A Beginner's Wholesaling Journey

[Greg S.]

Hello everyone. I've been a BP member for a few months now, and I've previously been documenting my progress here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/67333-a-newbies-birddogging-journal

I decided to start a new thread for a few reasons. Number one, although I originally planned on bird-dogging, but after really diving in, it seemed foolish to leave so much money on the table. There was one deal I had been working on a month or two back that seemed semi-promising, and I felt like I was doing all of the work I would have to do for Wholesaling, but was only getting paid as a bird-dogger. That deal didn't pan out, but I learned a lot from it.

The second reason is that I have been slacking off a bit lately, and I felt I needed to change my routine to get myself back on track. I am planning to update this thread once a week with progress updates and weekly goals. I also would eventually like to link to some audio files of me talking to sellers (with important information edited out, of course), to get some feedback on how I can improve. I tend to get tripped up on the phone, and need to improve if I really want to be successful with this.

Hopefully, this thread will help lead to some consistency in my marketing and real estate research.

This morning, I mailed out 74 new probate mailings. I pulled the data last week from my county clerk's office, and am hoping that I start receiving calls tomorrow. I plan on going back to the clerk's office on Tuesday or Thursday to gather more leads.

Ideally, I'd like to be sending at least 50 letters per week between new and follow-up mailings. I have about 180 probate entries in my mailing list, and will be sending follow-up letters every 4 to 6 weeks. I estimate pulling an additional 150 per month will suit for now. Gathering the probate data is by far the worst part of the process, but fortunately I work very close to the county clerk's office.

Along with sending the mailings, I need to update my routine to include reading success stories and forum threads on a more regular basis. I tend to do this in bursts, where I read a ton of success stories, get super motivated, put a lot of effort into investing, and then end up slacking off. Reading about other peoples' successes on a weekly basis will help to keep my eye on the prize. Does anyone have any recommended blogs? I used to read Flipping Junkie, and was sorry to see that the site was taken down.

Goals for this week:
Gather 50+ more probate leads
Print the next batch of mailings
Read-up on some success stories
Build my buyer's list