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Hello REI'ers!

Anyone who is really working this business has to be about as excited about todays market as a child at the gates of Disney Land!

People, we are about to enter into one of the greatest real estate purchasing periods this country has seen in a long time!

This last home buying season is coming to a close as school gets back into swing.

All of those people who listed their homes for the entire spring and summer months are licking their wounds and praying that next year they will have better luck selling the house.

"Next year honey, we'll come out with a better price!" HA!!!!

What do you think their response would be if you knocked on the door, say in January in the middle of a good rain and said, "are you interested in selling your house? I can close in about 2 weeks?"

Or how about that developer that is still sitting on inventory even after they tried to give away all of the upgrades, the free car, and even after the auction?

Do you think the bank REO departments that were so hard to get in touch with may be a little more accessable?

Or what about that dumpy little duplex that is smack dab in the middle of the developments that aren't selling?

We are not quite there yet folks. We have to let this pot churn for a little more. We ain't seen the bottom yet. People are still in Egypt. (you know, by that little river called Da' Nile!)

Reality will hit these folks and when it does the best advice I can give to anyone is... Be liquid! Cash is king!

For the cash poor... Get creative! If you aren't asking every homeowner or landlord if they will lease option their property to you, then you are not serious about playin' this game!

Now is a great time to "Find and Assign" some deals.

Forget about the trying to be a real estate investor, stop crunching numbers, forget about theory, forget about learning about short sales, equity purchases and all of that stuff and just start asking my favorite question.

"you wanna' sell your house?"

I say it again "I am excited!!!" It's about time!!!! I made 8 offers this month! 3 look promising.

Now go get em!

Huntman1

I think the course is pretty good. It is a start. The only reservation I have about CS material is that it tends to over simplify certain concepts. But it is a pretty good introduction to rei concepts. You definately can get this info cheaper.

Someone on this thread made an excellent point... Something to the effect of "It depends on who initiated the contact"
That is so true. If I someone responds to my card or ad, then they are often times motivated. Just how motivated will be determined when we meet face to face.

If I initiate the contact...like when I knock on doors....well... I'm almost ashamed to tell you what I say. :oops:

You are going to laugh when I tell you what I say to determine if someone is motivated to sell. I personally think this is a pretty deep way to approach a potential seller.

I knock on the door and ask " Hey....wanna sell your house?"

Deep huh?

I did that whole build up on purpose to illustrate that there is no magic to this. Just ask! I do adjust my approach depending on the read I get from the person who opens the door, but for the most part, "wanna sell your house" is it!

Depending on the response, I then go down different roads to determine motivation.

I honestly can't tell you what to say. It would be silly for me to try to convey to you what I say or do. You see, so much of how you are going to gather information is very individual.

I can tell a great joke that has everyone in tears. When my wife tries to tell the same joke, it stinks! She is a different person with a different style. a different delivery, she reads different things in people, she notices different things when she walks into a room. She is unique. And so are you.

What I can tell you is this, finding motivation is more about listening than talking. Be yourself, be gently curious (not just about buying their home) and listen.

I can say "wanna sell your house" because I can frame it in a way that is light hearted and complementary. In a way that is unique to my personality and style. My wife is totally different in her approach to sellers. She's much more nurturing in her style. You are you how ever that looks.
Just be nice and people will open up to you often times without you asking anything.

Remember: 2 ears 1 mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk!

With that said, you know what you need to know from a seller to find out if they are a motivated seller. Stuff like:

Are they an angry landlord
Are they current in their bills
Job transfer
Divorce
Default
ugly houses

You know.... all of that motivated seller stuff that is listed in every book on real estate investing.

Your job is to learn the art of what I call in my book "Verbal Judo" You have to skillfully develope a style that gets you the information that you need while putting the seller at ease.

Does this make sense? I hope so. If not email me and I'll try again!

Take Care
Huntman1

Hello All,

I just finished teaching a real estate investing class in Sonoma County California. The class was an intimate class of 20 or so would be real estate investors.

After the class a student approached me and said that she is so frustrated with this whole real estate game because she is so overwhelmed with the process that she doesn't know where to start, or what she should be doing day by day. All she knows is that she really wants to do a deal. She is obsessed with the whole real estate game. She is buying book after book after tape and now is willing to pay me to mentor her because she HAS TO MAKE THIS WORK! She knows it can be done but for some reason she just can't connect the dots. She just can't make it click!

I told her the same thing that I am about to tell you....

Stop trying to be a real estate investor.

It seems that "Sarah" (we'll call her) is too busy trying to be what she thinks a real estate investor should be and look like. She's driving neighborhoods and doing pretend cash flow analyses and running scenario after scenario in her mind and on paper. She is spinning her wheels!

