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Home » Resources » Millionaire in the Making – Lee Phillips

Millionaire in the Making – Lee Phillips

I place a lot of ads on Craig’s List, “I Buy Houses Cash, any area, any condition.” One day I get a call from a lady named Alice. She tells me she has a house that’s in really bad condition and should probably be torn-down. She wants $50K for it. I told her I would check it out and get back to her. I looked it over on Google maps and Zillow and decided the lot would be worth about $15K. I called Alice back and told her all I could pay was $15K because the house was in such bad shape.

She tells me they need $50K to buy a motor home and can’t sell for anything less. Over the next 3-4 months I would occasionally text her and ask if she’s ready to sell that house yet. Eventually she said they would take $40K. I explained if the house was in great shape I could do $40K, but I can only do $15K in cash.

Finally one day she texts me and asks if I can do $20K. I tell her I got $16K, should I come over and we can do this? She texts me back and says they will think about it. The very next morning I get a text that simply says, “We can do the $16K.”

I jumped in my car and drove the 20 miles to a nearby rural town. I was greeted by half dozen dogs of all sizes, luckily all friendly. Alice walked me around to the back of the house. I was shocked at what I saw. A half-acre of old motor homes, boats, washing machines, old lawn mowers and cars and trucks. There was a barn and lots of sheds that were also full of junk, even piled high on the roofs. There were pigeon pens, chickens and ducks everywhere.

When we went to the house, I noticed rafter tails that were rotted and areas of the roof that were sunken-in. There was a wash room that had a lot of water damage, a bathroom that was completely gutted to the studs. The bedrooms were stacked floor to ceiling with stuff. The light switches didn’t work. The pungent odor of animal urine took my breath away. I could go on and on. We went out the front door which was rotted and delaminating, the front yard had several large trees that had fallen over but continued to grow. Looking at the house, I could tell the second bedroom had been added later as the stucco and roof line didn’t quite match.

I looked at Alice, and she was quietly waiting for me to say something. I tried to hide my shock and disbelief. I tell her the place needs some work, but I will take if for the $16K. We walked around to the back again and found an old, wooden picnic table under a big shade tree. I found a rag and tried to wipe off the dirt. Her and her husband were friendly and really a cute older couple. I felt right at home with the dogs and the place because I grew up in a similar environment.

They signed my agreement, and I gave them a $5 earnest deposit. As I drove away I was asking myself, have I made a mistake? Will anybody want this Okie Hillbilly haven?

I got home and optimistically placed an ad on Craig’s List for $32,000 Handyman Special. I was really surprised to start getting calls a few hours later. The first caller was really aggressive and offered $20K

I told him I just got it on contract a few hours ago and I want to get closer to my advertised price. He goes up to $22K then $24K and was pressuring me to sell it to him at that price. I told him if you can do $25K, we might have us a deal. He wanted to think about it said he would call me back. The next caller, I tell him I think I have it sold for $25K. He asks, will you take $26K? I tell him that just might work.

He wanted me to meet him at the Title Company the very next morning. I told him I will just email my contracts over there, you go there and sign everything and get it started.
I sold this house in less than 24 hours. It took three weeks after getting the property on contract until I picked up my check. The buyer wanted to re-inspect the property and had asked me “What if they leave all that junk there?”

I laughed and told him, I guarantee they will, it’s part of the deal. He also wanted to hold off paying the sellers until after they had moved out. I told him that wouldn’t work, but we can write it in the contract that we’re holding $5K until the house is vacated. He also wanted to know why he had to pay all closing costs.

I was getting stressed out trying to keep this deal going. Several times Alice called and told me they needed money right away, I told them to be patient, and I was getting really concerned because escrow took three long weeks.

I emailed my buyer a few months later and asked how things were going. He tells me he had to order 18 roll-off dumpsters at $500 each and paid three guys salary for three weeks to clean the place up. He says he spent $14,000 cleaning up the place and hasn’t done any repairs yet. I think I would have put that money towards fixing the house and getting it rented or sold.
Some investors have all the fun. Let’s make some Money.

Lee Phillips

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9 Responses to Millionaire in the Making – Lee Phillips

  1. Darren Dixie says:

    good stuff. congrats on your success.

  2. Fernando Calderon says:

    Great story man… I have a similar one, I might share it one day.
    That’s a quick 10K.

  3. Carla Dewitt says:

    Just love those real life examples.

  4. Reggie Germinal says:

    This is a great story and a good reminder to keep marketing on CL

  5. Regina Brown says:

    Way to go, get the money and keep your eye on the prize

  6. Joseph C Bailey II says:

    That is laser focus, great work, great determination I admire that. Keep up the deals. You know most people don’t make $10k in three weeks; if you did 3 or 4 of those a year that would pay for all expenses paid vacations in some really nice places.
    Way to go Lee

    Jo Bailey

  7. Robert Straker says:

    Hello Lee,

    Congratulations and good job on the deal! I am proud of you and your efforts. Glad to read that you made some good money and are becoming a successful real estate investor. I am new to Planet Ron, and am working on my first deal. One day I too will be able to post a success story like yours. Take care, keep up the good work, and keep on investing.

    Bye for now,
    Robert

  8. Robert Straker says:

    Hello again Lee,

    Congratulations and good job on the real estate deal! I am proud of you and your efforts. Glad to read that you made some good investing decisions and are becoming a successful real estate investor. I am new to Planet Ron, and am still working on my first deal. One day I too will be able to post a success story like yours. Take care, keep up the good work, and keep on investing.

    Bye for now,
    Robert

  9. Robert Straker says:

    Oh by the way Lee,
    How many other deals have you done since this one? It would be interesting to find out what other deals you have so we can all learn from you experience and perhaps use that knowledge to help ourselves make us successful. Thank you and take care.

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