps? The goose that laid the golden egg syndrome? Or maybe just a seasonal slowdown. Still, hard to argue with a 45% gross margin.
Here is my data. It isn’t perfect, but is current to the best of my ability as of today. If you are interested, email me and I can send you the Excel file – for some reason it won’t upload for me.
I am in awe of what Page Ventures / NRES is accomplishing. They have found a way to tap into the "money river" (Vonnegut). Still, I have to wonder how totally clueless the banks are to be leaving so much money on the table in these transactions. It is a bit offensive.
willk
I see they just bought 2706 Wind Feather Trl in Arrowcreek for 298500. How do you buy on the “courthouse steps”? Do you have to pay cash?
smarten
I have to study your data a bit more carefully Mike. But a couple of quick observations.
There IS a cost of money that you haven’t factored into the equation. To answer willk’s question, you must pay all cash at a trustee’s sale. That means $16M of cash. I think it might be interesting to find out where this cash comes from. But from wherever, it can’t be cheap [unless it’s money laundering].
And closely related to this cost, is the cost of carry/debt service. Property taxes, homeowner association dues/assessments, property insurance, etc.
There is the cost of the real property transfer tax [“RPPT”] you haven’t factored into the equation. When the trustee’s deed is recorded, a RPTT must be paid by the grantee. And when you’re the seller in Washoe County, you generally end up paying half the RPTT. So you’d better add another 7% or so [I’ve factored in a slightly higher percentage assuming the sales price was higher than the acquisition price].
Somebody or boddies has to do the research on these purchases. Title searches, comparable sales analysis, wasted trips to the courthouse only to learn that a sale has been postponed or terminated. For every one success, there are probably a half a dozen or more failures.
Don’t discount the cost of repairs/rehabilitation. You must have a crew [or several] to do the work necessary to put these properties back into resale condition. Given your assumption of 8% costs of sale and another 7% for repairs, I think the latter number is too low.
1086 Tiller in IV. You recall this property, don’t you? This is the one I spoke of on this blog that was an absolute steal at $890K. The $440K gross gain overshadows every other transaction on your list by wide, wide margins. Stated differently, throw out this property and it dramatically changes the results.
How many of these purchases ended up in litigation? Title problems, hidden liens, bankruptcy stays, etc., etc. No one can bat 1,000% playing this game.
As you point out, the pace of resale activity has slowed. I can’t comment on most of the properties currently for sale, but I can insofar as the two IV properties are concerned [Alpine and Winding Way]. Even though the asking prices have been dropped from their highs, neither is a quality offering and in the IV market, I think they’re going to sit for sometime unless their prices are dropped a lot more [virtually eliminating any gain].
Don’t get me wrong Mike. The results are impressive. But when you peel away all of the foregoing, the gains aren’t really as impressive as you suggest. And for the risk involved…
BanteringBear
I agree with Smarten in that I think the profit margins are much lower than Mike is assuming. There’s no real way to tell without getting the inside skinny. But, it does appear they’re making money.
Regardless, I think this post highlights the fact that this market is overloaded with speculators. They certainly help clear inventories, but I can’t help but believe that we’re going to see a lot of these homes go back through foreclosure again. The prices, on many, are still too high, they don’t cash flow, and for every successful “Page Ventures” deal, there are a handful of others just dying on the vine.
bob c
If it were just that easy. Most escrows break down in the inspection phase. The cost of money
is cheap right now and this appears to be a short
lived ‘niche’ by Page Ventures. I would call this a successful venture if I was privy to their
‘exit strategy’.
InclineJJ
People I know who go out and look for money to do the same as Page Ventures normally pay from about 8%-12% and normally pay a piece of the profits to the lender who puts up the money..
You also forgot back taxes..Being that the county property tax is the first major bill people stop paying I find it hard to believe that few if any where current.
Smarten is correct..when you buy at the trustee sale you have to pay the county a transfer tax when the trustee’s deed is recorded.
DownButNot Out
But even with all of that said about additional costs, which are true, they’ve still bucked the trend and have been profitable. At a time when few are making money in any other areas.
High risk can sometimes equal high reward, but usually not indefinitely. It will be interesting to continue to follow them.
Sully
Mike, I don’t think NRES NV1,2 and 3 are connected to Page Ventures which is DBA National Real Estate Services. The registered agent is different and the managing member is different.
GreenNV
Sully, I did some digging. “Officer” for NRES has the same address as Resident Agent for Page Ventures. Mailing address for tax purposes listed on the TDs for both is the same, and is the address Jeremy listed for himself on the Page Ventures filing with the Sec’y of State.
