All Forum Posts by: Michael G.

Welcome to the world of wholesaling. In this day and age, if you found a vacant property, someone probably walked away from it and it's a candidate for a short sale. In some cases it's an REO that already belongs to the bank. If you have the owner name you can go to ussearch.com and find the most recent contact info sometimes phone numbers) for the owner for about $1.95. The negotiation and contract signing piece all depends on the type of deal that comes into play after you contact the seller. For instance if it does happen to be a short sale candidate you need to have a realtor a) list the property b)have the seller sign the contract with you, etc. If it's owned free and clear...BINGO...you have hit pay dirt! Hopefully you have built up a nice fat list of rehab buyers to wholesale to. There is some very valuable info in the posts below especially for newbie wholesalers

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/54108-buyer-s-list-how-to-

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/58383-the-truth-about-wholesaling

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/53454-exit-strategies-for-wholesaling-what-is-a-double-closing-

You say you pretty much have everything down but you are talking about taking title to the property. Wholesalers don't generally take title unless they are double closing and that's a whole explanation in and of its self. First things first you need to track down the seller and see if its even a deal. While you are doing that you should spend a good amount of time on the wholesaling forum starting with the aforementioned links.

Once you track down the seller tell them you would like to buy but find out if they have a mortgage and how much they owe.

Come back and post your findings. Good luck!!

I've had the same exact experiences as Bryan and continue to have the same experiences with the new PM just to a lesser degree. I guess its just part of what comes along with managing the property manager. I would imagine if one had a property that was in pristine condition that the maintenance issues would be a dream to handle because they would be virtually non-existent. The late payment of the income is unacceptable in my eyes and is exactly the reason I fired the last PM. Its just not negotiable. I had to be cautious because i'm a long distance investor and I had to hire a new PM before firing the old one but that firing couldnt come quick enough. I also wonder if there may be a correlation between the type of rental properties one owns and the PM who manages those properties. All of the properties I own are in lower to low middle income neighborhoods. I wonder if there is a correlation?

Armando's and the other GURU's infomercials are so slick and sexy.

They lure you in with the call 2 action. "Call in now and receive my free book"...who doesnt want something for free?( u pay shipping and handling ) and then attend the mini seminar at one of the hotel locations designed to lure you in and subsequently suck some "education" money out of you.

I admittedly have lost a ton of money on GURU programs. Yes, i've learned a lot but what I use in real life is no where near what Ive learned. Some of sales techniques, how to handle objections, some letters to prospects, some we buy houses cas advertisements. Definetly not worth the money I shelled out. It's interesting because like you said these guys are MASTERS @ marketing and advertising and have the slickest and sexiest half hour infomercials I've ever seen. Robert Allen jumping out of a Jaguar. ****** filming from his Mercedes Benz. The infomercials are hypnotic, very, very tantalizing, and always seem to appeal to my inner entrepreneur. Ultimately, they all follow the same model...

THE INFOMERCIAL APPROACH:
The main goal of an infomercial is to turn passive watchers into active buyers. Here's how:
1. Capture the viewer's attention and keep it.
2. Keep them watching while you present the benefits with emotion.
3. Close the sale by getting the customer to take action.

I've been blinded by the light a few times. @ the end of the day I've found that alot of the text book real estate investing "education" i get on books and CD's from the seminar's Ive attended doesn't apply in real life. Its just a blue print. I think it's valuable but way, way,way overpriced. I think that most people (present company included) never know that you don't need to over pay for the information until you've already, well, overpaid for the information.

Classic case of "you dont know...what you don't know."

Generally its one PR and by the time they contact you they already have the power to sell any assets belonging to the estate. What do you say? I got a call from a PR that I sent a letter about 3 months ago. She said I received your letter about 3 months ago. Are you still interested in buying the property? My response was "of course"! I just wholesale estate properties because they are owned free and clear and there is not a lot of competition.

I use http://www.ussearch.com/consumer/index.jsp

It gives me the current address of the seller which is listed as number 1. Address number 2 is usually the vacated property.

Here is the good part...an instant search is a $1.95!

Findtheseller.com is 20 bucks a pop and not the best option for me if I want to just find the current address. I grew up in REI on FTS.com but damm its expensive!

ussearch.com has premium search and save membership that for 19.95 a month you get 3 reverse lookups, 1 advanced background check and 3 advanced people searches. Well worth it if, like me, you find yourself having to track down owners of vacants.

I dont understand. When does the delay occur? Is it because bakruptcy proceeding prevent the sale of assets? Does that mean I can take the preliminary steps toward the short sale? ATRI, bnk stmts, tx returns, hardship ltr, etc?

If an owner files for bankruptcy can they still do a short sale on a property? I've run into owners who say they have filed for bankruptcy and are protected from the bankscoming after them. I never have an answer for that response. i would love to say "no worries. We can still short sale the property"

is there a way to get in there? When I try it says the forum is private. There was something Mary Ann said about buying properties for cash that I want to look at,

Welcome from a fellow Long Islander. Congrats on becoming a wholesaler. Reach out if you ever have questions.

@ Tre - months! I started this deal in Dec 2010 and we are just getting approval from the lender this month.