All Forum Posts by: Craig B.

@Karen Margrave That's why I ask!

@Account Closed Thank you!

@Maugno M. Talk to me like I'm 3. You don't need a realtor or shouldn't use one? Is this even something we should be doing as investors? Or does it skirt the law? 

@Karen Margrave Maybe I'm describing it incorrectly?

Here, maybe this will help clarify.

"Be a real estate matchmaker

I'm a real estate matchmaker, and I am in the business of hooking up people who want to sell with people who want to buy. That's it! The secret? Find someone who really, really, really wants to sell, and someone who really, really, really wants to buy, and then introduce them! (You'll need some paperwork in there, for sure.)

What do you need to know to be a successful real estate matchmaker? Well, a couple things, really, but only a couple: Whom to buy from and whom to sell to. Of course, there will be some "how-to's" in there as well, but essentially, that's what you need to know. I am not a real estate investor--I'm a real estate matchmaker.

And yes, it really is that simple.

Do yourself a favor and don't try to complicate things. If you know who wants to sell and who wants to buy, you'll have the makings of a game plan in place that is second to none.

Am I an investor? No. Do I care about the long-term ownership of investment property? No. I am simply a deal maker who understands precisely his role, real estate matchmaker.

Your job now? Don't complicate it! Don't try to make it any more involved than what's described here. If you want to someday own houses, that's fine, too. But that's not what we're doing today.

A role you should seriously consider is that of a real estate matchmaker. And as such, you'll need to know whom to buy from and know whom to sell to, and that's all you'll need to know. Now, go hook 'em up."

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Finding a property and having a deal accepted by the seller, then finding a buyer and using their money to finance the deal.

If you're playing match-maker, do you need an agent to close still? Where do you get the contract?

the cap rate seems ok

I'm not a great source as I haven't actually gotten in the game yet, but from what I've learned that cap rate is pretty abysmal. The chart you provided is a bit hard to read but am I correct in assuming that it is not fitted with those appliances and you're accounting for their cost? Or are you preparing for their replacement?

So I've recently learned quite a bit about business credit and how an LLC can stand in place of my own credit if it is structured correctly. For example: Address is a virtual office, phone and fax are business lines, and no social security number is given. So that is one possible alternative I've found.

Still no luck on the other concerns, but I guess those are hard to answer as they can be so varying. If It helps, I'm located in Wisconsin.

My name is Craig. Years ago, far too many to be proud of, I had a partner crash a business on me and jump states to leave me with the debt. We managed foreclosed properties and the parts of the job I enjoyed, I really enjoyed, while others aspects (my partner) were less enjoyable. To give you an idea of how bad he was, he wanted to expand during the first year, and hired people behind my back.

I'm looking to start now as an investor. I've read, listened, and watched many sources on the topic but there are a few things that surprise me that have been overlooked in these discussions..

For instance, Lease-Options aren't looked well upon, legally speaking. They have a bad rep from those who abuse it... and the ones who abuse it, REALLY abuse it. It's heart-breaking, really, since I find the technique to be one of the best ways to help those in trouble while being able to still come out of the deal saying you invested. Not just break even.

So I have a few questions for our more senior investors: Who do you see to cover the legal sides of things? I'm asking for referrals, where to turn, not legal advice (which is probably why you don't hear much about this topic, those speaking would become liable).


On a similar, but different topic... I get the impression much of the time that many write up their own documents and keep the deal between them, the buy and seller, and it doesn't see 3rd party hands much of the time. I also hear this is where trouble comes from. Has this ever been someones experience?

Another concern of mine, I hear all the time that you can play match-maker, and basically perform a deal without any out of pocket expense. (this was even discussed at last night's webinar). Yet I also observe "don't spend money you don't have", which would contradict this. Both pieces of advice have actually come from Brandon Turner, so its a source of confusion for me.

I am someone that, ever since the business crashed, banks and loans view me as a plague. I can't get outside help, I don't truly have assets, and certainly not enough capital. I figure, unless I have a deal already lined up and it looks good enough to another investor, how would I be able to start?