Smarten, the RPPT is only .41%, pretty much chump change. Junior liens are wiped out by the Trustee’s Sale, and the Grantor (the bank) needs to come current with back property taxes, special assessments, etc., before the county will allow the transfer to be recorded. You can do a pretty decent title search for most fairly new construction through the Recorder (IV is a different animal), and order up a real title report if things look cloudy. Sure, they aren’t batting 1000%, but they a pretty sophisticated at doing what they do.
smarten
You’re right about the RPPT Mike – I thought it was .43%. I meant to say .7% when you consider payment of the RPTT when the trustee’s deed is recorded, and then 50% of the RPPT at a presumably higher number when the property is resold.
Maybe IJJ can correct me if I’m wrong, but I know of no responsibility on a trust deed beneficiary’s part to cure anything senior in default as a condition to recordation of a trustee’s deed. If that assertion were accurate, then are you saying that a foreclosing junior lienholder must bring senior liens in default current as a condition to having his/her trustee’s sale deed recorded? I don’t think so! A trustee’s deed conveys whatever interest the trustor had in the property with no warranty, period. So if that interest is junior to delinquent taxes or assessments or senior mortgages – tough cookies. That’s what the buyer at a trustee’s sale takes subject to. Another reason why these types of sales are not for the faint of heart.
Venturist
“At a time when few are making money on any other areas.”
Well not exactly, Down. I think it is a fair assumption that Page Ventures is in it for the short run, looking to dump a pile of cash, make a quick hit, and get out. That being so, Page Ventures could have done far, far better last year by puting its $16 million into some mutual funds. Lke, say, the Janus International Fund. 75% return last year. Beat the crap out of whatever Page made in flipping REOs.
Now, please let’s not get into a discussion about stocks v. real estate. ALL I am saying is that if Page wanted to pony up $16 million last year for a short term quick pop, market timing operation, which is all flipping REOs is, it could have done a whole lot better elsewhere with its money. A whole lot.
DownButNotOut
Good hindsight, Venturist.
Reno Ignoramus
Venturist’s comment does provoke some thought. If I had $16 million in cash, would I go into the REO flipping business? I guess if I really loved it, I would. But then, when I consider that I could live on $100K a year for 160 years with $16 million in the bank, I think I might just decide not to go into the REO flipping business.
Venturist
My point, Down, was simply to observe that your statement that there were few other places to make money, was incorrect.
DownButNotOut
RI – and yet they did and have shown a profit. They’re obviously not us, because like you I could get by on the principal for my lifetime.
Venturist, care to tell us what Page should invest in this year?
GreenNV
$16M is their total investment, but they are churning the cash. As of today, they only have about $4M out there, and that is probably the most they have had invested at one time. Given their average hold times, I think their annualized gains beat the pants off any mutual fund out there.
3 of their properties closed today. 1825 Fox Run $234,900 ($152,500 – 54% ROI). 6515 Geranium $198,000 ($149,900 – 32% ROI). 2703 Wind Feather $365,000 ($298,500 – 22% ROI). Their margins are definitely tightening up from the 45% they have been averaging. The game may be winding down, but it has been a wild ride.
smarten, I think you are wrong about the senior liens not needing to be cured prior to a transfer at a TS. I’ll clear it up with the Recorder when they open again on Tuesday.
MikeZ
RE: “Venturist, care to tell us what Page should invest in this year?”
Yes, exactly. Hindsight is easy, isn’t it?
I offer my congratulations to Page Ventures. Good job!
Venturist
You guys are missing my point. I did not say that that I, or anybody, can predict what asset class will perform best in any time span. What I said was……..that Down’s comment that there is no other place to make money these days was incorrect. Maybe stocks. Maybe gold. Maybe commodity futures. Hell, maybe bonds. Who knows. But the suggestion that flipping REOs is the only way to make money is incorrect. The comment that “few are making money” doing anything else is, as hard as it is for you to admit it, just plain wrong.
Waldo
Mike, I can assure you that the Vanguard Precious Metal Fund “beat the pants off” whatever ROI Page Ventures had in 2009. You can look it up.
I mean no discredit to Page Ventures. They are turning in an amazing performance. Big compliments to them. But Venturist’s rather simple point is undeniably true. There are many ways to make money.
MikeZ
RE: “Down’s comment that there is no other place to make money these days was incorrect.”
Problem is: no one said no other place. “Few other places.” And he’s right. Worst case, these guys are turning 25% on the money they have in play ($4M, not $16M). That’s an awesome return.
