DiscountedProperties FAQ

Sales

About Our Service

Tell me about your service. What exactly do you guys do?

We provide online listings of undervalued properties for real estate investors to buy (below Market Value), fix, and then sell (or hold for Appreciation).

These properties are selling below market value either because they need repairs or because the owner was facing financial distress and elected to sell below market in order to achieve a quick sale.

Most of the properties listed on our website are being sold by the wholesaler (middleman) who has the property under contract directly from the homeowner and is reselling it at a price still below market and at a price attractive enough for a rehab investor to still make a sizable profit on the deal.

Members of our service are able to access all of the information for all properties in our database, including full addresses and contact name and number for each property.

Once you become a member, you may contact the person selling the property directly and purchase the property. We are not involved in the sale transaction. We are simply a third party listing service.

To become a member of DiscountedProperties.com, click on the "Join Now" button.

How much does your service cost?

WE ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING A LIMITED TIME OFFER:

- FREE 7-day trial

- Just $29.95/month if you choose to keep your subscription after the trial ends.

- You may cancel at any time.

Let's say I become a member. How do I actually go about buying a property?

Once you find a property you're interested in, just call the contact associated with that property. Arrange for a viewing, inspect the property, and then do your own due diligence coming up with your own estimated of repairs costs. Once you are serious about buying the property, calling in an appraiser is probably your safest bet. An appraiser will give you an objective, 3rd party opinion of what the property is worth. An alternative to paying for a $300 Appraisal is doing a comparable market analysis (CMA). Look at comparable property sale prices in the same subdivision within the last 6 months, adjusting for differences in square footage and extra features such as garage, car port, etc. A realtor can help you with this if you need it. Once you've verified the numbers and the deal will still be profitable, you can proceed.

Although we make sure that the numbers on the website are as accurate as possible, you should use them simply as a guideline for quickly evaluating which deals to pursue. Further due diligence is then required on your part. For a decision as big as buying a house, you should always do your own homework to know exactly what you're getting in to.

Don't forget to negotiate the selling price!

How can I be sure the listings are not outdated?

It's important to remember that these are bargain properties that sell very quickly! Not all of the properties listed in your area will still be available by the time you call on them. However, we do our best to make sure our listings stay fresh for our members.

Once a wholesaler notifies us that a property has been sold, we remove it from the website immediately. However, we don't always receive notice of sales from wholesalers. Therefore we've added some extra features to the website to maximize the benefit to our members:

- Listing age for each property is displayed in the Fixer-upper search results page. Recently listed properties are more likely to be still available than properties listed several weeks ago.

- Properties older than 30 days are assumed to have been sold and automatically deleted from the website (if it hasn't sold by then, it's probably not a great deal anyways!).

So don't waste any more time. Join right now so you don't miss any more money-making deals!

Why can't I see the addresses of the properties?

Only members of DiscountedProperties.com who are logged in have access to the full property address and contact name and phone number for each property.

We offer our listings of undervalued properties as a paid subscription service to members of DiscountedProperties.com. Our preview search enables our website visitors (who are not yet members) to see the properties that we currently have in our database and to give a feel for the type of information you would receive as a member of our service.

I've had bad experiences with other real estate websites. Why should I trust you?

At DiscountedProperties.com, we run our business differently. We strive to do things right. First of all, we play a totally different ballgame than any other real estate data service provider. We list all types of bargain properties and foreclosures. They only list foreclosure leads. Big difference. The difference in the supply chains has huge implications for the quality of the finished product. Foreclosure data is obtained from local county courthouses and in most cases is downloaded electronically. This is typically done after it passes the experienced investors at the courthouse personally and days or weeks past its window of usefulness. Basically, they use computers to collect old data of questionable usefulness and resell it to you.

We collect our bargain property and fixer upper listings the right way, through human relationships. We know all the wholesalers that list on our site. In fact we have a special member of our team whose only job is to manage the relationships with our wholesalers. This means they are held accountable for the information they provide. All properties are entered into our database by hand and pass through 2 levels of data integrity checking. Wholesalers who inflate their stated Market Values or deflate their costs of repairs are banned from listing with us. We care very much about providing you with a top quality product.

At DiscountedProperties.com, we're different. We understand that in order to build a sustainable, successful business, customer retention needs to be our highest priority. And the only way we can do that is by providing a valuable, top quality service. We take great pride in the quality. Although in the real estate investing industry, good deals don't last very long, we make sure we deliver information that is as accurate and as timely as possible. New properties are added daily. Properties are automatically deleted from the database within 30 days of being listed. We make every effort to keep our database fresh.

We take pride in our solid reputation in the real estate investing community. We are corporate members of many real estate investment associations across the nation that value being associated with us. We are held accountable for the quality of the service we provide. There is a reason why we have been growing so rapidly over the past few years. We provide a unique, quality service you can't find anywhere else. Period.

