All Forum Posts by: Guy Olds

@Jacob Tynes I don't have any recommendations on software. But I do have one recommendation. Stop trying to get ready. You'll never be "ready". You'll never know what you don't know until you're in your first transaction. So, start marketing NOW.

Get your mailers out. Get your phone ringing. Join all the real estate clubs in your area and start networking. Get a property under contract. Now you'll find out what you don't know. If you need assistance use your local market networking.

Oh and as for the software, check out Podio, Zoho or Insightly. I currently use Podio, used Insightly first and have never used Zoho.

@Ivan Lai  You said "I find it puzzling that a borrower can squat in your house for 4 months without paying a penny they're owed, and possibly destroying your property in the mean time,"

When you buy a note you don't own the house. The homeowner does. You just own the debt on part of the house. And if you go for 2nd position notes you're only a junior lien holder at best. The homeowner is not squatting in their own house, they're just not paying their debt at that moment.

Your language sounds like you are a predator who thinks that other people's property is yours and yours to take. That attitude and language will put you at risk of going to jail in most states not just California.

Getting a good education that you pay for in the proper way to buy and service notes will help you greatly. Staying misinformed will not.

@Eric Olsen Congratulations on completing your first offer. 

Having the offer refused is not the worse outcome. The worst would have been if the offer had been accepted immediately and you would have been left thinking "Oh my God what's wrong with this property? I think I'm screwed" or "Oh my God, I could have got it for less. I think I screwed myself"

Clearly the worst didn't happen. Not a bad start in real estate investing.

@Jagdish Patel Start by attending the Inland Empire Real Estate Investors Club in Riverside. It meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at the Mission Inn. You can find it on meetup. It's the largest club in the Inland Empire and you will be able to meet everyone you need to start your flip business.

You should be listening to podcasts on flipping. Try HouseFlippingHQ and FlippingJunkie.

Now you need to find houses to buy. You can do your own marketing - direct mail, bandit signs, door knocking. Or get on every buyers list of every local wholesaler. They will send out mass emails to their lists when they have a property under contract and want to assign that contract. I'm a wholesaler in the Inland Empire and if you want to get on my buyers list or just to talk, PM me.

Hi @Kristopher Gomez. I'm a wholesaler in the Inland Empire. I look forward to seeing you around. Have you started attending the Inland Empire Real Estate Investors Club in Riverside? It meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at the Mission Inn. You can find it on meetup.com. It's the largest REI club in the Inland Empire, as close to 150 attend. Hope to see you there.

@Cesar Ramirez 

You didn't say what your timeline was or how much you needed. Assuming that it's not immediate, have you attended the Inland Empire Real Estate Investor Club which meets the 4th Wednesday every month at the Mission Inn in Riverside. You can find out about it on meetup.com. There are many private lenders in that club. Announce what you're looking for during "Haves and Wants" and they will find you. Come in with a property under contract and you'll probably have to beat them off with a stick.

@Major Robertson I used to use Insightly and now use Podio. Neither one are meant for REI but out of the box Insightly is so much easier to use. Insightly comes with set data fields in its apps which are designed for small sales companies (and most likely will be empty fields in REI) but you can still add more fields like in Podio but it is limited in the free version while Podio is unlimited in its free version.

Insightly also has the ability to track email comunication. You can tell if someone opened your sent email and if you are sending email from outside Insightly you can bcc: directly into a contact, or lead or opportunity. Podio cannot do that.

Insightly also has a much better visual representation of a deal pipeline than Podio.

But, Podio is much more adapable to REI even though the learning curve is steep. And now that Globiflow is now available with the cheapest Podio monthly paid plan Podio now can become a much better CRM at a low cost.

Still if you want to be up and running with a CRM today, don't want to pay anything and don't mind not following the REI Podio trend I'd recommend Insightly because it's so damn easy.

@Steevee Reroma I wholesale properties in the Inland Empire and I find cash flow rentals in Hemet (in Riverside County) and Yucca Valley which is in San Bernardino County.

@Ebony Bolton First off, welcome to Bigger Pockets.

There is an excellent club that meets in Riverside at the Mission Inn on the evening of the 4th Wednesday of each month. The club is The Inland Empire Real Estate Investment Club. Last night's meeting had well over 100 people. Investors and agents. Experience people and newbies. You can find out more about this club on meetup.com. I whole heartedly recommend this club and I attend most every month. Great education and great networking. 

@Douglas Costello I don't see how you can market the property without getting the property under contract first. If you do have the property under contract ignore this post but if not read on. When you get a property under contract you gain an equitable interest in the property and the legal right to market it. Until then, not so much. 

You said "I am NOT interested in wasting a bunch of people's time by marketing a bad deal to buyers" which is wonderful sentiment but trying to market and sell a property you don't own is a lot like going around selling the Brooklyn Bridge which you don't own. Your first sentiment is quite ethical but the way you're marketing, well, not so much. IMHO

So, get the property under contract. Make sure the price is the lowest price you can possibly get. Go out and market it. Make sure you have 2-3 out clauses written into the contract so you can exit the contract if you can't find a buyer. Sign the contract with the intent to follow through to its completion and if it doesn't work out you can either renegotiate or exit honorably.