CommercialLender
Not sure where they get their funds to invest, but there’s very no way they would have raised the theoretical $4M+ if they told their investors they were going to invest in mutual funds. Telling their investors they are going to flip distressed assets in Reno long before the bottom of the market must have been a very tough sell, but there’s no business plan in investing in mutual funds. If it was their own money, fine, but likely they raised funds from investors for the specific purpose of investing in distressed SFRs. Again, downward trending market and a focus on a secondary town like Reno with apparently little goegraphic diversification — all a tough sell that would require any investor to require very high IRRs in order to pony up money. So, hats off to them for, in theory, creating a plan as tough as it was at the time, and then executing handsomely on it.
I assume they used no normal debt and assume they raised investor equity to buy their assets all cash, of course. Their business plan was not without huge risks, high transactional costs, and hard work (or inside knowledge at the banks???) identifying gems in distress. Good for them.
DownButNotOut
Mike, Sully – I don’t believe NRES and Page Ventures are necessarily one and the same. Nevada has relatively unique laws concerning corporations that are pro business and allow you to hide who the actual owner is. The fact that the address and the Resident Agent of the two businesses are the same may very well mean both have incorporated under one of the businesses that specialize in this, such as Nevada Corporate Headquarters in Las Vegas. Since Nevada doesn’t require all four officers to be named, (a named VP is not required) the typical scenario is a paid schill files for the remaining 3 officer positions on the yearly corporate application, then immediately tenders his resignation thereby allowing the VP (owner) to run the company throughout the year, without his/her name ever appearing on any State documents.
It doesn’t mean the two companies still not one and the same, and in fact with the amount of risk they’re taking it would seem to make sense to split into numerous entities so if things went south with a few projects it didn’t drag down all the good ones. But based off what you wrote above, they could easily be two separate groups.
Greymare
FYI: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34877347 Giddy up boys.
smarten
Interesting article Greymare. I don’t know if the practice you describe is illegal under RESPA, but I see nothing wrong with a junior mortgagee negotiating whatever it can from whomever it can in consideration of agreeing to a short sale.
I know someone who held a third mortgage on a property the subject of a proposed short sale. The short sale specialist contacted my someone and told him/her he/she would have to agree to ZERO because the first mortgagee had a “policy” of not permitting a third or junior lienholder to be paid anything. My someone told the specialist to tell the holder of the first to ***** off. So much for any short sale [after all, what was in it for my someone?].
So tell me, who did this “policy” benefit? The job of a short sale specialist is to get all lienholders, agents and parties to each agree to whatever which hopefully will be enough for a short sale transaction to be consummated. If that means there was more money on the table that the holder of the first could have yet did not actually receive, tough cookies! And if it everything from everyone doesn’t appear on a HUD-1 prior to closing [which might kill the deal again], tough cookies again!
Greymare
Hmm Smarten, so let me understand what you are saying….”blackmail” is an acceptable practice in order to close a short sale?
smarten
It’s not blackmail Greymare.
You’re asking each lienholder and possibly agent to take something less than they’re entitled to. And if you’re a lienholder, you’re also asking the seller to take ZERO. For that to happen, there must be acceptable consideration to each. If there isn’t, no deal. You want to call a lienholder holding out for more [but still less than it is legally entitled to] blackmail, then so be it. But I see nothing wrong holding out for more as long as you’re being asked to give up something you’re entitled to. That’s not extortion in anyone’s book!
smarten
Just curious Mike. What makes you think Page Ventures and NRES are one in the same? I did some cursory research and discovered that the “Page” in Page Ventures is one Jeremy Page. At least in Washoe County, I couldn’t find any real property for Jeremy [and his wife DeAnne] but for a time share in “Starpoint Resort.” The address for Jeremy’s LLC is located in Minden.
NRES I-III are three LLCs through an attorney’s office [(John P.) Rutledge Law Center (originally an Oakland, CA. real estate/finance attorney who has been practicing law for 10 years in CA., and apparently in NV. for 2-1/2 years)] located in Carson City [although I haven’t gone by, the same address is listed for Saha’s City Boutique]. The three LLCs were formed in September of last year. John is interesting because I think he’s a sole practitioner who is associated with a couple of other sole practitioners [W. Christopher Jenkins and Jack Lawrence (BB, check out the mug shot of Jack with his dog)]. On his web site he states he has served as exclusive transactional counsel for a billion dollar plus land portfolio [sound familiar?]. He states clients have been “Governors to High Chiefs [there are 16 of them in Palau (see below)]” including a “foreign-nation state” [Republic of Palau (an island in the South Pacific)?] Could this be the source of NRES’ funding?