If this is you, STOP! Stop trying to BE a real estate investor. You won't be one until you do your first deal.

Instead, All of your focus, all of your effort and all of your discipline should be finding someone who is motivated enough to sell you their property in a way that makes sence for you to buy it. You need to be looking for PEOPLE and not real estate per se.

Yes you will more than likely find the people who you should be dealing with by finding properties that smell distressed, but even the stinkiest property may be owned by someone who is not motivated to sell it.

You see, there are only 2 (two) acquisition techniques:

Price
Terms

That's it! Then there are a plethora of options on how to satisfy both.

So why are so many people OBSESSED with crunching the numbers on a property that they have not even made an offer on? It's only Price or Terms that you need to figure AFTER you find your motivated seller!

There are HUNDREDS of ways to find someone who is motivated to sell. So start focusing on that!

Here is what I want you to do to from now on:

Stop obsessing about getting your first deal under your belt. It will just overwhelm you. Instead, go through your day looking for clues that point to a motivated seller.

Quick list:
Boarded up homes
"Motivated Seller" in the MLS description
FSBO's
Ugly home in nice neighborhood
Etc...

Then the most important part: Ask!

IF you don't ask if they are motivated to sell how will you know? If they are GREAT! If not? NEXT!

Does this make sense? Lower your shoulders and exhale!

Your deal of the century will only come as fast as you can find a motivated seller. If it takes you 2 years to find this deal, so what! If the deal has a $200k profit for you, do you care that it took you two years to find it? That's $100K/year. NOT BAD!

The game is soooo not stressful! It's a joy! My family and I will be going to Texas at the end of this month for about a week for vacation. While there, we plan to look at property. We will hopefully find a property to purchase on Lake Travis in Austin. I will also bring my "Equity Purchase Agreement" with me. If I smell distress, I am making an offer! I don't know the market nor do I know what stuff sells for. Does that matter?

NO!

Why?

Because I am not looking for property, I am looking for someone who is motivated. Once I find them, get them under contract, I can, with a few phone calls, find out what stuff sells for, how much fix up is going to cost me, How much my holding costs are going to be, how much my selling costs are going to be and how much I will need to reduce my offer price.

If I can't find anyone motivated enough to sell their property to me in a way that makes sense for me to purchase it, then I will sit back by the pool at the hotel and sip my Lone Star Beer with my wife and son; without another thought about it.

Remember:

Keep your eyes open
Cary with you at all times a stack of blank post cards and a pen. If you see a property that smells good (or bad depending on how you read this), leave your desires to purchase and your contact info on that card and leave that card on the front door. Then follow up.

No stress here at all!

If you are just someone who needs stressin their life, there will be plenty of it to go around once you have them under contract!

Take Care
Huntman1

I bet if we did an audit of how we spend our time, we all would be amazed at how much time we waste.

Did I hear someone say they had to see spiderman?

Seeing Spiderman isn't bad, but you have to accept the reality that seeing spiderman will leave you only with the experience of seeing spiderman. It won't get you a deal!

What's even more amazing is this idea that once one gets their first deal rehabbed and rented then they can move on....

If you don't have time to find motivated sellers (dropping a postcard off at a boarded up house on your way to and from work, getting on a realtors automated MLS e-mail notification software, asking the mailman if they have seen any "interesting" properties on their route), How are you going to have time to rehab a house, advertise for tenants, show the property, do background checks, do a pre-move in inspection and entertain the whims of a tenant who believes that they have a sovereign right to your property!

You may want to consider that time audit and see where you can free up some time. You may also want to reconsider a buy and hold strategy.

Just a thought!

I think only one person on this thread is talking about actually doing a deal. A rehab if I remember correctly...

The aurthor of this post is juggling work (day job) with researching forums and blogs and driving.

Where and when are you making offers? When are you talking to people about buying their property, when are you visiting your title co and getting a list of defaults to call, when are you establishing relationships with divorce attorneys landscapers and contractors? You know...those people that are most likely to bring you a deal?

Blogs forums and courses are reference resource tools ONLY! They won't get you to the closing table! You'd feel pretty silly saying that you are juggling work with reading through all of the dictionaries and thesaurus' in the world! (Or is it thesauri?) Well, thats kind of what you are doing!

Get you tail on the phone TONIGHT! Call every FSBO in your local news paper and ask all of them if they would be willing to hold paper on their home. Don't worry about driving the 'hood; don't read another forum. Just say " I can close in 2 weeks and give you cash if you can hold paper on the property." If they say yes, get the rest of your tail over to this persons house with a contract contingent on your approval of inspections and continent on your "Silent partners" approval. Then if you are STILL feeling a little weak in the knees, Back out based on your contingencies.

