All Forum Posts by: Brian G.

How this PM found you without you having a deal first is confusing to me. I myself find it very dangerous to have money without a deal. Why? It is very easy to be complacent and purchase something just to buy it. Yes, there are people around that have the money first but trust me they are sharp-discipline hawks (seasoned people). I am local and this market is cut-throat. I invite that. I will hate for you to place your private funds into undesirable areas, confusing condos, rusty mobile homes or go with an unscrupulous "partner".   How is your experience on the field? Have you crunched through the local data to determine exactly what $25k can buy in your area? What will be your concept to understand repairs to then pitch a property to a rehabber? If you bring a rehabber and he smells you don't know your numbers he will capitalize on it and dominate the negotiation - you can bet on it and you almost force him to it. I am not trying to give you a hard time here... But if you are in Miami and you are not careful you can burn through $25k easily. What are the expectations from the entity that gave you this PM? When do they want their money back? Interest? The PM didn't give you any terms (interest, etc.)? That's another flag. More complacency. It is the burning fire sensation under your feet what will propel your critical strategies to greatness. The fear to lose that PM money. An idea, could be to leave the $25k untouched until you have a proven concept on how to get in and get OUT with a profit in your hand for you and your PM.

@Rita Temple I agree with the others. The safest way should be to drive around and ask the neighbors for length of vacancy, drug activity or theft (if they know it). You said you were going to trustees sales, right? A better plan could be to pull the closed trustees activity from last 2 months for your desired county. Ask yourself the following question: how in the world these transactions closed without the buyers inspecting interiors? Hmmm. Pull the addresses. Pick a small sample. Do a drive by of say 5 or 6 of these closed transactions. Are there commonalities between the properties? How deep was the executed discount when compared to the ARV/turnkey comps? Built year? Square footage? Are they now being rehabbed? Contractor truck in the front? Jump out of your car and approach him: "is this house for sale? Are you guys redoing the entire house inside? I am looking for a contractor. What is the scope of the work you are doing here?"... You will be surprised as to the information he will be able to provide (this is gold). More questions if no contractor present: are any of the properties for rent? For sale? How are the neighborhoods? Now go back and see what's coming during your next trustee sale. Are similar properties for sale? Same area? You already know how much the other "guy/gal" paid for his/her unit 2 month ago. Hmmm. Could they potentially be making any money? No? Yes? How deep of a discount do you need to buy without inspecting the interiors? Worst case scenario? .50 cents on the dollar? .40 cents on the dollar? Hmmmm. Trustees sales are not for everyone and the risks are sky high! But where there is risk there is always a reward waiting. Like other RE investments, please do not get in until you fully understand your ways to get out. All the best

@Martin Scherer 100% in agreement with Exclusive Right to Sell Agreements. Like everything in life there are always exceptions (more often in distress-sellers territory). Sometimes the urgency to sell could throw a savvy seller outside the "Exclusive Right to Sell" and into a non-traditional flexible listing (rare). Others just didn't care of the type of listing. At that moment, they just needed to unload the property fast to later find out (miserably) that it didn't sell - they didn't know any better (no investor pitched them). And yet there are some extreme sellers that will wait for the "Exclusive Right to Sell" listing and "Protection" periods both to expire and make a move with the only offer they ever received. How can an agent demonstrate afterward that the seller had a buyer "under the sleeve" the entire time? Also, agents more likely than not will be limited of time, will he still pursue a fee? And to the extreme, if an agent corners a distress seller with a "Exclusive Right to Sell Agreement" that doesn't sell, could the seller wait for the termination date and re-list under a non-traditional flexible listing with another agent and then sell to his "under the sleeve" buyer?  I'm not promoting unscrupulous behavior but sometimes desperate seller do desperate things and if they perceive motivation from  @Javier Osuna would they attempt to get creative? Hmmmm. I think so...