I could find no reference to Jeremy Page insofar as NRES is concerned, nor does he share the same resident agent as NRES. Interestingly, NRES references a “National Real Estate Opportunities [limited partnership] Fund” as managing agent at the same address as Darsi Casey [see below].
Page Ventures was created a year before NRES [November, 2008] and its resident agent is Darsi Casey, a CPA, who uses the same address as the National Real Estate Opportunities Fund. But other than that, I could not discover similar detailed info for Page Ventures [as I did for NRES], so if anyone wants to chime in, be my guest.
smarten
Okay, I did some more digging.
Some months ago Jeremy started using the dba National Real Estate Services [and NOT NRES NV, LLC] on some of his conveyance deeds. After the NRES NV-1, LLC started acquiring/deeding its properties, I saw that its managing agent was our friend Jeremy Page. Also when I saw trustee’s deeds being conveyed to NRES NV-1, LLC, the address for mailing tax statements was our friend Jeremy’s in Minden.
Another common connection between Page Ventures and NRES NV, LLC is the same title company that handles all of their conveyances – Western Title on Ridge in Reno. Also the same escrow officer – Sherrie Sherman.
I tried to find any reference to a National Real Estate Opportunities Fund LP, but could find none. And I also tried to find any reference to NRES NV-II, LLC and NRES NV-III, LLC being active in Washoe County real estate sales or purchases, and again could find none.
Just for kicks, I went to the Douglas County Assessor’s site and did a search for parcels standing in the name of Page Ventures. I found none. I then did a search for parcels standing in the name of NRES. I found two, and they were both in the name of NRES NV-II, LLC. Also, the mailing addresses for both are our friend Jeremy’s.
So it looks to me as if NRES NV-I, LLC references Washoe County trustee’s sale operations; NRES NV-II, LLC references Douglas County trustee’s sale operations; and NRES NV-III, LLC must reference some other county in NV’s trustee’s sale operations [Las Vegas?]. I think the money to make these purchases is coming from out of the country. I think attorney John Rutledge has structured the entities to permit the money to flow in both directions. I think Jeremy is getting his title info from Western Title.
So the only question remaining is whether any of us want to contact John Rutledge or Jeremy Page to see if we can invest in the National Real Estate Opportunities Fund?
There’s a trustee’s sale coming up at the end of the month on the three Incline Village SFRs I wrote about on a different subject [Campbell Court]. I’m certain Jeremy will be bidding on these properties [the amount owed is a collective $5M]. It might be fun to attend the sales and see our subject in action?
Sully
I did some searching in Carson City county and found three more two NV-2 and one NV-3.
Sully
…and four under Page Ventures.
Sully
smarten, I found (Douglas County) 22 under Page Ventures and 3 under Jeremy Page. Valerie is the other name on two of the above. Whether its wife,sister or mother I have no idea.
smarten
Sully, Jeremy’s wife [at least when they secured their time share interest in Starpoint Resort [the Plaza Resort Club], was Deanne. I’m not familiar with searching court records on line, and I suspect Jeremy’s county of residency is Douglas, but someone more familiar might want to do some name searches [including dissolutions of marriage]. And BTW, what was the title company and who was the escrow officer for each and every one of those resales?
You don’t purchase a hundred or more properties at trustee’s sale, for all cash, unless you have a boat load of money behind you!
And FWIW, when I was doing a cursory inspection of Washoe County public records, I found a good number of HOA liens recorded against Page Ventures/Nevada Real Estate Services/NRES-NV I, LLC, a number in the several thousands of dollars range. These of course represent additional expenditures which would have had to have been satisifed prior to any resale.
My next question, and I’ve asked this of Mike, is to identify the real estate agent[s] involved in the resales. Again if anyone wants to help out in this research…
ClickNSave
I think Smarten is very likely correct in his speculation that Page Ventures is working with other people’s money. Otherwise, as RI points out, why in the world would one person with $16 million in cash want to bother with flipping REOs?
If anybody on this blog had $16 million in cash would they be going to all the time and trouble and effort involved in this, even though it appears to be quite profitable?
Sully
Douglas doesn’t produce the .pdf file as Washoe does, so the only other info I could mine was the Casey name, it came up for the mailing address. The Casey firm is a full service accounting operation, so they probably have the tax bills sent there. As I mentioned above I have no way of determining relationship between Val and Jer. The actual deed (in .pdf) would probably show, but Douglas doesn’t do that.
