All Forum Posts by: Brandon Johnson

@George G.

I don't know much about bankruptcy, but the best way to find out if someone wants to sell is from the horse's mouth. Ask the homeowner directly. Mail or telephone are two ways you can do that. My favorite way, however, is how @Anson Young says he does it in podcast show 96. He goes and knocks on their front door. 

@James Fleisch

Welcome to bigger pockets!

You should consider putting that first bag of cash into the home and getting the next one. Maybe focus on cosmetics in your "repairs" to push up the homes value. Is there anything to lose in doing that?

@Account Closed

As a new investor, I feel like I lack observance of these kinds of things. Macro-scale things that will have an effect on the everyday investor.

This is a fantastic post. Thank you for sharing.

@Paul Tibok

I'm sure it's safe to safe that anyone in this situation would be weary. Imagine worse case, low ball and offer and if she accepts make sure you have ways out in your contingencies. 

@Mia Garic

Where are you getting your leads and what kind of leads are they?

Time and time again we hear that Absentee landlords, Probate leads and Evictions are some of the best leads to chase.

@Gail Roberts

Welcome to bigger pockets Gail!

The first step i would take is finding someone who you can trust that is already involved in real estate. Preferably someone that you already know. You could ask for their help on investing in something like a duplex or something similar just like you said. You could follow that up by shopping around for property managers, checking their referrals and customer satisfaction.

A suggestion I have is to start by wholesaling. If you have even just a few hours extra every week, start walking or driving down streets in your neighborhood. Maybe even try taking different routes home from work. While doing this take note of the distressed properties that you come across and when you get home find out who the owner is and hand write them a letter asking if they want to sell.

Driving for dollars is how some wholesalers get started with virtually no money. What you'll need is knowledge, pen, paper, an envelope and 50 cents for a stamp.

@Neil Sinha

The first step in motivating someone is to determine their needs. And there's no better way to determine someone's needs than to hear them from their own mouth.

I suggest going to knock on his door.

I did have a similar situation once. I strolled pass a home in disrepair and thought it might be for sale. I searched up the owner listed on tax records and tried to make calls to any number I could find for him. After I had no answers or returned calls I went and knocked on his neighbors door. Turns out the gentleman died years prior in the fire that damaged the house. I don't know why the place hadn't been claimed by the county in the years prior. 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets and congrats for jumping back onto the train!

@Don Chambers

He's goes on to say that after he gets a price that he can work with he will go and walk through the house alongside the seller. He draws attention to the negatives, allowing the seller to think they should be going lower.

There are others who know negotiation tactics far better than I do. I cant whether or not you can count on them going as low as you need in person. Personally, if I needed to get a home under contract for $60,000 and the seller is telling me they want something like 90,000 I wouldn't go see it unless I knew they had a serious need to sell. Without a serious need to sell I cant expect someone to take that much off the price they had in mind.