Not a wholesaler but the best outcome (in my opinion) should be: "Mr. Seller thanks for getting back with me. It is great to hear you hired a professional realtor to sell your property. Lets do something, if for any unforeseen reason your property doesn't sell per the time stipulated in your listing agreement, please keep my number handy and I will be more than happy to revisit/evaluate your asking price. What is your listing deadline again? XX/XX/XXXX ok perfect.... Lets agree that I'll give you a call then and see where you at. I hope you have a great day and please don't forget to call back"... Simple, transparent, professional and you don't burn any bridges with local realtors while preserving the relationship.

@Nat C. it depends. Have you built such a marketing machine behind your business where the name of your entity will make an impact in your market? Im talking about a solid presence in the streets, in your circles of influence, in your social medias, in real estate blogs, etc? Is this marketing machine today delivering the required flow of leads to secure the best delapilated properties in the area? If the answer is Yes, then I like "Vivify Properties" as it has a catchy name that could work for exactly its main purpose - referrals from your existing customer base. Now if the answer is No, then I will have to side with @Rob Beland  comments above. Why? Entity names same as websites, spreadsheets, databases, seminars, guru courses, etc are distractions from (as you said in your post) doing what matters "hitting the streets".  None of these distraction are going to make the register "ring". Im not sure if you are in the South Florida area. We are finding deals here. But if I let my inner stories distract me from keeping my "foot on the accelerator" finding motivated sellers the next guy will buy that delapilated property. It is PURE competition down here. No room for distractions or catchy entity names for me... All the best

It affects all of the above. Equity gives you flexibility and multiple exit strategies. If positioned well maybe you only put little or no money out of your pocket. The $140k offer you are talking about is for a property value of $250k. Depending on repairs this could potentially have over $100k in equity. When you secure such a smoking deal money will follow. And finding financing for $140k would not be difficult at all. Tons of lenders will throw money at you to attach their priority security position in the property. If you miss your payment they would love to take the property from you. 

@Brett Hannon

Or better yet: What will be the benefit to the realtor? They must detect @Neomi Riley as a qualified buyer. She must keep her preapproval or proof of funds nearby. Her approach should be strong: "Hey agent I am ready to buy ABC Main Street. I am a qualified buyer. Can you please provide data/information?" Anything less and agents will disappear on her. That's a given.

@Jordan Solomon get any box not only for the reasons explained above but primarily because you want the undeliverable letters. Undeliverable = potential vacant homes!  Once you get a good basket of them. Group them by zip and do a drive-by. Hit them all and leave notes on the front door. Talk to neighbors (of course they want the place trash-out). Ton of motivation behind these gems. All the best.

I guess it depends. How about getting your RE lincense and show as an active real estate professional on your taxes? Doesn't an active participation in RE allows you to reduce your taxable income produced from your rental loss including full depreciation dollar-by-dollar? Also the short-sale debt forgiveness will be treated as income, right? Hmmmm, I know the negative cash flow every month is not fun but I also hear additional tax implications/opportunities... Im not a CPA but make sure to verify with one before going the short-sale route...

@RJ Laskin

@Davey Wilde you are in the right path... Better yet, have 3-4 scripts for both types of sellers you described. Sometimes the "circle-talk" could lead to an almost silent conversation (how uncomfortable for a seller). I usually have several topics or questions in front of me to support and validate my "But Mr. Seller don't you agree that nobody knows your property better than yourself. It will be unreasonable for me to define the value of your property. I can really throw some ridiculous numbers but honestly I do not want you to hang-up on me".     

Now regarding VAs... Maybe you can start screening how they handle the calls. A possible solution here is to record yourself on the phone and then listen how this compares to your VAs calls (ability to float from conversation a-to-b-to-c). I would also call my own VA and ask to "role-play" with me. You can play "difficult-grumpy" on the phone and note/recognize their abilities of attempting to obtain a "number" from you. Keep all recordings, compare, measure and improve. Perhaps you can even incorporate this into your VA in-house training program. Just an idea.