GratefulD_420
There is a point that keeps being missed on this thread…..
It’s called velocity.
There is no $16 M in cash investment, never was. Last time I looked the mean holding time for a Page/NRES was 1 month. The average might be 1.5 months (a few went to 3 months). Also Mike clearly points out the max investment, right now is ~$4 M.
Quite frankly I think if you look at the history, the money is being parlayed. awesome stuff really. Almost like any Joe with a good eye for value and some kohonas could get this thing rolling. Again kudos.
However… quite scary for Page / NRES is their velocity is slowing down….. time on the market is creeping up on them and unless they change this trend… they need to part quickly or feel the pain that many others before them felt.
CommercialLender
Wouldn’t it be great to start with $4M, turn a year’s work into a 45% profit ($1.8M), put the $4M original investment back into a safer place like the bond market, say, GE A- bonds earning 5.35% YTM for 8 years, then play REO Flipper Extraordinaire with the $1.8M in gains? If velocity slows, you risk first not making 45% gains but maybe 15% and if it slows further you end up with 0% then finally eating some of your profits. Still, you’d be left with $4M earning $214K/year for the next 8 years which might see the end of this crash. And, if you get out before velocity completely stalls, you might earn a bit on the $1.8M or even lose a bit of it. Not a bad risk scenario, even if you fully returned the whole $4M to your investors a year later with a 20% split. $1M for a year’s work goes a long way in Reno.
That is, if the numbers are true. If there are no commissions, tax liens, HOA liens, cost of capital, no illegal dealings, and as amazingly prescient exit timing as was the timing getting into this REO flip business. Still, hats off to them for the nerves of steel and seemingly well executed business plan.
Gary
Relating to the article at Greymare’s link above, Smarten wrote, “And if everything from everyone doesn’t appear on a HUD-1 prior to closing [which might kill the deal again], tough cookies again!”
If I recall, hidden amongst the tonnage of documents I signed (the buyers and agents also signed) when I sold my house a couple of years ago was a statement certifying that all agreements relating to the sale of the house were being fully disclosed. This full disclosure is precisely what is intentionally omitted in these cases, and furthermore, the intent of this nondisclosure is to deceive the first lienholder by hiding a transaction that he/she/it deems material to their participation in the short sale. I’m no lawyer, but doesn’t that fit the description of criminal fraud for just about any jurisdiction? There was a reminder on the statement I signed that knowingly falsifying it was a federal crime.
I do agree with your point that hard-nosed policies by first lienholders can often kill a deal, much to their own detriment. However, hiding material facts from them is not an appropriate “tough cookie” to be serving.
Many of your comments show brilliance, Smarten, but this seemed a notable exception 😉
smarten
Back to brillance Gary.
I don’t believe a seller has to certify anything on a HUD-1. The escrowholder has to certify that the statement accurately reflects all financials in and out of the particular transaction.
Now the senior lienholder you paid off may have presented a document requiring your certification [was your transaction a short sale?], but that’s a different story [kind of like certifying no portion of your down payment is borrowed].
What about your getting a kick back of a portion of your agent’s sales commission? Are you telling us it’s illegal for this to occur unless the kickback appears on a HUD-1 or in a short sale scenerio, it is both disclosed and approved by a shorting lienholder?
One of the elements of fraud is reliance. In other words if a senior shorting lienholder doesn’t bother to inquire whether there is additional potential consideration and it just doesn’t know about it; or it fails to require a certification in writing from all parties involved; tough cookies because there’s no reliance.
CommercialLender
Here’s a concept. If you are a bank facing having to take back a bunch of foreclosures and you know that as soon as they become ‘bank owned’ the values plummet even further, why not employ a mysterious firm like NRES/Page Ventures to buy your homes on the courthouse steps so you won’t have to, offer line of credit financing on the venture, and then split x%/y% with them when they resell? A buyer would theoretically pay more as the asset is no longer ‘distressed’ and they wouldn’t have to wait months for an answer from some faceless bank. Besides, if a 3rd party flipper paid $x then you’d have some additional comfort the home is worth at least $x+profit to them. Would this not save the bank the costs, hassles, and liabilities of taking back the assets while turning a 2006, 2007 etc vintage bad loan into a potential profit? It would be like hiring your own disposition specialist. You could feed them inside info on which loans to go after and which ones to avoid long before other buyers might find out about them. Your best title company and select appraiser could help you do the quick due diligence on the homes to buy, again way before others find out.
