All Forum Posts by: Devin Aikens

@Devin Aikens try some local real estate meetup groups. Meetup.com is a good resource for those but some of the groups will also post here on Bigger Pockets Marketplace too. Even facebook might have some good local groups for you. But post locally for this. That’s the best bet.

if you want to know the chain of ownership, when loans were taken out, with whom, for how much, and sometimes see the recorded documents, use titltpro247.com. This is for property data, not people data but, it gives you all the people involved with the property at one time or another. its not free but, its what lenders use when they are looking for people and property information. You could also use LexisNexis but good luck getting the approval to use their data as they are mostly for institutional/law enforcement use.

There isn't any way you are going to get information for the administrator of an estate for a deceased person unless there is a court document associated with that.

I've been using a general lease agreement my agent provided, with some personal additions. Now, I'm considering hiring an attorney to draft a more tailored lease agreement. Is it worth the time and expense, or should I stick with my current approach?

 Hey! 

Georgia is a great market. I do cash deals, subto, seller finance, and use about every marketing channel other than TV commercials and radio. 

Let me know what specifics you have or feel free to send me a direct message. 

I can help underwrite, close and dispo to buyer. I have investorlift cartel mode so moving properties to buyers is never an issue 

CELEBRATING MY FIRST YEAR WITH NETWORTH!

A little bit about my first year:
I celebrated my first year in real estate with NetWorth on August 22! This first year has taught me so much. Getting into real estate I knew the statistics, almost every agent fails their first year and I was determined that was not going to be me. I started working my a** off and sold my first property in a month and a half. Two weeks after I got into a terrible car accident. I had to take time off work to give my body time to heal and find another vehicle. Finally, after what felt like forever I was back in the office (on crutches) trying to get back on schedule. For the remainder of the year, I was playing catch-up on the time I missed while being out. January hit and I sold my second property. February I sold my third. In March I sold two properties back to back. I was on top of the world, my hard work was finally paying off! Then title issues started to rise and then a squatter moved into one of the properties four days before close. Needless to say neither of these deals closed. I was absolutely devastated. Wondering what I could have done to prevent these issues. Questioning myself if this was actually the field I was meant to be in. April came around and I sold another property, which helped me get back up on my feet again however, I was still lost. I would come into the office so unmotivated worried that I would never be successful. I spent alot of time in my head which started to negatively influence my business. In June I went on a 16 day trip to Europe with my family and it was all the medicine I needed.

When I came back I promised myself I was going to stay consistent. I was going to stay motivated. I was going to be successful. Since coming back I have been producing the most meetings in the office. Working to get another property sold and I have been close. Its just a matter of time.

Moral of this story is to let everyone know REAL ESTATE IS HARD. There will be times you will be challenged more than you ever have. You will be stressed out 25/8 and it is not easy at all. But it will always be worth it. I am looking forward to year two and seeing what will come!

This is not a good deal.

Simple reason is this. .. the selling cost will be about 10% of the sales price. That is $30K

So out of the gate this deal already wouldn't work because you are already $5K in the negative.

You still need to get your fees out etc. etc.

Just as a guide..

if the house is worth $300K, my offer likely wouldn't be higher than  $170K

Granted this would cover about a $50K repair cost budget, and that would be tight. My assessment is that you are not dealing with the right audience.

Finding someone willing to sell, doesn't mean he is a motivated seller.

Selling a $300K house for $275, is not what I would call "selling below market value".

I know this is not news you would like to hear but I am just being honest here.

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to extend a helping hand to newcomers who are considering entering the exciting world of real estate wholesaling. Having gone through the journey myself, I understand the challenges and questions that can arise when starting out and how overwhelming it can seem. If you're new to the world of wholesaling and looking for guidance, I'm happy to help with any questions or pointers.

Having a list of buyers you have never dealt with is not worth much for the following reasons
1- you have no idea how real these “buyers” are
2- you don’t know the buyers parameters for purchasing properties
3 - you don’t know if they’re currently looking to purchase a property
4 - you don’t know if they currently have the financial resources to purchase a property
5- you don’t know how quickly they move
6 - you don’t know if they try to “beat” down wholesalers on price

Let me give an example from 42 years ago when I was a commercial real estate broker.  Through various sources, such as call ins on ads we ran, referrals, cold calling, etc. I developed various lists of buyers for different property types.  We acquired a listing on a triple net supermarket building being sold for about 40% below market value - in all my years I have only seen something this discounted listed one other time.  I had 200 buyers on my list.  This was the most unbelievable deal of a lifetime.  The results of my notifying each “buyer” on my list was 197 “buyers” had some excuse as to why they were not interested.  I ceremoniously through their “index card” in the trash can.  Three buyers were immediately hot to buy and offered full price offers, all cash.  A bidding war ensued and the end buyer paid 25% over asking price, still getting a 20% discount.  3 out of 200 were real buyers.  If we had the social media/internet in instant information flow in 1982 we do today I could have eliminated the hours spent putting together a buyer list and merely posted the deal online and had it sold just as quick, or quicker. 

I am of the opinion that 3/4 of what I see people starting a business do is “busy work” they’re doing because they do not want to do the one thing necessary to jump start their business - SALES.  Most people are uncomfortable with the sales process, so they find other work to do.  I’ve seen people start businesses and do the following before they even had the first customer sold: hire a HR person; set up a pension plan; purchase a $110,000 company car; complete a multi colored 5 year forecast with footnotes and 24 pages of explanations; pay a retainer to a CPA; created a full marketing plan without knowing the market; purchase equipment that wouldn’t be needed unless they reached $2 million in sales; and “organize” their files over 3 days.  
There’s a big difference between doing important things to prepare for making a successful first sale, and doing things to avoid putting in more time selling.

Hey Devin, Welcome back! Your photography/videography experience and travels sound fascinating. Here's to an exciting journey ahead in real estate!

-Julio