Is Wholesaling possible in Brooklyn and Queens?

Question

Hello, I just got back from a meet up in New York. I am a brooklyn local and trying to get wholesale deal here. Have been sending yellow letters. around 200 so far (planning on following up this coming month)

Everyone at the meetup (at least those who I talked with) made it look like there was no possibility of doing wholesales anymore.

I am targeting Neighborhoods like Bedstuy and Crown Heights.

Can I still pull of some wholesale deal in Brooklyn? or should I just get out of the city with my marketing?

Thanks tons!

Damon Bodine · Answer

@Javier Perez-KaramThere are always deals anywhere in every market. Anyone who is saying "there aren't any deals left in Bushwick and Bedstuy" isn't seeing the whole picture. People buy and sell houses in those neighborhoods off market every single day. Often times the key is to get to the sellers first. I've been able to facilitate the acquisition of 4 properties in those neighborhoods in the last calendar year. If I was you and just getting started I would do the following. #1 Pick a 15-20 block radius of residential housing. For NYC you could easily draw this map using a department of finance block and lot map. #2 Build your social reach within the neighborhood. That includes knocking on doors, sending mail if you desire, talking to all of the people in the area retail. I've gotten great information from people working at corner stores, nail salons, 99 cent stores etc. I also helped some people organize a block party two years ago in Bedstuy. I still get referrals from that event. #3 Don't get discouraged if you don't get a deal right away. #4 Remember most importantly you're trying to solve a problem. The laundry list of problems that sellers I've met have is endless. If you can humanize yourself to their situation and offer a unique and feasible remedy than people will grow trust you. Building trust is everything when you're trying to turn a cold lead into a warm lead. From a strategic standpoint all of the ideas discussed here are good. More equity is favorable, larger housing is preferred (I would say houses with a minimum of 20 feet wide x45 feet deep is preferable for fix/flip. Hope this helps.

Damon Bodine · Answer

I think NYC and especially Brooklyn is ultra competitive. There are so many people doing direct mail. You'd be better suited door knocking. I think there is a lot of opportunity there.

Ben Roberts · Answer

With only 200 letters, I would make sure they are highly targeted. Find out what type of homes have the most cash buyers or are used most often for rentals. Figure out where those homes are. Then buy a list using that criteria where the homeowners have at least %30 equity and have had the home more than a few years. You might also want to further narrow that down to absentee owners. This formula has worked well for me.

Chiagozie Fawole · Answer

I'm sure there are wholesalers in Brooklyn. But from a direct mail perspective 200 letters may be too small for a city as large as ours.

Account Closed · Answer

You mean it isn't like the books and recordings said? You just send out letters; the phone rings off the hook; sellers beg you to take their properties; and, hungry investors line up in a bidding war to buy your property you want to wholesale? What a shock!Yes, amateur hour is over for the wannabe wholesalers, that's for sure. If you haven't been trained by a professional, you will struggle.

Michael G. · Answer

@Javier Perez-Karam First of all congrats for getting after it! Bed-Stuy \ Crown Heights! Wow,,,you jumped right to the major leagues! I have a couple of thoughts as well as questions. Questions - 1) If you are targeting defaulted mortgages do you have a strategy in place to execute on that deal from start to finish when the defaulted homeowner says they want to work with you? (i.e.: short sale specialist, cash end buyer) 2) How many touches do you plan on doing for each lead before you expect to get a response. I think @Damon Bodine mentioned door knocking. I think that is an excellent idea. That way it’s not really a cold call because they received your letter and your intro when you knock on the door is "Hello - My name is Javier. I was just following up on a letter I sent about your property and wanted to know if you had any questions." 3) Are you doing the mailings yourself? If you outsource that task it’s not as daunting. You could train a 14 year old to do it.Thoughts - I would keep hammering it out but your strategy has to be consistent. I also think in highly desirable target markets like the ones you are targeting you can't auto-pilot your strategy. Personally if I were in that market today I would be touching doors every day. All 200 of them. I used to live in Bed Stuy so I know the values and your wholesale pay days could be $15k - 25K base hits with the occasional 50K + home runs. Your competitors could be right here on BP for all you know.Occasionally you will get comments like the one you received regarding what you may have learned on books and tapes. There is a good and healthy amount of disrespect and disdain for wholesalers by some members of the BP community. Don't sweat it. Just keep grinding and post some check images of your wholesaling fees!

Alex Franks · Answer

Javier Charlotte NC here , its not just NY right now is a tougher time for inventory every where. NY is major Market and higher entry point then most markets. I would concentrate on a niche. You are already hitting the meeting. Keep going ,and find a few local buyers then target their wish list. Focusing on what they are buying. I'm sure this is pretty generic post. Keep your head up and don't give up. This is not an easy business and takes a lot of work.Alex

Javier Perez-Karam · Answer

Thanks everyone for the answer.@Chiagozie Fawole YES! I agree 200 is small. It's the first batch, we are adding more to that every day. knocking doors is the next step we will be taking and biking around (since driving around is not an option because we don't have a car. haha!)@Ben Roberts yes! I bought a couple lists from listsource.com (anythoughts on that)? one with absentee owners, the others one with defaulted mortgages. I didn't think about the equity. Will go finetune my search. Also, the 200 have just been the beginning of the letters. I have right now 700+ list, but figuring out the rights system to do this fast eventually have been part of the reason why it's going out slowly.Account Closed Thanks! yes! I am looking forward to going door knocking. In your opinion, where do you think are the most opportunities? Yesterday at the meet up I heard people say things like: "there is nothing left in bushwick or bedstuy! You are better of going to East New York!" Is that true? I am not really attached to any area, I want to make it work regardless, so your opinions would be very valuable.Thanks again everyone!

James Ritter · Answer

Contact me when you can. I sent you a PM. I am in Long Island and looking for a partner to work with on deals in Brooklyn. Have a really unique custom built program that can help find distressed owners

Chaim F. · Answer

@Javier Perez-KaramWholesaling is really tough these days, the best idea for you to start would be picking a few streets and trying to contact those owners by door knocking or by walking those areas and speaking to the neighbors. While traveling there if you come across neglected properties write them down and try to get to these owners preferably in person.