New Wholesaler Driving for Dollars Inquiry

[Derrick Redd]

Hello, I just began my journey with wholesaling about a month ago and I am currently driving for dollars using Deal Machine in the San Bernardino, CA area. I have a few questions that will hopefully allow me to maximize my time and resources. 

1. Is it a waste of time to market to LLC owned properties? If not, would a beginner be advised for to pursue those types of leads?

2. In reference to A-B-C-D neighborhoods, A being Beverly Hills and D being Compton, are D properties worthwhile to pursue?

3. I am having trouble finding vacant properties or really any homes that are very distressed (tall grass, busted windows, etc.). I see plenty that are slightly distressed and they usually are already owned by an LLC or owned by a family trust. On the occasion that one is not, should I still attempt to contact the owner? They may not be very motivated of their homes are not in too bad of shape.

Any other information on how to successfully drive for dollars would be much appreciated. 

Thanks!

[Joey Chavez]

@Charles Johnson

Hi Derrick!

Love this question - it’s right up my alley.

I would definitely recommend you market to LLCs - so many of our deals come from that. You’re removing a lot of potential deals if you remove LLCs. I would also recommend pursuing any neighborhood A-D as long as it matches your acquisition criteria and passes all of your tests.

I have to add my two cents about driving for dollars though - because there’s a better way!

We are wholesalers of many types of properties, and one of the reasons it is so great is because we can do it from literally anywhere, we don't have to be where we are looking to buy.

We are direct mail acquisition machines all without leaving our office (or home, or wherever we happen to be that day - haha). We pull assessor data from a direct link of the type of properties in the areas we want and send ALL the property owners an offer. (Not only out of state or tax delinquent.)

We scrub the list and then spend a tremendous amount of time on pricing, because although these offers may be a lot less than retail, they are not out of the question. We explain in our offer letter to sellers that we are serious investors, we are not agents/brokers, we pay cash, and are prepared to close in as soon as x number days. Then we wait for the motivated sellers to call us - and believe me they do. It works amazingly well, and it is how we get there first.

Knocking on doors (aka "driving for dollars") is an outdated way of doing this. We now have DATA and computers and direct mail making our lives easier and our time more lucrative.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!