A Treasured Story: A Day in the Life

A Treasured Story: A Day in the Life

by | Mar 16, 2023 | Buying a Home, Income Property, Real Estate Agent

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we want to share a treasured story with you.Not so long ago, Ashley received a call from a family inquiring about a house next door to them that had been foreclosed on. In rural Hunt and Hopkins Counties, next door can be a half mile away as many acres tend to separate homes in this part of Texas. The family was interested in purchasing the property for a son and daughter-in-law, whom Tracy went to school with in Cumby. Ashley did some research and confirmed that the property had been foreclosed on and was being managed by an asset management company. Since the house was not currently for sale, all she could do was call the foreclosing bank and inquire.

Several months passed and the family stayed in contact with Ashley, calling her each time they saw a vehicle at the property. Ashley, in return, kept an eye out for the property and any change in the records. Out of the blue, Ashley received an email from an REO residential management platform she subscribes to explaining that she had been assigned the listing of this very property! If that isn’t divine intervention, what is? After all, we do believe everything happens for a reason.

Upon inspecting the home, it was immediately apparent this property would be a hard sale on the open market. It had been on fire in the past and not fully repaired, an add-on was literally falling off the house, and rain was leaking in many places from the roof. Many businesses at the time were still working from home due to an illness we will not name, so it took almost six months for Ashley and Tracy to negotiate and close the deal for the family.During negotiations, Tracy waved his commission to get the deal done for the family. After the closing, the family was so happy they delivered a very emotional thank-you letter inside a small treasure chest filled with silver pieces! Yes, Tracy received a REAL treasure chest! If you know Tracy, you know he enjoyed telling his kids about helping pirates buy real estate and paying him with treasure!

Tags: Home, Homes, Hopkins County, Hunt County, Listing, Northeast Texas, Rains County, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Rockwall County

Trustee Sale: A Day in the Life…

Trustee Sale: A Day in the Life…

by | Feb 9, 2023 | Buying & Selling, Home buying & selling, Income Property, Real Estate, Real Estate Agent

From the perspective of Emily, who had never experienced a trustee sale and accompanied Ashley to the courthouse:

On a rainy Tuesday in downtown Greenville, Ashley Hammons of AT Home Texas Real Estate climbs up to the second story of the courthouse. She has general knowledge about the properties she is bidding on and has run a preliminary title search. In hand, she has cashier’s checks for many different amounts and some cash (in a previous experience she almost lost the bid because she didn’t have any small bills and a bystander gave her one dollar to win). In her stomach are butterflies, she shared she always gets nervously excited even though she has done this so many times.

This process is a waiting game. In Hunt County, Texas, you have a three-hour window when the trustees can appear. They either announce themselves loudly, or they can be sneaky, possibly hiding behind a fake plant or other decor and whispering about the property with the hope no one hears. During this waiting game, other bidders mill around and try to get you to share which properties you are there to purchase so they know if you are the competition. Ashley sits on the cold marble floor and keeps her files and the homes she wants to bid on close to her chest, not fully answering the questions asked by the curious investors present. Each person walking by draws Ashley’s stare, wondering if they are simply an attorney going to court or a trustee she needs to follow.

After an hour in, the trustee for one of the properties Ashley is interested in bidding on shows up and runs the auction. Six people gather around, and the bidding starts. Ashley counters the bank’s starting bid by just $30 and wins the house in a few seconds. The Trustee and Ashley sit on a nearby church-like bench in the foyer of the courthouse and complete the paperwork for the real estate transfer. She ruffles through her stack of cashier’s checks and cash to find just the right amount. The paperwork and exchange take less than ten minutes, and the property is hers. Then the waiting game for the other two properties on her list begins. In this case, Ashley waits two more hours to have the other trustees cancel their auction.

The Ways to Invest!

by | Jan 7, 2019 | Buying & Selling, Buying a Home, Home buying & selling, Homeowner Financial Prep, Income Property, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Did you know there’s more than one way real estate investors find homes? There are a lot of homes for sale in Hunt County and surrounding areas. Most of those homes for sale in Hunt County are found because they are listed by a local real estate agent, placed on the MLS, and syndicated to real estate websites. But if you’re thinking about becoming an investor, that shouldn’t be your only avenue to find distressed homes. The best deals are not necessarily advertised as homes for sale. Here are a few ways seasoned investors find homes. Usually, investors focus on one or 2 ways and make that their niche.

