Lead Generation Questions

[E. Jacobs]

Hi all, I've been scouring the forums nonstop for the past few weeks and I have read every article under the wholesaling category with hopes of starting my own full-time wholesaling business this summer. With that in mind, I have a bunch of questions that I would like to ask experienced wholesalers so that I can feel more comfortable getting started and skip a few steps on the learning curve. Some questions I was wondering about lead generation are:

1) What is a realistic marketing budget for a starting full-time wholesaler?

2) What media of advertising has worked best?

3) Are there specific types of neighborhoods that you should target for greater lead generation? What characteristics are you looking for?

4) Besides soliciting leads through advertising, how else can you find leads? Are there websites you search such as craigslist? Do you drive through neighborhoods looking for houses that appear distressed? Who can you contact that may provide leads? Realtors? Lawyers? Banks? Do you hire bird dogs?

If you have any advice about any of these questions please share! I know there's some great people on this forum and I'm hoping to learn a LOT from participating in the discussion!