When starting out

Question

I am pretty close to taking action. Still working to get the funding side of things figured out. So I though I would try to get some more in depth details on how to find and do deals.

My Main Goal as of now is to find 50 homes and rant them for a minimum of 100 a month cash flow. My time frame on this is 5 to 6 years. After the first 10 are under my belt all the cash flow will be put towards the principal of the lowest Loan Value with a goal of getting half the properties paid off in the next 5 to 10 years. Once a couple are paid off it will go pretty fast it seems. I will be working full time until I can bring in 10K a month. Just not an option any other way.

Here is my biggest issue right now: How do I find the deals? ya, I know I need to get out of the house and go to local REIA meetings and such and I have been in contact with investors that are also real estate agents. But how do I find deals that are not part of the MLS? The FSBO types or Distressed properties or the people that just have tp move and move now.

In my last post I saw that Rich Purchased 63 homes in 18 months. Is the whole thing just who you know? Do you market to people who are close to loosing there home? Use Craig s list? Signs in Yards or on Corners? New Paper ads? These investor meeting tend to happen once a month and it takes time to build relationships with people. Seems like a long road to getting into the business.

Thanks for the help.

Rich Weese · Answer

Jeff- I mentioned this before. I was challenged to try and buy a house a day for 30 days. I failed. I bought 26 in 35 days... Over half were owner financed. The balance of the 26 were cash purchases at foreclosure sales. I did buy and sell one of those within 3 hours . I was competing against another bidder. He was bidding for a wealthy gentleman out of the country and had given him a maximum. When we reached the max, he quit and I got it. He hadn't been able to reach his client before bidding ended. It was a huge home and I bid 425K. It was assessed around 900K.As I was paying the money in the courthouse, the other bidder came running in. His client offered me 500K to just walk away. I took it. Now, back to the 63. I started by selecting an area, SO. TX and checke Newspapers, craigs list realtor.com etc. There were tremendous opportunities. I met the pres of the local REIA, bought 1 from him and others from his friends. ALL were owner financed. Once I moved to TX, I became active in the foreclosure purchases and also started building some homes. I also ran ads, made relationships with realtors that handled REOs and let them know I could close. The contacts come out of the woodwork when they know you close. One disclaimer-I wasn't neccessarily buying for cash flow. I wanted cash neutral with owner finance and low down and low interest for long term. Good luck. As Will said, make lots of contacts.Rich

Michael Rossi · Answer

...and there's your trouble - too much talking, thinking, and knowing - AND NOT ENOUGH DOING!

Jeff Johnson · Answer

You know Mike, if you were not right on the mark I might be pissed.

Will Barnard · Answer

Nothing special or high tech. I just keep a log book in a note book. Perhaps that is so 80's, but I just can't get into the techy stuff. I do have them in my computer address book as well. Relationships is everything in our business, the more you know, the more successful you are. There is a saying that goes around: "Your Network is your Networth" It holds true.

Will Barnard · Answer

Jeff, turn that "two REO guys" into 20-60 or more. That will drastically increase your chances for success.

Jeff Johnson · Answer

Thanks Ross and Chris, I appreciate the response. I do have 2 REO guys right now. So hopefully that will help. I am working to get financing lined up. Once that's in place they will be ready to do some work for me. I will check out the auctions. Do investor generally buy and sell on the same day to just make quick cash? I have been searching Craig's list. Love that site. Will dig into that a little more. Thanks. Keep the suggestions coming please. I am trying to find every approach I can. When writing the business plan I want to be as specific as possible.

Jeff Johnson · Answer

You know, that is very good advice. The more the better. What do you use to organize all your contacts. Any special software or just something like outlook.

Chris Chung · Answer

We get most of our unlisted properties through friends in the industry. So, I would say that it is mostly "who you know". Luckily, its not hard in the least to make these contacts if you are a serious buyer and have access to Craigslist. Look for Wholesalers on Craigslist by searching for "Fix and Flip" or "Investor" properties and call the people who are selling/wholesaling those properties.

Ross Hair · Answer

Jeff, Start with a couple of really good REO brokers. They have pocket listings all the time and send them to their preferred list of investors. Then go to your local public trustee auction and meet the investors who are bidding on the foreclosure properties. They flip their deals all the time as their plans change or they need quick cash.