All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Barredo

I'm with @Account Closed

I send out 350 postcards and got a big-fat-zero calls. 

I sent out the same in yellow letters (hand-wrote them myself) and got zero calls. 

Typed up letters on a Microsoft using Mail-Merge and simply signed my name at the bottom of each (I do this while watching TV or talking to my wife at night or listening to a podcast) and physically wrote the address on each envelope myself (also while doing something else constructive...or not so constructive) and sent out 300 letters. I got about 9 calls in the first 2 weeks. 2 were to take the off my list. Most were for bad deals. 2 were for decent deals. 

This was all on the first round of mailers, too. Everyone says that the first round should be expected to have no returns, making the third and fourth mailings the better ones for good leads. So going by this, I suspect that each following round of mailing will result in me getting or getting closer to the lead that will have a payday attached. 

I am brand new to this. Started actively mailing in October. 

Another thing Pratik said, which I have recently learned for myself, is that a good lead list is difficult to obtain. I got mine off of Melissa Data. 10% of the names on the list are for big banks who aren't going to see my letters. Another 25-30% are repeated names. Such a waste of money. 

Now I drive for dollars more and I am going to the courthouse to dig through files of probate cases and pre-foreclosures and tax liens. I'm even going to chase code violations. I don't want to mail to people that everyone else is mailing to. I also don't want to just blindly mail to people with equity or absentee owners that might want to sell, might be distressed but likely expect to sell their house for substantial profit, leaving me with no negotiating room - which as a newbie, until you get good (which I'm not) you want to have as much room to negotiate with your seller and your buyers. 

Good luck man. 

I recently started calling banks to explore all of my options when financing a rental property. When talking to a loan officer at a local bank and explaining what I would be doing with the property and she said that I would be using a commercial loan to obtain the property. 

I know that I don't have to use a commercial loan....or do I? 

What type of loans did you all use for your first few properties?

When should I use a traditional loan verses a commercial loan? 

What are the benefits  and downfalls of each? 

Thanks for your replies. 

Also, I'll likely be at that Xmas Party and would love to meet.

@Darin M.

Bike shop = Greenlee's has been around forever, is small  and independently owned and will do some work for free or even let you use their tools. They don't have the widest selection of new bikes to choose from but are a great place for maintenance.

Coffee Shop = don't have an opinion. I get gas station coffee and think Weigel's and Pilot have the best brews.

Taco Shop = We don't have a lot of great Mexican places here. They're all kind of generic. Knoxville is just starting to grow when it comes to the foodie scene.

Farmers Market = Best is in Market Square every Wednesday morning.

Bar = There's a lot of good bars in town. Best places with old-school nostalgic feel are in the old city. They all have one or two TV's but they're just wall décor.

Title Companies = Check out Crossland Titles - ask for Beth (owner)  - which is who I work with. Also Southland is a good one and they both work with investors.

Talk to @Robert Smith about brokerage firms. He's a really busy guy but incredibly knowledgable about the market and the firms.

How big of a buyers just should one have? I have a twelve person must as of now but recently have been pushing a property that no one send to want. Yes, it's not the best deal (it was my first and I was excited and made a few newbie mistakes) but there's plenty of room for a seasoned investor to make a decent profit (10k on a 60k house). So I have crap buyers or what? 

@Vince Mayer Do I sense sarcasm? 

@Tim Herndon what exactly is Reverse Wholesaling? 

@Steven Leigh Thanks. That was my plan. I also need to get a website for buyers. I have a website for sellers through investorcarrot.com. I'm starting to think that it would be more important to get a buyers page instead. What do you think? In the last month I have gotten no leads through the website. I know it's early (launched it less than a month ago) but I think for now it might be better to spend my money on a buyers landing page. Thoughts? 

It went well. I didn't have anyone that asked about the house but upon arriving, you add your name and email to a list and then they email everyone everyone else's contact information and investment niche - so I have about 50 more people on my buyer's list. 

I put the information for the house up on a board and a few people looked at it but no one approached me. We'll see. If I don't get anymore interest by Thanksgiving, I'm going to try to talk the seller's down to $7k. I thought about it today and if I can even talk them down to exactly what the buyer wants, I'll at least close a deal, make a buyer happy, and chalk it up as a lesson learned. Maybe I can get the buyer to pay me a small finder's fee. 

I'm also going to ask the seller if they're willing to sell this house and another they have in the neighborhood as a package deal. The buyer wants both. 

@Darin M. - Thanks a lot.  I love the advice. 

@Lynda Johnson - Good advice. I haven't seen those bandit signs for a while. They used to be everywhere but not so much. I do see them in Craigslist so I'll try that route. Thanks

@Ana G. - I'll read that article on my lunch break. Thanks