All Forum Posts by: Grahm Nash

Rhonda,

I ran the largest REIA in Texas for about a decade. Here's the skinny on mentors and mentoring.

There are 2 times when it makes sense to hire mentor. The first is at the very beginning of your career. You are paying them to help you shorten and flatten the learning curve. I mentored investors and Realtors all over the US. Trust me when I tell you that you can learn everything you need in this phase in 3-6 months (MAX!).

The second time to hire a mentor is when you need to overcome a specific issue or learn a specific task/skill. Examples would be learning to do a SubjectTo deal, a review of why my business growth has stalled/my business profitability is declining, I want to learn how to do H$Ling, etc.

In each case, find a LOCAL REIA. Attend a few meetings and learn who the "Good Guys" are (seasoned investors who like to help new investors get started, but who do not mentor/guru for a living). Ask around about these individuals and confirm they are not con artists or failed investors who only make a living teaching.

Once you have identified the right person, make sure they have a) done what you want to learn how to do, b) profitably, c) in the area where you want to learn to do it, d) full-time, e) for at least the last 2 years. 

Then approach that person and ask them if they would be willing to mentor you for a specific length of time, for a set fee, with measurable results ( the best result is doing a profitable deal in the new manner you wanted to learn).

I would shy away from individuals who are affiliated with TV Realty stars or self-styled Real Estate "gurus." 

By following the above advice you can usually get better training, in less time, and for a fraction of the price the "mentors" usually charge.

If there is anything else my staff or I can do to help you grow your business, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Very Best,

-G

OpenDoor is HomeVestors, with better funding, better AVMs and thinner margins. 

While OpenDoor will not replace wholesalers, they will make tight markets even tighter - especially in non-disclosure states where accurate comp data is difficult and expensive to obtain - and skinner margins even thinner. 

For a while. Then they will run out of money and fizzle.

A similar effect occurred when Zillow entered the market. Everyone got excited, Zillow was going "disrupt Real Estate," and "change the paradigm," and all the other marketing BS the techno-weenies in Silicon Valley spew about Real Estate (and every other cause celeb bandwagon they jump on trying to make a buck by automating everything - anyone remember web-based grocery deliveries?) BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT HOW REAL ESTATE WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD. 

What lasting effect has Zillow had on the market? Not much, other than to provide one more hurtle investors and Realtors have to overcome when instructing sellers on the true value of their home. "No ma'am, your home is NOT worth 110% of ARV simply because it is yours and it smells like your wet dog."

OpenDoor is already facing huge Realtor backlash (one recently told me "No one in our office will show an OpenDoor listing.") both online and off. That will only grow. And home-sellers desperate to sell will initially light up OD's switchboards - and then blast them on Yelp when they get offers blindly emailed to them that are at the high end of the wholesale spectrum, but without the kiss (building rapport) first to make it palatable.

So go to your local REIAs, talk your wholesalers friends down off the ledge, educate your fellow Realtors and investors, lean your shoulders into this small rain shower, and remind yourself that the "disruptive storm clouds gathering in the distance" are little more than 15 minutes of fame rain shower that will quickly pass over us and then allow us to get back to work.

If there is anything else I can to help you grow your business, please let me know.

Very Best,

-G

Dave,

Now that you have a baseline, you might consider doing A/B Splits. My clients have found testing the B side with 25% - 35% of your mailings (250-400+) will usually provide a large enough sample that you can be confident in your ROIs/side. 

Easy experimentation tweaks to first get you started can be with color (ROI on Yellow vs Blue vs White, etc.) and fonts/sizes (depending on who your recipients are, studies are showing different fonts yield different results) and the easiest is Receipt Day (what day of the week your mailings are received).

Congratulations again and keep it up!

@Yenlan Patton,

I co-founded and ran the DFW REI Club for many years (26,000+). If your property is in Tarrant County, I strongly suggest you contact Fred Willis @ Metroplex Eviction Services. His office was downtown in the court house. He has more experience and a better track record at evicting non-paying tenants than anyone I ever heard of (including most attorneys). He does this for a living and has seen all the "tricks" deadbeat tenants can try and pull.

In the future, remember that "Either you train your tenants, or they will train you." 

I suggest the first time they are late (by even a day) you post eviction paperwork on their door. It's been our experience that doing this will 1) cause them to bring you your $ immediately and 2) move you into the "I HAVE to pay this bill on time" category.

Best of luck!

@Yenlan Pattonundefined

Here are a couple of points to keep in mind when deciding a) if wholesaling in Texas is legal / illegal, and b) if it is better to have a Texas Real Estate license or not if you want to wholesale properties IN TEXAS. 

THESE ARE MY OPINIONS ONLY. Do your own due diligence. If you have questions, I strongly recommend you hire experienced, competent legal counsel to answer them for you.

• Re-read Bill's post(s) regarding who you listen to (I co-owned and ran one of the largest REI clubs in Texas for 7 years, my family has been in SFR RE in Texas for 5 generations, I bought my first investment property in 1996 and have done over 300 deals since) and what the Law states in Texas regarding contracts and Real Estate ( I suggest you start here: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us ).
• The largest wholesaler in Texas by volume appears to be United Investex USA X, LLC (where X is a #) dba New Western Acquisitions. Over the last few years when they have contacted me on BP they have explained to me ""Hi Grahm, I work with New Western Acquisitions, trying to increase my investor list. Im sure you have heard of us and was just reaching out to see if you would like to receive investment opportunities from us, as we get 2-3 homes a day. Message me back or feel free to call me directly,

  Thanks, "

• New Western offices each are now listed with the State of Texas as being a separate LLC (I'm thinking maybe they are a Series LLC maybe?). My questions is why would a For Profit company go to the time, expense and trouble of setting up each office as 1 of 10+ LLCs?
• Also, according to TREC, each NW office has a broker and lots of agents. When they used to come to my REIA, the same people doing "wholesale" deals are now listed on TREC's site as RE agents.
• I always thought TREC required agents to do what is best for the agent's client (fiduciary duty), and if a buyer/seller does not have an agent of his/her own you (the agent) were required to do what is best for the buyer/seller. Would a currently licensed Real Estate attorney on here clarify this for me please? 

When I ran the club one of the most common mistakes I saw repeated thousands of times over was Self Delusion. Especially on the part of "newbies." And specifically where it pertained to skirting laws b/c you are DESPERATELY trying to change your financial position. The only folks I've ever seen succeed in the REI business long term heed the advice given here to educate yourself, WORK HARD, and follow the Law.

What kind of properties are you looking for - SFRs, Multi-family, ????