All Forum Posts by: Kase Knochenhauer

@Oleg Enik - I think your age is a benefit. :)

It's all about perspective. I started in real estate at a young age but thrived because of my age.

Set yourself apart. Tell yourself, "I'm a tech centered agent who thrives at finding off market deals for my investors using internet marketing. I'm a millennial - my computer and internet knowledge will blow your socks off!"

You have a unique opportunity. The average age of a Realtors in the US is 57 years, doesn't have the internet knowledge you do, and can't adapt as quickly as you. Take advantage of it!

Ability and skill trumps age everyday of the week.

@Monica Johnson - you've come to the right spot.

My recommendation would be to do the following:

1. post your details here. BP is full of investors looking for off market deals. (I'm interested!)
2. attend a local REI meetup and tell your new friends about this property
3. post it on Facebook Marketplace (lots of investors look for deals here)
4. post it on Craigslist (old school - but is consistently performing)
5. connect with a local agent that specializes in investment properties. He/she might have a buyer for you already

@Turner Wright - buying multiple properties your first year is totally doable.

I see that you are a contractor so you probably have experience working on homes so arranging a crew for a flip would probably come easily. Determine what you are abnormally good at in real estate, then leverage that skill to grow the other aspects of your business.

If you have time to find deals and the skill to renovate, pair up with another local investor that has the money but not the time. The key is to build your real estate business around your strengths.

Depending on your risk tolerance and cash available, scaling to 12 properties your first year is completely doable. However, remember money is lost when you fail to perform due diligence on the property/financing/partner etc. Scale carefully and don't grow just for the sake of numbers - know why you want to get to 12 units.

Good luck!

@Hart Pearson - we don't have any serious iBuyer programs in our area. However, I've had dozens of conversations with investors around the country. In general, we've all come to the same general conclusion in what we've seen in the last year:

iBuyer programs have a different targeted seller than most wholesalers and investors (the vast majority of their purchases require zero to very light cosmetic rehabs and are traditional buyers/sellers). They will be a competitor in every major city soon - however, their purchase techniques are unlikely to overlap with the majority of distressed sellers that we work with.

@Samantha Kincaid - great question! 

Get a second bank account started right away. There are two methods that I'd look at depending on your intentions to scale your real estate business:

1. Create a sub-account inside your personal account. Run all your home expenses through this account. Your accountant can assist on how deductions for expenses can be recorded properly.

2. Open a business account. This is the best method but will cost $10/month or so depending on your bank. In my mind, this is a small price to pay in order to not have to change banks and payment methods in the future.

Organizing your financing is SUPER important. It will ensure that your current investments are profitable and assist in financing future purchases. Additionally, if you decide to grow your business substantially, you'll want to get organized now. It's much easier to learn proper accounting methods with one or two properties than 30 separate investment. :)

Nice work with your duplex! House hacking is just plain wonderful. 

@Wyatt Postal - We typically use a high traffic (commercial) berber carpet with mid-grade padding. We use a darker carpet (often charcoal gray), it lasts for a few tenants and is priced well. Choose a color variation (still darker) that will compliment the colors of your home.

My contractors place the order so I'm not 100% positive, but here's what I believe the the brand we most often choose:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Dockside-Color-Bay-Pattern-12-ft-Carpet-0679D-21-12/302353456?g_store=2754&mtc=Shopping-VF-F_Vendor-G-D23-23_2_CARPETING-Multi-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-NA&cm_mmc=Shopping-VF-F_Vendor-G-D23-23_2_CARPETING-Multi-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-NA-71700000033393850-58700004413536484-92700037075139627&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3aTY98Pi5gIVEPDACh3HWgUzEAQYASABEgJfnfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Pro Tip - carpet is often on sale. If something has a deep discount, I encourage my crew to pick that even if it doesn't meet my criteria.

@Bobby Valcin - congrats on embarking on this journey!

$500/month is totally doable to grow your business. However, it's not likely to go as far as you think.

I love that you are trying to use the $500/month to leverage your time. However, I'd wait to start leveraging until you get yourself and your business organized.

Here's my recommended steps:

1. Get a CRM --- find something that allows you to schedule followups, tag clients and send texts at a minimum. (Check out Podio, Liondesk, Follow Up Boss, and Chime) These platforms will be free to over $100/month.

2. Buy really good lists --- spend your money on the data before you start leveraging other peoples time. Lists are expensive and you will burn through them quickly. Enroll in Title Tool Kit or REBO Gateway so you can pull your lists anytime you need them. Cost of $1k+/year. 

3. Pay for A+ skip tracing --- you need the best data or your time is wasted. Skip tracing is not cheap and will quickly burn through your dough. Various providers will perform better for each list depending on where you pull it from and how it's formatted.

3. Leverage using technology (not people) first --- Find ways to leverage your time using programs and systems instead of people. Can you send bulk texts? Voicemails? post cards? etc. People cost a lot more.

4. Wait to hire answering service until you have proven lead flow --- With $500/month I would expect only a few inbound calls per month.

5. Keep $100/month for lunch money --- go to coffee or lunch with one investor per week for eternity. You'll gain much and get to eat food. It's a win-win.

Morning @Kendra Santos!

Callrail and Mojosells are different beasts entirely - but both offer incredible opportunity to grow your business and can be used together or separately.

Callrail is a phone tracking and routing system that works primarily with inbound calls.

Mojosells is a multi-line dialer that will leverage your time with outbound calls. 

**both systems have a sort of recorded voicemail drop feature, but neither will offer feature rick followup programs. Typically investors or agents integrate these dialer with a CRM so that they can automate their followup. There are dozens of options out there for investors depending on your price point and scale (Podio is a popular option among investors as of 2019).

If you are a small scale investor check out Liondesk for a CRM, dialer, followup system. It's built for real estate agents but might offer exactly what you need.

As we run advertising and marketing to thousands of leads we use a imperfect combination of mojosells, slybroadcast, CallAction and Followupboss.

Pro Tip - Start with your CRM first - then add on the dialer and tracking systems as you see fit.

@Nicholas Lan - it's difficult to tell what is a fair offer without performing a real CMA on the properties.

However, yesterday I wrote an offer for a property on the MLS at 55% of list price because I thought the seller might be motivated to take it, the countered at 65% of list price.

Don't be afraid of offending a seller with an offer price. As was mentioned earlier, just make sure you or your agent properly described why your offer is written at that price.

As an agent in the Grand Rapids market, I know that homes are moving slower at this time of the year. It just snowed 6" last night, the seller are worried about the pipes freezing, they are tired of paying their gas bill, etc --- purchasing a home in the winter time can lead to some deep discounts for motivated sellers. Good luck on this house!

Now I'm curious what other people have seen. The sellers at my last appointment in Muskegon, Michigan were heating their house with their stove 😳

What's the craziest thing you've seen?