Are the numbers on the website accurate?

We receive the asking price, estimate cost of repairs, and estimated Market Value from the wholesaler listing the property. We do not independently verify the number they provide, although we do provide the Zillow Zestimate on each property. This is Zillow.com's estimation of the property's market value.

Although it is expected that wholesalers have incentive to slightly increase estimated Market Values and/or decrease estimated cost of repairs, if we receive complaints from customers that a particular wholesaler is providing misleading information we will no longer allow them to list on the website. Since it is FREE for wholesalers to list properties on our website, losing such tremendous free exposure for their properties is a powerful incentive to "keep them honest."

Remember, the numbers listed on the website are only ESTIMATES. You MUST do your own homework on any property you are interested in. Run your own COMPS and get your own estimate on REPAIRS before putting any property under contract.

Can I cancel my membership at any time?

Yes. Just click on the "Cancel Subscription" link from the members intranet once you logon with your username and password. You can locate the "Cancel Subscription" button under 'Account Details' located in the top right hand corner of your screen when logged in. Your membership will be discontinued immediately and you will not be billed again.

Can I pay by check?

We currently do not offer payment by check.

What are the terms of your membership?

This is a monthly subscription. You may cancel your subscription at any time from within the members intranet (accessible after your login with your member username and password) at which point your credit card will no longer be charged and your access to the database will be discontinued.

If you are signing up for the FREE 7 day trial you will not be billed if you cancel within your 7 days. If you choose to keep your subscription, it will be converted to the standard monthly subscription.

I'm a wholesaler, can I sell my properties on your site?

Yes! It's FREE to list your properties with us. In order to list them, you have two options.

1. Fill out the online form for each property you have for sale. (by clicking on the "List Properties FREE" tab, and filling the form for each property you have for sale)

- or -

2. Email your property to property@discountedproperties.com (make sure to include ARV, repairs, address, contact info, and a description)

How long have you been in business?

We've been in business since 2002. We've been growing exponentially since then. We must be doing something right!

Can I look at a specific property without becoming a member?

Our Fixer-upper property database is reserved for our members only. To become a member of DiscountedProperties.com click on the "Join Now" tab and register.

How often is the website updated?

All day, every day. We have an entire team of data entry specialists whose only job is to continually update the website with the new properties we are constantly receiving.

How is your service different than other foreclosure websites?

We offer all types of investment and bargain property listings that are actually for sale at WHOLESALE prices. Traditional foreclosure listing services offer only leads of homeowners in financial distress, leads who may or may not be willing to sell below market. Often these leads are outdated, as real estate investors have become savvy and often cherry pick the best leads right at the courthouse before the foreclosure listing service even receives them. At DiscountedProperties.com we go several steps further. We specialize in finding and making available to you real estate investment properties that are actually for sale below Market Value. Real estate investing has never been easier. Subscribe today then buy, fix, sell, and profit!

Do you offer a trial period?

Yes, we offer a FREE 7 day trial.

Am I going to get junk mail by entering my personal information on your site?

We consider your privacy of the utmost importance and do NOT sell or distribute any of your personal information to any third party. We get annoyed when we get junk mail so we know how you feel. Your personal information will remain private.

Is it safe to enter my credit card information on your site?

Absolutely! All the information you enter on the member signup page is 100% secured and protected by Verisign's 40-bit encryption, the industry leader and most trusted brand name in securing information online. The information you enter is changed (encrypted) so that it becomes only readable to you and to us and to nobody else.

Also note that when you choose to cancel your subscription, your credit card information is completely deleted from our billing system. So don't worry, your credit card information is 100% safe and private!

About Our Properties

Where do you get these "Market Values" & "Repairs" numbers from?

These values are typically given to us by the 3rd party selling the property. Keep in mind that wholesalers have an incentive to inflate their Market Values and/or deflate their costs of repairs.

However, what we do to protect you from this is:

1. We ban any wholesaler who provides misleading values from listing his properties on our website.

2. Additionally, we provide a Zillow market value estimates on each property. Just click on the "Zillow Zestimate" link and you'll get Zillow.com's market value estimate of the property.

Don't forget that the numbers on the website are there to give you a quick and dirty estimate of the potential profitability of the deal. They are there to help you decide which deals to pass on and which to pursue further. Once you decide you want to pursue a particular deal, it's time to do your own homework by running your own comps and seeking the services of a licensed real estate appraiser in your state. A $200 appraisal can often save you thousands, not to mention the peace of mind of knowing confirming that yes, the deal makes sense.

Can these properties be bought using traditional (bank) financing?

It depends on the property and it depends on the bank. There are several mortgage brokers who specialize in lending on investment / fixer upper properties. Their credit requirements will vary also. Do some shopping around and see what you can find.