I wonder if I’m missing something.
Gary
Smarten, I’m not really sure which party in my transaction specifically required the certification of full disclosure, but it was not a short sale — just a straight, garden variety full payoff of an old mortgage using the buyers’ FHA-backed new mortgage. If you say that such disclosure certification isn’t required by HUD, then I have no basis to disagree. It must have been a different entity that required it.
Whether or not a party such as the senior lienholder in a short sale later discovers and feels aggrieved enough to press a claim for fraudulent nondisclosure, playing that game can be risky. If nothing else, it seems that this increased willingness on the part of many people to make false statements without fear of consequence is one of the significant factors at the heart of our little real estate bubble. After the bubble’s deflation, there’s not enough money left to build the prisons it would take to house all the people who committed one sort of minor fraud or another.
Regarding the agent kickback scenario you postulated, that too would seem illegal if not disclosed, but again, I’m no lawyer, and lawyers seem to find myriad ways to avoid calling a spade a spade when it suits a useful purpose.
billddrummer
To CL,
That is an interesting spin on the NRES/Page Ventures track record.
It elegantly answers several things:
It’s remarkable how deep this outfit’s pockets are;
It’s amazing how consistently profitable their deals are;
It’s unprecedented how many deals get done.
skeptical
Good article by Mish for all you budding real estate moguls. In it he describes the pitfalls of Foreclosure Auctions.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/02/warning-for-novices-please-avoid.html
“If you do not know exactly what you are doing, what liens exist on the properties you are bidding on, and what the properties are really worth, then you going to lose your ass. Moreover, even if you have researched the properties well, you will be competing against the likes of professionals who know even more than you do.
The best course of action is to assume there is no easy money in foreclosure auctions. Whatever money there is to be had, the pros will get it, not you.”
Susie Vargas
I’ve been looking for a home to buy in Reno and have run across the NRES id many, many times on the Washoe County property rolls. In fact, my agent sent me 3 properties today that NRES purchased about a month ago which are up for sale at $30,000 or more above what they paid. I don’t look at it the same way as many of you, however, I don’t consider Page and his associates great moneymen. I think he and others like him are what got us in the housing mess to begin with. When I ran an owner search for Jeremy Page and NRES, I found more than 60 properties purchased by them in October and November 2012 alone. Who knows how many other investors are doing the same thing? Which begs the question: If you have a bunch of people sucking up the properties just to flip them, is the rally even real? One thing is certain, I won’t be looking at any property being sold by Page/NRES. Greed is a real turnoff.
Sully
Suzie, he has been doing this since about 2007 and was the first in the area to start buying foreclosures in bulk (based in Minden). His usual markup is around 60K. I forget how many properties they have turned as it’s been quite a few. BTW, one of the first properties I looked at in this area was a Page deal! However, it was already pending. If the REO’s snap back as some expect and Jeremy gets a bit overwhelmed then offering a lower price might work. They clean up the place in most cases and make it sale able, so you might actually come out ahead in the right case.
Susie Vargas
Sully, he is not limiting himself to foreclosures anymore. He is making himself into the middleman in the real estate market–swooping in with cash, forcing out the average Joe who requires financing then reselling that same property for 10s of thousands more–often within a month. He is driving up costs for people who actually want a home to LIVE IN, without adding any value to the process. That may earn him kudos from others with like values, but I find it reprehensible, especially in this economy. Do unto others…
Susie Vargas
Bid on a home yesterday–offered more than the seller wanted. Today a cash buyer appears and offers “considerably” more than the asking price. When I asked my agent what considerably meant, she said the listing agent cannot reveal that amount. Okay. I’m assuming that works both ways right? My offer is also a closely guarded secret? Started thinking about the whole thing–the listing price was so low that it left no wiggle room for the seller–it was only a few hundred more than the zestimate on zillow.com. The house is located in a very desirable neighborhood. When I have sold in the past, agents always urged me to start high. Why didn’t this agent instruct his client to do the same? Now I am left to wonder if the agent has some kind of relationship with the cash buyer. Looking forward to seeing the buyer’s name in the Washoe County real estate records in a couple weeks. Will it be NRES?
piotr
NRES-NV1 bought 3520 Yosemite for about 100K last week. Place is disgusting inside due to college scum renters. Caldwell sign down, no movement in snow on driveway.
Liens appear to be cleaned up, Perhaps a title insurance claim.
Figuring a month of two turn: looking at spring before new owners. Watching this with care, happy if young family, sad if new renters.