Loudoun County Real Estate Statistics and News

Maximize Your Profits By Catering To The Local Buyer Demographic

When you buy a foreclosure or short-sale to "flip", you are doing so in order to make the most amount of profit. Therefore, you have to think as a real estate investor/business person. What do we mean by that? Rather than making changes/renovations to the property that you like, you have to make changes/renovations that the local buyer demographic will most likely want.

Remember, you are "flipping" this house to sell it for a profit and that your target consumer is the local home buyer in that area.

If prospective buyers see your house on-line or in person do not like what they see because it's not what a typical buyer in that area wants, they will feel that the property is worth less than comparable properties. They will most likely offer you less money than comparable properties or they may just buy another similar property.

Either way, you lose money.

For example, on a recent episode of "Flip This House", the person who bought the foreclosure and "flipped" it made changes and renovations that they thought were "cool" and that they liked.

Here's what they did:

1. They painted the family room and kitchen bright lime green.
2. They painted the master bedroom an extremely bright blue.
3. They did a lot of "custom" work/details in the kitchen, which didn't fit into the local area/demographic whatsoever and was ugly to begin with.

If you saw what they had done, you probably would have said the same thing that the real estate agent did when they previewed the property:

"I'm a little worried that buyers will not like the color schemes and some of the custom work that has been done to the house."

Translation: "If you hadn't painted the house these colors and done all this custom work, which doesn't fit into what local buyers want, you'd be able to sell it faster and for more money".

These mistakes cost the investor several thousands of dollars yet, the mistakes could have been avoided at no extra cost.

Here's what the investor should have done:

1. Painted the entire house a neutral color as seen in most properties in the area.
2. Stuck with the type and color of granite, cabinets and flooring that is most common in properties of that type and in that price range.

By not doing this custom work, it would have actually cost the investor less money and increased their profit margin even more.

Don't make the same mistake this and other investors make and leave your emotions and personal taste at the door. Remember that this is just an investment and a product. Like any other product, you are selling it to a target consumer and you have to know what your target consumer wants. That is how you maximize your return and make the most amount of profit.

If You Have To Think About It, You Will Lose Out

If you are truly interested in purchasing a great foreclosure deal in Loudoun County (or anywhere for that matter), you have to be ready to jump at the opportunity. Immediately. If you have to think about it, you will lose out on every great deal out there. Guaranteed, you are not the only who thinks that the property is a phenomenal deal. Others who think so have already prepared themselves to jump at such an opportunity and have already submitted their offer while you are still thinking about it.

Would you have to think about it if someone was offering 3rd row, 50 yard line tickets to the Redskins/Cowboys game for $50 total including club and parking passes? If you were a true Redskin or Cowboy fan, you wouldn't even blink before saying yes. Everyone knows that those tickets are worth 10 times that and will be gone within minutes.  You have to act immediately or you will lose the opportunity to get them. The same goes for investment opportunities.

If you think we're exageratting, check this out:

• All of the properties we've posted here on Loudoun Foreclosures are sold/no longer available
• All of them sold within 1 week of being listed at that price
• Several had multiple offers (one had four offers on it)
• The majority of the offers were submitted within 24 hours of the property hitting the market.
• Some of the offers were submitted within as little as 6 hours

If you are truly interested in purchasing a foreclosure or short-sale, here's what you need:

• Clear and definitive knowledge of what you want. This includes what type of property, whether you wish to "flip" it or rent it out and what price point you are looking in.
• A recent lender letter or credit statement showing that you are qualified for a loan or have the cash to purchase the property. This should be in your hands prior to submitting an offer because it needs to be submitted at the same time as the offer.
• A significant amount of earnest money that is able to clear immediately.
• The ability to settle quickly. Most banks like to settle as quickly as possible, even in as little as 2 weeks. For example, if you are purchasing a Countrywide foreclosure and it's a cash deal, you have to be able to settle within 15 days of ratification. If it's a non-FHA loan, then it's within 30 days.

The reason why so few investors make money is that very few actually "get it". The successful investor is ready to pounce on the few truly great deals ou there the moment they become available. That leaves the not-so-savvy investors with the "so so" deals, which have a much smaller ROI and may even lose money. To increase your chances of being successful, you have to be at the same level, if not ahead of, the other savvy investors all around you.

Are you?