All Forum Posts by: Andrew Newlon

@John Cardis You will quickly find out there are investors strongly for and strongly against wholesaling. At the end of the day, you must be able to lay your head down and know you did the right thing. What's the best way to accomplish this? Be confident you can close every deal you have under contract. If that is not the case, pass or find some help. The most important thing is to keep moving forward. Don't get caught up in the details or what everyone is saying. Inaction will NEVER produce results. Now to answer your questions the best I can:

      1. I do not mess with foreclosures do to legal issues and time restraints (I live in a       non- judicial state). Make sure you know your local laws.

2. Technically, no. However, corporations give liability protection and help with taxes. It is crucial to talk to an accountant on what is best for your situation.

3. Once again, technically you can. Offer low earnest money, hope they take you seriously, and assign the contract. If this does not sit well with your morals, find funds prior to finding a deal. Put up a reasonable earnest money and be willing to buy the house if you don't have a buyer.

Hope this helps! And keep moving forward!

@Carlos Valdes That is a hard question to answer. Each potential mentor is going to have different levels of tolerance as to how much they are willing to teach. I would recommend finding a local RE Investing group. You should be able to find several experienced investors who can help lead you in the right direction.

@Kevin Sanderson There are templates all over the internet. What is important is to find the correct prices in your market for each remodeling type (i.e. paint, carpet, bath tub, doors, etc.). You can make an excel sheet really easily having each row multiply quantity by unit price. Then you can have a total column adding up all the prices. It's an easy and free way to set up a template specifically designed for you.

@Adam Soyak As previously stated, it's a matter of taste and what you plan on doing with the property (either sell or rent). If you are renting, I would recommend eliminating it to prevent future water damage issues. If you choose to eliminate it, you now have to patch the siding (given that you are not re-siding the whole house). A trick that a colleague does is to cover the hole with plywood painted black. Place closed shutters on the plywood. It now looks intentional and you did not have to patch the siding. 

@Alex Hively Please take this for what it's worth, my opinion. I scanned over your business plan and was impressed with the time and effort you put into it. I certainly believe it may help you in the future when dealing with financing (particularly private money), partnerships, and larger deals. However, I feel this, along with other 'to-do list favorites', is a mere distraction from taking action. You will quickly find out that the market is too fluid to hammer down on the exact process in which you will invest (even if you are simply wholesaling, it will change). My partner and I sat down numerous times in the beginning writing and rewriting our 'business plan'; because I am good at writing and enjoy it. We did NOT focus on finding the next actionable step, especially one that produces money. Consequently, we did not start making money until we applied ourselves outside of the office and took action. Hope this helps! You obviously understand the mechanics of wholesaling.

@David Henry You have several options but they all require Action. The easiest, and less risky, is to birddog/refer the lead to an investor/wholesaler who can turn it into a deal. They should be willing to pay you a fee for the referral if they can close it. Second, you can find an investor/wholesaler that will partner with you and walk you through the process for a split of the profit. Third, you can learn by doing on your own. Make sure you have someone you can ask for help when you aren't sure what to do next and make sure your seller is understanding what you are doing. Do not overpromise (i.e. offer to close quickly = may take you a little longer on your first deal). 

@Melinda Campbell Absentee Owners are one of the most common prospects investors market to. You can entire lists of them for your market through companies such as ListSource. I am not familiar with propertyshark. It depends on the length of the list you have, your time allotted to track down the owners, and your tolerance to dead leads. Calling each name is theoretically best because you are personally communicating with them (aside from driving to their house...). If you have a decent size list, mailing may be the best way to reach out to all of them. I have used Spokeo before to find phone numbers but they are not always accurate/updated. I was just recently told about findtheseller.com. It sounds worth looking into. Hope that helps! 

@Alain Damisse Obviously there are a million ways to negotiate a price with a seller. I like @Ryan Craig's line; I'm going to try it next time. I tend to focus on the emotion part of the deal. Isolate why they are NEEDING to sell. If they are simply wanting, then maybe no offer should be provided at the time and conduct follow-up. Several of my deals have come several months after my first visit to the house. @Ralph Miller makes a great point with a long moment of silence. This is so awkward at first but becomes very entertaining as you get used to it.

@John D. I have used Smart Move and been very pleased with it. You have the option to have the applicant pay for the fees. The report is extensive, detailed, and appears to be accurate. I have not tried another service though. Hope this helps!

@Brian Wobbe remember 50% of a deal is better than 100% of no deal. With the location, house, and price set aside, I'd be more than willing to partner with someone for a 50/50 split. Granted, I am coming from the time and experience side. In order to make it worth the money partners time, lend your money to the partnership that you will need (at least HIGHLY recommended) to set up. You will then be getting payments including interest back on the property until you either sell, payoff, or refinance. You will also get 50/50 on any income and equity. 

Hope this adds an option for you to explore. Either way, make sure your partnership is structured to cover unforeseen problems.