All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Barredo

What you want to do is just get them to agree to let you sell it. Get them to sign a thirty day contract that discloses you'll either buy it or find a third party to. 

Sub2 or selling really depends on what the seller needs. If they are under water and there's no room to sell to a rehabber or even a landlord, and they need out, that's a good sub2 scenario. If there's some equity, however, it is a good candidate for a wholesale deal. Likely these sellers are going to want something.

Anyway, get it under contract, then walk the property and analyze it. Give your estimate to potential buyers but be clear that it's their responsibility to practice their own due diligence. I mean, a smart rehabber isn't going to take your word for it anyway. They'll want to analyze the property themselves. 

For an 800sqft house, us its value based on the lot or the house? I mean, which would be worth more for a small house on a half acre lot? 

I heard on a podcast that small square footage homes should be called based on the lot, not the home. 

Can anyone recommend a call forwarding, automated voice messaging system that I can use to screen calls? 

That's a great idea @Charles Jones. I'll already moved his name to my mailing list. I'll do that though.

What do you think of this. Since I don't have a lot of money mailing tons of letters and mailing a few a week using a book of stamps twice a month would still take a long time. What if I stuffed my handwritten yellow letters in envelopes and shoved them in mail boxes as I D4D? What do you think of that? I just posted a Craigslist ad under "looking for real estate". Do you think I should post under "for sale by owner" too?

@Jose Flores

I made my first cold call today. It was bad, I was fumbling, my daughter was crying, I gave my inexperience away...but that being said, I was scared to death but I did it.

Anyway, leaving out the embarrassing details of the conversation I did ask him if he wanted to sell the subject house but he said no but not really a no. He said, "I'm not but if I was, I have a buyer lined up already"

Now, I'm guessing a seasoned wholesaler (that didn't have their 17month old crawling up their leg and crying for attention) would've used that as an opportunity to talk about what the other guy offered, right?

What other ways could I try to break through to someone that obviously is playing with the idea of selling, now or one day?

Any way, my name is Ben Barredo. Colleague request me if you don't mind. I am a new wholesaler in the Knoxville, TN area and I'm targeting to close a deal a month by the end of the year. I've got no money for marketing, so I'm D4D in my spare time and researching owners online. If I have numbers, I'm going to call, if I only have an address, I'm going to mail them (though I'm going to mail everyone regardless, unless they curse me out). I'd love to have more experienced investors to go to for guidance.

@Jordan Sutherland

Congrats man. May I ask, after buying your primary home, how'd you finance that first rental? How much did you put down?

I've got no capital but rentals are my end game. I want to replace my income and go into REI full time in the next 3 years. I'm starting out by wholesaling. Haven't closed a deal yet but I'm working the streets, knocking on doors, and cold calling absentee owners. I'm inspired and motivated to make this happen.

@Chris Piper and @Charles Jones

How about some feed back.

I made my first cold call and got the owner. I had my 17 month old with me and I knew it wasn't the best scenario but I was freezing up and making excuses and just wanted to get my first call out of the way.

I asked about his house and was tripping over my tongue. He did say he wasn't selling but even if he was he had someone already wanting to buy it. I asked if he owned other properties because if he did he might end up hearing from me again. I told him I'm a wholesaler (messed up and told him it was my first call ever). He said he'd save my number if he decided to sell. My daughter broke something and started screaming at that point. I could tell he was wanting to talk more because he was trying to start a conversation but I had to get off because of my daughter.

So, other than telling him I'm a newbie, what would you have done differently? How would you follow up or would you not since he said he wasn't selling now. I thought I'd add him to my mailing list.

Thanks.

Any wholesaler out there willing to answer my question? Spread some knowledge? Dish some data? 

Are there any laws, customs, etiquette, or general rules of thumb I should follow as a wholesaler? Anything pertinent I need to be aware of? 

Also, I'm a broke newbie and don't have the cash to spend on lists or marketing. I've been driving for dollars and signed up on Intelius. I am ready to start cold calling, as well as handwriting and mailing lawyers as I gather potential seller info, but I don't know how to start the conversation. 

Here's my plan. 

"Hi. I'm Ben Barredo and I buy houses. I came across your home while I was out the other day and was wondering if you are our have ever considered selling it?"

Then what? I know it depends on their answer but is that the right approach? Is that too strong out the gate? Then where do I go, from start to finish? 

I don't want a script. I wasn't this to be natural bit any tips you can give me. I know there's an art to this. 

Thanks
Ben

Hey guys. I came across this pre-foreclosure on Zillow while doing my homework and practicing filling out deals.

It's a tiny 2/1 832 sqft house with a selling price advertised at 18k.

I thought maybe I could get it for 8k (is that dreaming?)

Anyway, I'm going to be brave and share my analysis. Yes you may laugh but please don't belittle me.

I'm no pro, I'm a newbie starting out.

From the outside it looks okay but I saw that it didn't mention any renovations since it's construction in 1945 so I'm guessing it'll need a new roof and some major stuff inside. The good thing is it is a small place and it's in an area of town that is a C- but close enough to campus that I think I could get some college renters. I think I could get $750 a month out of it. It's on a pretty good size lot and the neighborhood looks clean (at least on Google street view).

This is just a preliminary. If you all think it's worth looking into, I'm going to go down there and look around before knocking on the door.

Since it's a Pre-Foreclosure, do you think I might still be able to deal with the owner? How would I do that?

Again, advice and constructive input wanted. Smart-&ss$s can stay silent...unless you're funny. I like funny.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/calculators/shared/486581/8bed17a1-2788-49ee-9d6c-ebf2ca13ac3f

Hello BP Investors,

So I have a site (KGIS.org) that I've started to use to find owner information however it doesn't have phone numbers or emails.

Is there a way to find that information out beside direct mail and waiting for a call?

This site uses my county/city assessor's information. Is this information not public?

#askBP