Trustee sales:

All homes in Hunt County in the foreclosure process must go to the trustee sale according to state law. The trustee must auction off the property on the county courthouse steps. The mortgage holder, usually the bank, place the minimum bid which is the amount of payoff for the mortgage. The bank will then place these homes with an asset manager and sell them with an agent or online auction. The auction on the courthouse steps is your opportunity to purchase the property before it becomes a home for sale in Hunt County! You will only be bidding against other investors as the bank will not place a second bid.

Tax sales:

Tax sales can be quite tricky, but there are a lot of investors who make their money here. You can get homes and land often for 1/2 the price BUT these homes are subject to a redemption period by the homeowner, might have clouds on their titles, and may not be able to have a title policy for 2 years. But if you do your research and team up with a great title company you could make some good money specializing in tax sales. We also recommend having an attorney you trust to look things over to ensure you’re covering your assets!

Auctions:

After a mortgage holder gets a home back from foreclosure they will often list them for sale on auction web sites before listing with an agent to the general public. These homes for sale in Hunt County are placed on these websites with a reserve bid and if it doesn’t sell in the allotted time it will usually get listed by a real estate agent. Here are a couple websites where you could find auction homes for sale in hunt county not yet with an agent HudsonandMarshall.com, Hubzu, HudHomeStore, RealtyTrac, and many many more. In fact, there are HUNDREDS of real estate auction websites.

Driving for dollars:

A lot of newer investors start out driving for dollars to find their first few homes and grow their portfolio. It’s a time-consuming way to find homes. It entails driving the neighborhoods you want to invest in, writing down addresses for homes that look vacant or distressed, getting on your computer and researching ownership, sending a letter, calling, knocking, etc… and trying to reach the owner to see if they want to sell.

Bandit signs:

Do you ever see those signs on the side of the road saying “we buy houses”? Those are called bandit signs and a lot of wholesalers use this technique to get the phone ringing. The signs are cheap and if you put out 100’s or 1000’s out in your target neighborhood just one home purchased could be worth the time and investment.

Using a Realtor is still the number one way to find homes for sale in Hunt County, even for investors, according to the National Association of Realtors. These are just a few examples of how to find homes for sale in Hunt County that are distressed and ready for an investor that may not have made their way to the MLS just yet.

Investing with Income Properties

Investing with Income Properties

by | Apr 27, 2016 | Income Property

investing in income property in Greenville Texas

INCOME PROPERTIES IN GREENVILLE, TX

Do you dream of becoming your own boss? Is creating passive income through rental properties a goal you are working toward? Real estate is one of the safest investments. A rental property is also a great way to diversify your portfolio. Investing in income properties in Greenville and Hunt County, Texas, allows you to generate positive cash flow. You will be able to enjoy a month-to-month income while investing in the long-term benefits of property ownership. Not to mention the tax benefits. The opportunities in real estate are vast! At, AT Home Texas Real Estate, we help Greenville, TX investors like you turn real estate into revenue.

PUTTING REAL ESTATE TO WORK FOR YOU

The real estate professionals at, AT Home Texas Real Estate consider your success to be our success. We put our expertise to work for you, doing whatever it takes to reach your real estate income goals. We work hard to produce outstanding results and exceptional customer service. In every transaction, we conduct ourselves according to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. And when you come to AT Home Texas Real Estate for help finding income properties, you can count on us to be responsive, efficient, and focused on earning the best possible outcome for you.

Let AT Home Texas Real Estate help you turn an investment property in North East Texas into a revenue stream. If you have any questions about income property in Greenville, Texas, call our office today at (903) 454-2824. Or click here to schedule a consultation and learn more about potential income properties and the MLS home search options we can provide. Even if you are in the preliminary stages of your real estate search, we can help.
Leave us a comment, have you been thinking about investing in real estate in Hunt County or Greenville, TX?