All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Why did you pick Kansas City?

Investing somewhere if you don't have local contacts is hard. A lot of my leads come from out of state landlords who are fed up with having tenants.

But if you're serious and plan to do this as a business, I would find a local real estate agent that focuses on investment properties. Tell him what you want to do, show him proof of funds, and ask him to add you to his buyers list especially if the deal matches X and Y criteria. And be ready to pull the trigger if they send you something good, otherwise they won't ever believe that you're going to buy something..

If they don't have a buyers list, or they just send you some random junky listings from MLS, then they aren't the right person.

Real Geek is like 500 setup and $150/mo though.

PS: If you change careers because you don't see your family enough, and you switch to being an agent.. you may have a rude awakening soon :)

I would be worried about investing in LV, especially for flips. Since it's one of the most speculative market, and it has a lot of competition, it seems like you have to take more and more risks to get the deals.

I'm not trying to discourage you but try to be extra cautious so you don't get burnt.

If I were you I would spend a few months going to trustee auctions, going to a lot of open houses, trying to network with current investors etc. Anything to get a good handle on the market.

Call a local leasing agent or property management company....

To answer original poster's question, the main issues I see are:

1) Finding local notes is harder than it sounds.

2) Foreclosure isn't something you do like writing offers on MLS homes. It usually takes several months if not years. ie I have a foreclosure in process in New York. It's a killer deal in terms of expected return and it's 99.9999% safe. But.. gotta wait another 2 years before FC is over!

You could try to focus on one geographical area, in a fast state, but it is a lot easier said than done.

A $50,000 loan amortized over 30 years is only about $268 a month and that's assuming you make no profit from renting it. Are you sure you can't afford more?

As Joel mentioned, the first thing to do is to get your financing in order. You won't know what you qualify for until you meet with your lender.

Nothing motivates an agent more than finding a pre-approved (or at least pre-qualified) lead. It shows that you've actually taken steps towards buying and it's not just an idea you got watching Flipping Vegas the night before.

You can do that, and get zero visitors from SEO. Linking to the MLS tools, widgets, iframes or whatever, will not be indexed by the search engines so it's going to provide very little value.

People that search online want to browse houses. Most agent websites are built to attract buyers and that is what buyers want. If he wants to be a buyers' agent then it makes total sense to focus on a good website with IDX.

Good luck. I've developed websites for 10 years and couldn't find the perfect solution to IDX websites. Finding one that's cheap, customizable, indexable and actually looks good is a major challenge.

A few wordpress templates have IDX integration but they look very generic.

The best is a custom solution but it's not worth it unless you're a top producer and you plan to make finding buyers one of the focal points of your marketing strategy.

Hey Gary,

USP is a copywriting term for unique selling proposition. Basically what makes you different from others, your competitive advantage. Subway.. always fresh.

In terms of real estate marketing for example, I hammer the fact that I work with investors, rentals, stuff like that. I mention how I'm a local real estate investor myself and you don't go to a real estate agent that focuses on new construction to sell an old duplex - you go with someone who focuses on that.

Say it's an out of state landlord and he's tired of managing a property from another state. How can he NOT respond to an agent that specifically tells him he specializes in helping out of state landlords and local investors. The message fits the exact need.

Just do 1,000 absentee owners. Why try multiple things at once? You're "spreading" the risk but at the same time making each list super small. 250 is such a small number you might as well go hang door hangers.

Who's your target audience? What's your call to action? Why should they respond to your offer compared to the other ones they're receiving (USP)?

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. You did ask for help keeping you accountable. Direct mail is awesome but can be an epic waste of money if not focused properly.