All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Barredo

@David Faulkner and @Josh Braun I am currently D4$ now but I haven't tried door knocking. I live in the south. Though I have a license to carry, that type of behavior could get me shot easily. I don't want to end up in a gun-fight, lol.

Josh, what is a blind lead? Is that just buying leads based on the area with no other criteria?

@Andrew Herrig At what point should I get a new list?

I'm doing exactly what you advise. I'm mailing the one list, finishing up my first campaign and scheduled to follow-up each month after. As calls come in, I'll divide them up into "act now", "follow-up potentials short" and 'follow-up potentials long". I plan to follow up on the non-responses 8 times. I'll find out which piece they respond to and collect data to find out what is getting the best response so I can use that. I split my list into thirds, mailing each third every other week, each with a different type of campaign (1st third - postcards, 2nd third - yellow letters, 3rd third - typed professional letters) and then I'll rotate them through each. I hit my D4$ with yellow letters and I'll follow up with postcards and then white professional and so on. Same for my probate and NOD lists.

So I guess my only question now is, when do I give up on the current list and buy a new one? I don't want to overwhelm myself with calls and since I'm doing this part-time I want it to be self-manageable. When I stack up some capital I'll invest in automated methods (voice answering service, VAs, etc.) but now I have just me. Should I buy a new list if I don't get a deal closed after 2 campaigns or sooner or what? I guess I answered my own question and I should probably do it if I don't get a deal by the end 2 weeks, after mailing the last third of my list. If I don't get a call back by then then I need to act to ensure I return on my investment. Right?

Willing to pay a one-time purchase fee or a monthly access fee to anyone that has and can share a discount code for Listsource.com.

I've been hearing a lot about people using a code that get's them lists for $.02 per name. I can either pay you $.03 per name if you get lists for me or I can pay you a flat fee for sharing the code with me.

In addition to making money you'll get the pleasure of knowing you are helping a newbie break out into the REI world. I am honest and I want to approach this game with integrity. So you don't have to worry about helping a sleazy rat get information of people that he's going to rip off. I want to help people and make both ends money at the same time.

@Michelle B.

Would those lists happen to be probate and NOD's (notice of defaults)?

I just recently found when I called the Office of Deeds they told me I had to come to the office to search their computers for the information. I also have to manually go the courthouse to and search their files.

I have a full-time job so this is going to be hard but I think I'm going to either bring someone in on a "referral fee" basis to research for me or skip out to a "doctor's appointment" one day and search them myself.

I do think that because most investors are lazy, in that they wan to make money as easily as possible and can afford to use expensive marketing techniques, I won't have a lot of competition in the probate and NOD area because they aren't going to the courthouse and digging through filing cabinets.

If you have any tips for a brother, message me. We could even work out a way for you to make some "fees" for your time.

Thanks again,

Ben 

If I want to just get 1 or 2 deals a month right now, how many mailers should I be sending a month? I am working on about 1000 leads right now. I haven't mailed them all yet (I'm on a very tight budget until I get that first deal so I'm only sending like a few hundred out every pay day).

My basic question is this. If I want 1 or 2 deals a month, should I hit this list every month or should I be hitting a new list every month? Statistically I should be hitting like 3,000 leads, right?

My goal right now is just to double my income for a few years through wholesaling. I make about $50,000 a year so I want to do the same in wholesaling. So breaking that down, I need to make about $4,167 a month. Depending on the deal, that is potentially just one deal a month.

I am beginning to think I need to be mailing 1000 a month but this also doesn't include the fact that I'll be hitting probate court up and I D4$ (but that's a very slow process; my goal there is only to learn the market/neighborhood/ and potentially luck-out on a deal every once in a while through it).

So I'll repeat, should I work this lead list to death, hoping to strike a deal a month, or should I be adding a new list each month to assure I hit that one deal?

@Account Closed and also just to be able to do an analysis on the run. I do a lot of D4$ and sometimes I come across a vacant house that I want to run the numbers on right there. In wholesaling sometimes you have to move fast or miss your opportunity. These calculators are awesome but they need to be more accessible because, for me anyway, REI is a moving strategy. Until I get to Buy and Holding and can throw my feet up while the passive income rolls in, I need to make moves quickly.

This is AWESOME!!!! Super impressed. Give me more details!!! How'd you finance? How'd you find your contractor or did you do it yourself? What got you into this?

That is an awesome turn around time. I've never heard of anyone doing something like that in less than a month, especially with full bathroom and kitchen renovations. Did you manage the sub-contractors or just the general?

Need more information. I both intrigued by your successful renovation and a little jelly-fish (jealous) about it. But I'm competitive and this is good. It fires me up. :)

The first thing you need to do @James Myrthil is educate yourself on this website. I don't know what your level of knowledge is with wholesaling real estate but let me begin by saying it's the hardest thing you'll attempt to do in the REI game. Why? Because you have to know what you're doing and you'll have to know a lot about a lot, from how to evaluate one property in multiple ways for multiple deals. You'll have to know various exit strategies. You'll have to know what's legal and what's going to get you in trouble. You'll going to have to be able to research online. You'll have to be a negotiator, a salesman, a counselor, and a marketer. You have to find deals, talk to sellers, know various ways to close the deal, find buyers and then know how to close. I've been reading and asking questions for several months now and just started my marketing to find a deal. That's another thing. You have to be persistent and slightly hard-headed because you can send out 1000's of letters to potential sellers and not get a single car. Are you going to quit or keep going?

With that being said, it's a good way to start because it can potentially be done with very little money up front. Notice I didn't say no money. You have to market to wholesale and that costs money. Depending on how you approach your marketing, it can cost less than $50 to start or several thousand.

With that being said, let me give you a few action steps.  At the top of the page in the search box, type in "The Ultimate Guide to Wholesaling". It's a great blog post that breaks it down in detail. From there, you'll probably get a lot of information on various topics within wholesaling and use those terms and methods to research the next thing you'll want to learn. Also, under the education tab, go to podcasts and start listening to them. There's a hundreds so start with Podcast #1 and work your way up.

There's a ton of free and great information on this website. There's also a ton of smart, seasoned, and kind-hearted investors that can answer specific questions. Feel free to ask me whatever you want. Like I said, I'm brand new but I have started my own marketing campaign and I have read A LOT. I might be able to answer it or at least send you in the right direction.

Warning: There are a lot of different people on this site with different backgrounds and experiences. Some of them hate the idea of wholesalers and as you post and interact, you may find a few naysayers. Ignore them. If this is something you want to do, go for it. Just make sure you're doing it right by being honest, transparent, and thoughtful about those involved. If you aren't, you're not going to last very long in this business. Happy Investing.

You all need to make an app for the calculators! ! ! 

@Jennifer Lee I love your post. Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence.