All Forum Posts by: Christopher R.

@Account Closed - How do I convince the seller to sell his house at 25% below retail. Do I try to convince him that his house is just really worth 75% of what it's really worth? Or will he know that I'm walking away with a 25% profit but that I'm a good option because I'll be solving a few of his problems?

@Ben Leybovich - This is awesome, how you explained this.

Can you give me tips how to negotiate with someone so they will sell their property at 60 cents on the dollar? Let's say we are talking about a $100,000 house with 50% equity. Does the owner know you are walking away with 40,000 but is okay with it because he is in a bind? Or do you somehow have to convince him his house is only worth $60,000. If so, how do you do this?

@Sam Elder - Hey! What is rehab-to-perm? 

Hi! After struggling to find cash flowing properties in Raleigh/Cary/Apex, I'm starting to look into buying Duplexes in "middle of the road" neighborhoods in Durham and do Section 8. I've been reading blog posts last night and have heard of horror stories related to section 8. I'm still tempted though because it seems I can get greater than 2% with these types of properties.

Do you guys have any suggestions as far as minimizing property damage/degradation when renting to section 8 tenants?

I'm thinking I should really screen the applicants and even interview 2 or three former landlords. I'm also thinking about possibly visiting the properties monthly or every 2 weeks to begin with until I know I can trust them. I've also heard I can have a stern conversation with tenants initially and tell them that I will report them if I see significant property damage and they can lose their section 8 vouchers? I heard no one wants to lose their vouchers. What do you think of these ideas?

Thanks for this! It's hard to sometimes know which direction to go as a newbie.

@Curt Davis - Can you tell me more about doing a refi on a property that you already own. Is this commonly done? How does it work?

@Jordan Decuir and @Chris K. - Thanks for the reply. It seems like most of the houses I will find during a direct mail campaign will need rehab although a minority may be in relatively good repair.

@Curt Davis - Thank you for this! When you look at all the We Buy Houses, they all have CASH written all over their website. How do they do that? Do these investors have $150,000 lying around and they are buying these houses for cash? Should I buy with cash? I thought it was always a good idea to use leverage, or get a loan so I can buy more houses with less money. 

@Melodee Lucido and @Dev Horn - Thanks for explaining that this is about relationships. I guess I do have to spend some time answering and returning calls. It will be good practice for me. But I will scour the forum for more articles on direct mail as you suggested.

@Michael Quarles - Thanks for explaining the concept gorilla mentality. Maybe I'll message you one of these days to talk about a direct mail campaign. 

Thanks @Melodee Lucido . You are right, I can get a lot of these information for free, here on the website.

Thanks @Michael Quarles for your reply. I did want to ask you something though. One of the things I fear about direct mail is the work it entails after sending the letters. I mean, even if I just want a few deals, I will have to call all these sellers and look at properties. I do have a full time job and two young children that need a lot of time and attention. Kathy Kennebrook, in her Marketing Magic system was talking about sending direct mail where sellers sort of pre-screen themselves and even send pictures through e-mail. That way, she is able to eliminate things that will not work for her. What do you think of putting pre-screening mechanisms in direct mail? I mean if I mail to 100 people, I would much rather call 2 people and get 2 deals instead of calling 10 people and get 2 deals.