Wholesaling/Investing Part-time

Wholesaling/Investing Part-time

Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2010 · 45 posts · 13 votes

I have a rewarding day job but I always have the itch to "do more". I'm not in a position to do cash investing, yet, so the next logical step is wholesaling in my opinion. My background is in building design and construction, although on the commercial scale, I still think it will help me.

Besides the inexperience obstacle, I'm having a hard time concentrating my free time effectively to get the ball rolling. I do have capital to spend on marketing and the motivation to do the work.

I understand the process of how wholesaling works, my biggest question is how do I use my time effectively? Right now, I seem to be spread out between a lot of different "startup" tasks and am not actually get much accomplished.

I know I need to market, setup a buyers list, find title companies, find an agent. But when I split up what I need to do for say, marketing, (website, getting lists, determining who I should market to and how, budgeting) I get very little actually done with my free time. It's paralysis by analysis.

I guess I'm looking for help on narrowing my focus in wholesaling to get things started and experience under my belt. Such as : should I skip the website and just direct mail absentee owners while building a buyers list and finding a title company to work with? I already have two realtor friends on board so I have MLS access to do comps (and other help down the road).

I've already decided to skip a lot of the business formalities for now (name, LLC, cards, etc) and just work under my name for the time being. Perhaps that's not a good idea and I should focus on that? I feel like that adds no value while taking up a lot of time.

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Wholesaler · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2009 · 286 posts · 255 votes
16y

I don't know anything about starting an LLC in Iowa, but for me here in Colorado it takes about 15 minutes and $50 to setup an LLC over the internet. Of course this doesn't include the operating agreement, but you can take care of that soon enough. Personally I don't want my name on anything, not worth the risk.

I wouldn't put the title company high on the list of things to do. If you're building a buyer's list, hopefully you're finding experienced buyers which means they probably would prefer to use their title company (great, now you know of an investor friendly title company, and without doing all the leg work!).

I'm sure some people will disagree with me but I strongly believe your marketing is vastly more important than building your buyer's list. I've always said that if you have a truly good deal, buyers will come out of the woodwork to snatch it up! Des Moines is a big city, I'm sure there's a lot of folks looking for a good deal.

As a purchaser of wholesales I get a lot of phone calls of people wanting to add me to their buyer's list. Almost none of them every bring me a deal, but I'm sure if they devoted that much time in actually looking for one then we would have a lot more to talk about. If your state discloses sales info to the public then it shouldn't be hard to get a good start on a buyer's list.

If you do any networking at your local REI clubs it shouldn't be hard to find a good agent to work with. I would focus more on finding deals yourself through your own marketing. Once the ball is rolling (marketing is in play) then you'll have a lot more incentive to do what needs to get done.

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  • Wholesaler · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2009 · 286 posts · 255 votes
    16y

    I don't know anything about starting an LLC in Iowa, but for me here in Colorado it takes about 15 minutes and $50 to setup an LLC over the internet. Of course this doesn't include the operating agreement, but you can take care of that soon enough. Personally I don't want my name on anything, not worth the risk.

    I wouldn't put the title company high on the list of things to do. If you're building a buyer's list, hopefully you're finding experienced buyers which means they probably would prefer to use their title company (great, now you know of an investor friendly title company, and without doing all the leg work!).

    I'm sure some people will disagree with me but I strongly believe your marketing is vastly more important than building your buyer's list. I've always said that if you have a truly good deal, buyers will come out of the woodwork to snatch it up! Des Moines is a big city, I'm sure there's a lot of folks looking for a good deal.

    As a purchaser of wholesales I get a lot of phone calls of people wanting to add me to their buyer's list. Almost none of them every bring me a deal, but I'm sure if they devoted that much time in actually looking for one then we would have a lot more to talk about. If your state discloses sales info to the public then it shouldn't be hard to get a good start on a buyer's list.

    If you do any networking at your local REI clubs it shouldn't be hard to find a good agent to work with. I would focus more on finding deals yourself through your own marketing. Once the ball is rolling (marketing is in play) then you'll have a lot more incentive to do what needs to get done.

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    16y

    Spreading your time while working is always a problem and it is why I recommend working with someone locally that can shorten your learning curve. "Coaches" are the source or ridicule on BP, but the right ones truly do add value quickly.

    LLCs, logos, websites, etc. aren't things to focus on when you first get started. Do some advertising for deals and find some good contracts to make offers with. None of the other steps will be in play UNTIL you are making offers. Everything starts with offers so you need contracts and to have your phone ringing.

    If you are working your phone will ring during work. You may consider investing in an answering service too or possibly a virtual assistant. Everyone runs things differently, but you will be flushing marketing dollars down the toilet if you don't have some mechanism to answer and screen calls. I always like to err on the side of over screening because I hate dealing with tire kickers or time wasters. You can always make more money...you can't ever get your time back.

  • Real Estate Investor · Palm Harbor, FL · Member since 2009 · 79 posts · 76 votes
    16y

    Hi Tyson,

    These guys gave you great advice. I agree, market for sellers and get the phone ringing. Once you have a good deal under contract the buyers will come. I too have had many people call me and ask if they can add me to their list and I've never heard from them again. One thing that has helped many is a mentor or coach that is local to your area. I had a coach when I first started and he was extremely valuable filling in the blanks when I needed help. Let us know how things work out.

  • Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2010 · 45 posts · 13 votes
    16y

    Thanks for the advice everyone, I am going to focus on marketing via direct mail for now. I thought about contacting some other wholesalers I've seen on Craigslist and such but I wasn't sure how receptive they would be.

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