All Forum Posts by: Ben Valentin

@Paul Bowers - OPM = Other People's Money. Raising capital is essentially the foundation of scalable investing. 

@Sean Walton @Gabriel Amedee @Keith Scott @Antonio Coleman - I appreciate the input! I definitely see the value of driving for dollars and getting to know the neighborhoods. I'm just looking for the MOST value for my time since it's limited. I'm also looking for a scalable model, and driving for dollars doesn't feel very scalable. I can't grow that model very far. 

@David Dachtera @Jerry Holt 

Thanks for the advice! I'll be visiting the courthouse in the next day or so!

@April Crossley Great detailed advice! 

How frequent would you send mailers to these type of leads? Since they're time sensitive, I assume you wouldn't wait 6-8 weeks like a lot of other mailing campaigns. 

Also, I'm sure it varies by location, but what is your process for accessing these leads at the court house? Is there a particular department to ask? Do they give you trouble accessing the leads? 

I've been driving for dollars the past few days, and I'm really curious about a few things. 

I definitely see the benefit of driving the streets and getting to know the neighborhood. I also see the benefit of "quality" when it comes to leads, and how leads generated via driving myself will most likely not be mass-mailed by those purchasing lists off the internet.

Neither of the above facts need to be argued, because I 100% agree. 

My question has to do with time. Is it more beneficial to spend all my time driving the streets to gain free leads, only to later spend the money on the mailing campaign of maybe 100-500 leads over a few weeks? Or is it better to raise $5,000 from an investor for a 5,000 piece mailing campaign and spend my immediate time negotiating deals?

My personal opinion is with time saved and money spent on a good mailing campaign - but I've been wrong before. 

I drove a few hours the other day and averaged 4 leads per hour, and drove today averaging 10-12 leads per hour. Obviously depends on the neighborhood, but the point is it will take me weeks to build a list that's worth mailing, and I'll still have to spend money to mail letters. 

I could go to friends, family, local investors and offer a deal in exchange for a mailing campaign, and have 5,000 mailers sent out this month instead of waiting multiple months to get that many leads. 

In the long run, I could obviously have interns or bird dogs driving for dollars for me. But in my opinion, it's a waste of time for me currently. I'm 100% efficiency driven and hear a lot from role model entrepreneurs like Grant Cardone and others talk about spending your time on the things that make you money (Like negotiations). But like I said, I've been wrong before.

I'd like to know everyone's thoughts!

Great pointers! I'll definitely be reading the book at some point. I appreciate all the tips to help me along the way!

I know the best answer - "Read 'The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs' by J. Scott". I promise I will read it, I just haven't been able to purchase it yet. 

Other than that, are there any quick rehab methods out there? I've heard some say estimate $8-$10 per square foot, and I've heard others say $20-$60 per square foot. Are any of these formulas valid?

I have zero background in construction or rehabs. I'm looking into both rehabbing and wholesaling, but I know I won't always have the chance to have a contractor come in and do the bids or estimates BEFORE I make an offer to the seller. 

I want to go the route that some of these guys are saying and just get a deal under contract, but rehab costs are the biggest thing holding me back from making offers. Comps, sure. I can market and I can negotiate. I just have no experience with construction. 

I appreciate any advice!

If her concern is letting the money go to waste, using it for a one time investment and paying her back is great, but she will end up in the same boat a year from now - with a bunch of money that could potentially go to waste. 

My father in law has a massive chunk of money doing nothing in his savings, and I've thought about the same thing. I would go about it two ways:

1) Go the private money lending route by using the money to invest for yourself and pay her a fair return on the money.

2) Go the equity split route and invest in multi-family as a buy and hold forever. This way, you get paid for your work, and she gets paid for putting up the cash. Even if you refinance, keep your half of the equity and use her money for another deal with the same 50/50 split concept, and continue forever. 

I just think that if the money ever ends up back in her bank account, it's useless and will go to waste. It's got to be invested. 

Of course, she's got to be on board with all of this. And I agree that you should speak with your wife, because my wife felt funny about it when I asked her dad for money...But the way I see it, you're offering THEM a huge opportunity to create wealth. 

Dean Weltman Absolutely agree with you! Long term is obviously the goal. I think the podcast guest was referring to wasting time interviewing different guys since half of them never showed up. But building those long term relationships is the best solution overall. The rehab plans were to add 1,000 square feet to the property. Either way, the property sold in less than 24 hours, so now it's just a learning analysis for me.

Dean Weltman Contractors aren't your girlfriends, they're essentially employees that you hire and fire. I can see both sides to bringing in multiple contractors for a bid situation, which is why I brought up the question. But originally the idea came from one of the bigger pockets podcast guest speakers who said he brings and six contractors all at the same time when he's interviewing for a new one. But like you said, there are definitely cons to the method.

@David Benton That's a lot of great information! I definitely need to staff my team with a realtor and GC to help me with these numbers. Any suggestions on how to convince these team members to join a team with no track record? 

Thanks!