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All Forum Posts by: Brandon Foken

Brandon Foken has started 30 posts and replied 250 times.

Post: Valuing 4 Properties - Need Help!!

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

Thanks for the reply, Ned. Maybe I needed to be a bit more clear in my query. I'm pretty familiar with the 2% rule;however, from reading and experience, the 2% rule doesn't hold up in high value areas of which the San Francisco Bay Area most definitely is a part of. For these areas I've heard that 1% is more attainable and sought after. Is there much experience around valuing properties in a high value area like Oakland? While writing this I'm making an excellent case in my head for the need to find a mentor in this area. Still, any help/insight is appreciated.

Post: Valuing 4 Properties - Need Help!!

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

I'm finally getting some phone calls back from my direct mail pieces and one of my first calls was an interesting situation. The gentleman who called me owns 4 properties all on the same block on 41st Avenue in Oakland, CA. The details for each property follows:

- 4 Bed / 1 Bath SFH - rents for $1,600
- 1 Bed / 1 Bath SFH - rents for $1,200
- 1 Bed / 1 Bath SFH - rents for $1,200
- 3 unit property all 1 Bed / 1 Bath - average rent is $1,200 per unit

All of these currently have tenants in place (so he says). So now my question concerns evaluating this properties. Would I value these properties like a rehabber or would I value them if I were to buy-and-hold? The answer seems obvious, but I want to make sure I'm using the right criteria when determining their value.

I've read so much about how to determine an offer price for a standard fix and flip (70% of ARV - Repairs = MAO) but there hasn't been much discussion on how that differs from valuing a buy-and-hold property. My initial stab is to package all four of these up and attempt to purchase so that rents would be 1% of purchase price (actually slightly higher to allow room for my wholesale fee).

My cocktail napkin math shows that rents equal $7,600. That means in order to get 1% rent, the end buyer would need to purchase at $760,000. If I take a 5% wholesale fee (just throwing out a number) then I would need to get under contract at $722,000.

Obviously there is much due diligence still to be done, but I need to give my prospect a call back this afternoon with a ballpark number to see if it's worth scheduling a showing around the current tenants. Can someone let me know if I'm close or way out of line with my initial assumptions/valuation techniques? Any critiques are greatly appreciated!

Post: Wholesaling/Marketing Journal

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

A few quick updates from over the weekend.

I received my first two calls on Saturday, back-to-back. Neither are particularly motivated, but it was finally great to have someone call back from my mailers. One of the callers owned four properties all on the same block in Oakland and wanted an offer for all four. I plan on calling him back a bit later today and giving him a ballpark to see if it's worth a more in-depth look. The best part about this call was he kept saying, "You've sent me a bunch of mail but this is the first time you've ever answered. Why do you keep mailing me?" It's great to be able to leverage other people's lack of follow-up for my own gain. I hope this trend continues.

In addition, I received call #3 a few minutes ago and the first question I got was, "Do you speak Chinese?" Needless to say, his son will be calling me back this afternoon to talk more.

I also finished up my first mailer and have everything in the mail except the final 50-75 letters which will be dropped off a bit later today.

Lessons Learned
- My phone questionnaire was worthless. After talking with my first caller for a few minutes, I quickly realized the questionnaire/checklist I made for myself is completely inadequate. I'll be updating that this afternoon.

- Being in inside sales for 4 years finally paid off. After about 30 seconds into my first call, I was completely comfortable and controlling the flow of the conversation. I completely attribute that to spending 8 hours/day cold calling prospects for almost four full years.

-Doing this along with a full-time job and 9 credit hours of schooling is going to be tough. I need to quickly find some ways to streamline processes or this could get out-of-hand quickly.

Post: Anybody here Investing in the Bay Area? Northern California?

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

Hey, Michael. I'm located in San Francisco. If you're ever in the city or East Bay, I'd love to buy you some lunch/coffee/beer and pick your brains. You reached out to me on another post, but I'm ramping up my direct mail campaign with 500+ letters in the mail and another 450 coming out before the Super Bowl (Go 9ers!!). I hope to have a house under contract by the end of February for either a flip or for a quick wholesale. Hopefully we can connect soon. Have a great day.

-Brandon

Post: Yuma, AZ Lead

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

I got my very first lead from my website today, which is a great feeling; however, the interested party is located in Yuma, AZ - well outside of my farm area (Bay Area, CA). I'm wondering if anyone is interested in contacting this gentleman who's house is on W 13th Lane in between S 21st Drive and S 19th Drive.

I'm interested in exchanging this lead for some coaching or a small monetary fee providing you actually close on the house. Please PM me or reply below if interested. Thanks!

Post: Choosing an agent?

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

Thank you both, J Scott & Will Barnard for your words of wisdom. I had been spending this morning calling/emailing smaller brokerages in the Bay Area, but have found that to be a waste of time. I'll take your advice Will and call about specific properties.

I'm thinking of pitching my value add as:
-Can refer leads from my direct mail campaigns that want/need/warrant FMV
-Listing a flip with them (although this may be a bit unrealistic as I don't think I'll have a completed flip in the next 5ish months)
-Sending other investors their way

Is there something that I'm completely overlooking or not realizing what I can bring to the table? Sorry for the remedial questions, but I'm just trying to ensure I won't come across as a big dummy when I call around.

Post: Wholesaling/Marketing Journal

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

Nice work, Michael! Best of luck on your meeting today - let us know how it goes.

Post: Wholesaling/Marketing Journal

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

Nice work, Michael Spencer. When did you get your first call? Yesterday or Tuesday? Any good leads out of your first seven?

I was hoping calls would start coming in yesterday, but still holding out hope today will be my day.

Post: Choosing an agent?

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

I'm in a similar situation as the OP, Steve K. How did things work out for you Steve?

I'm currently enrolled in some local community college courses and will be taking the CA license exam in the summer. How can I approach an agent full well knowing that they'd would maybe get one or two (at best) listings from me? How do you try and make that a mutually beneficial relationship? I'd like to start calling around to agents/brokerages in my area, but am hung up on what to say to these folks and how to make it worth their time. Any advice in very much appreciated.

Post: Wholesaling/Marketing Journal

Brandon FokenPosted
  • Wholesaler
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Posts 259
  • Votes 146

Some more (non)updates.

I'm dropping another 200 mailers today. Still waiting on my first phone call - hoping today will be my lucky day! How long did it take you to get your first call? I keep staring at my phone trying to will it to ring.