Most rehab investors use "hard money" lenders who can provide you the cash required within 48 hours. The amount a hard money lender will provide is typically based on the value of the property. Most of them lend between 60% - 70% ARV (after repaired value).

For example, if the market value of a property is $200,000 but because it needs repairs you are getting a great deal on it and are purchasing it for $140,000. If you are dealing with a hard money lender who does 70% ARV then it is possible to get the cash for the entire purchase price financed with no money down. If you can get an even lower purchase price then it is even possible to get the cost of repairs financed as well! The better the deal you find the less out of pocket expenses you will incur.

Where do you get your properties from?

Most of our listings are FSBO (for sale by owner) either listed by the owner or that are currently under contract by a wholesaler. The wholesaler typically assigns the contract to a rehab investor (you!) who will buy, fix, sell, for a nice profit or buy, fix, and rent for long term appreciation. Assigning a contract means that the wholesaler will sell you the right to purchase the contract from him.

Here's an example. Today a wholesaler put a property with a market value of $200,000 under contract for $140,000. (ie. he made a deal with the original homeowner to purchase the property for $140,000) The closing date is set to 30 days from today. That means that as of now, the property is still owned by the homeowner, but the wholesaler now has the 'right' to purchase that property within the next 30 days. However, instead of closing on the property in 30 days, the wholesaler will assign the contact to you, the rehab investor, in return for an 'assignment fee'. Wholesalers generally look to make between $5,000 - $10,000 per deal. Rehab investors tend to earn around $15,000 - $30,000 per deal (or much higher) since they do they "dirty" work of getting the property fixed up to a marketable condition.

We also have pre-foreclosure listings, bank owned property listings (REO), short sales and foreclosures that are typically listed by an agent specializing in these areas. 

How much competition is there for these properties?

Although we have hundreds of members across the country, each county has less than 50 subscribers.

Additionally, not all of the subscribers would be actively looking for properties to purchase. Many would be in the process of a rehab and would not be able to purchase an additional property until the current property they are working on is sold. There are many opportunities to purchase bargain properties from our database!

I'm interested in a property on your website, how can I take a look at it?

Only registered members of DiscountedProperties.com are able to access the full address and contact information on any property. Even if you are only interested in 1 property, you must still become a member of DiscountedProperties.com to view it's full information.

Once you are logged in with your member username and password, just call the contact person associated with the property you are viewing. Members who are logged in will be able to view the Contact Name, Contact Phone number, and the Full Address of the property will be displayed. For all other website visitors that are not logged on, this information will be hidden. It's best to call before even driving-by because some of these properties may be occupied.

Click on the "Join Now" tab to register now and access these profit generating deals!

Are your properties available on the MLS?

No. Most of our properties (90%) are not available on the MLS.

However, occasionally (10%), the wholesalers who list their properties with us also list their properties on the MLS. However, this is not the norm. Additionally in most of these cases, because the MLS is targeted at the retail market, wholesalers who do list on the MLS typically ask full (non-discounted) retail pricing for the same property. "Wholesale" prices are typically made available to investors only.

How long do properties stay on the website?

Properties are deleted from our database 30 days after they are initially listed.

Do you charge a commission or a broker fee on your properties?

No we don't. We are simply a third party listing service. You can rest assured we don't add any overhead to your purchase price. You are purchasing direct from the wholesaler or homeowner.

It seems several properties have estimated repairs of $7,000. Why?

It is important to remember that the cost of repairs listed on the website is an estimate. The actual cost of repairing any property depends on several factors including:

- Whether you do the repairs yourself or higher a subcontractor/handyman

- Cost of materials

- The discount you are able to get on materials (from repeat business or high volume)

- The discount you are able to get from the subcontractor/handyman (from repeat business)

When we receive a new listing without a specific rehab dollar estimate but indicating that the property needs light repairs, we default to an estimate of $7,000 which should be more than enough to cover a light rehab (paint, carpet, light kitchen work, etc).

How many properties do you have in my county?

The number of properties listed in any given county varies from day to day. The best thing to do is to check the website frequently. Doing a property search in State -> County will show you the list of bargain and investment properties currently in your area. The total number will be shown in the top left of the page.

Do you have exclusive selling rights to the listed properties?

No we don't. Our sources are free to advertise their properties through other channels as well.

Support

Existing member FAQs

How can I cancel my account?

To cancel, you must first login with your username and password, then click on 'Account Details' in the top right hand corner of the screen, then click on the "Cancel My Subscription" button at the bottom of the form. You will receive an emailed confirmation of your cancellation so please keep this for your records.

Please note that we are not able to process cancellations by phone or email. All cancellations must be done online by the subscriber per our Terms of Use.