I wanted to write this blog post about one of my favorite properties I purchased about 5 years ago, and the story behind it. This is a real story among many of how I was able to help these sellers get what they wanted when other land investors couldn’t.
An older couple, we’ll call them Tom and Betty for the sake of privacy, reached out to us about a property they wanted to sell. After talking with them and asking some due diligence questions, I told them I’d call them back in a couple days after doing some research.
Through my research I found that the property was great for a home site and for recreational purposes. Indeed that’s what Tom and his family had intended to use it for since they bought it 25 years before. There were deer, wild turkey, and all sorts of other wildlife on the property. It had utilities nearby, and it was situated right against the Canadian River in Oklahoma. But that dream just never became a reality for them.
So I called them back a few days later and we started talking price. We haggled back and forth for a while and we just couldn’t come to terms on a cash price. I was topped out at $66,000, and they wouldn’t take any less than $80,000. So finally I asked them of they needed all the money now. They said no, and that the real problem was they were having trouble with the property taxes because they were living off social security and a small retirement from their investments. In fact, they were 2 years behind on the property taxes at the time. So I said, how about if I give you the price of $80,000: $4,000 down, and you finance $76,000 of it for 18 months? I’ll pay the back property taxes, the taxes going forward, the closing costs, and when the 18th month comes around, I’ll pay you in full for the balance. Tom wasn’t sure if Betty would like the idea, so he said he’d talk with her and call me back in a couple days.
The next morning, Tom called me back and said we had a deal. So I sent the paperwork over via DocuSign, then forwarded signed documents over to the title company. 3 weeks later we closed the sale, Tom and Betty had their funds, a short-term note they collected on, we paid all the closing costs and the back taxes, and everybody won. After 18 months, I brought an investor in and paid them off in full.
We wound up selling that property a couple months later to a young couple whom wanted to build a house on it. They both worked remotely from home and they loved the property. They were living in Tulsa and it was their dream to get away from there and build their forever home in the country. They didn’t have all the cash to buy it from us outright. So since banks rarely make loans for raw land, we financed it for them on a 10-year note with no pre-payment penalty. They can’t build on it until they pay it off, but since there’s no pre-payment penalty they can pay it off early. And once they have it paid off, they’ll be able to get a construction loan to build their dream home.
This is why I love this business. We were able to solve a problem for the Sellers, and for the Buyers we found. And everybody won, all the way around.
I’ve bought properties like this over and over again. If you think this is something that could work for you, give us a call below or reply back. It’s risk-free, and no obligation to you to discuss our offer.
David Scruggs
(405) 352-2000
www.spiritlandco.com