If the person says no, thank them for their time, leave your information and keep theirs. Drop them a card in the mail and thank them for their time and if they change their mind to call you!
Then keep in touch from time to time about the market or sports or anything to keep you in their consciousness.

This is NOT a juggle at all! When I started I did this 3 hours every Monday Wednesday and Friday evenings after work! Don't be scared about interupting their dinner. Would you be upset if someone called you at midnight and said " I want to put large sums of money into your pocket?" NO YOU WOULDN'T!
You may think they're strange but you'd listen.

I make offers sight unseen! Neighborhood unseen! I don't care about that stuff at first. Remember your goal is to find a MOTIVATED SELLER. Not a property per se! Once you've got the seller under contract, THEN start worring about the property. If it is a dog, tell the seller that your "Silent partner" (who doesn't exist) Doesn't want to move forward!

Done Deal! Move On!

I teach real estate investing classes once a quarter in my town and I am always amazed at how many people think that research is "Preparing" them for a life as an investor. It doesn't. It just ends up overwhelming them.

YOU CAN DO THIS! You just have to believe you can do it! After your second deal, Call me and let me know how different you feel than you feel at this moment! You'll laugh!

Take Very Good Care

Huntman1

Check out my post on this forum:

http://forums.biggerpockets.com/viewtopic.php?t=8524&highlight=

If you can not create this type of scenario then please by all means

STOP RENTING AND BUY A HOME FOR YOURSELF!

You will gain knowledge appreciation tax bene's and confidence!

I started with a duplex. I lived in half and rented out the other. I then did a condo conversion and I was off and running!

Take Care,

HuntMan1

You should see my library! I have some 500 books and courses on real estate and real estate investing. Landlording and property management. Real estate taxes and REITS. Real Estate math and Note purchasing Lease options and flips Tax liens from California to Texas, Pre forclosures, REO's, Brokering, agency and Escrow text books. Real Estate Pinciples and Practices, Homesteading, Land Trusts, partnerships, landscping, plumbing, condo conversions.... It goes on and on and on!!!!!

I hope you are catching my drift here. If you want to invest in real estate. I mean REALLY get into it, Then you need to read EVERYTHING that you can get into your hot little hands!

This list alone illustrates just how faceted the game is! No one book can do real estate investing justice. It is too BIG!

I have accumulated these books and courses over time to use as resources and BETWEEN Real Estate DEALS!

Therein lies the caveat to purchasing a bunch of expensive Real Estate Courses! Don't become a professional book and course purchaser and wonder why you have no deals!

My top three virtues are FOCUS EFFORT DISCIPLINE! If you are focusing on accumulating books then that's what you will have at the end of the day. Not deals!

NEWBIES PAY ATTENTION HERE!

There is no sense in purchasing a real estate course for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Here is the secret that ALL of these courses DON'T want you to focus on.

Ready?

They're just books. and maybe some tapes!

Everyone gets all worked up about this Magical course that is going to guide you step by step to the closing table. After you see all of the testimonials from people sitting on romantic verandas over looking Key West and going on and on about how they now have this incredible net worth, blah, blah, blah! You can't help BUT get all worked up. You think to yourself that "THis is going to be it! If that tubby guy in the bad hawiian shirt can do it , SO CAN I"! And you are RIGHT! You can do it!

But not because you purchased a $200 dollar book. But because you have Focus Effort and DISCIPLINE.

Remember, It's not a magic course...

It's just a book....

...And maybe some tapes

Is there a cheaper way to get started?

You BET!

Go to the library!

But don't pay $200-$500 on a beginner course. It's not worth it.

Take Care
Huntman1

Just a bit of clarification.

As the investor, I am going to purchase the property below market. I would lease option it to a buyer at market or above depending on the length of the option period.
I think there was some confusion on this.
This is not an everyday type of deal. I have done deals like this but it takes paying attention to pick up on the clues that point to this technique. It works like a charm on mobile homes and I can use loose variations of this technique as the situation will permit.

This is not a rip off. No one is getting ripped off. Everyone I have dealt with in this way has thanked me for putting deals like this together. Every One!
There are people who have money but have no documentation of income that will satisfy a bank (Those who make cash tips for example) who are excited as all get out
to be able to "rent to own". They are excited to not have to put down a 20% down payment. They are beside themselves to be in a position that they never thought they could be in. A Homeowner! Is this less than the most ideal way to enter into home ownership? Yes! Get your credit score to about 740 or better, have no debt, have a good paying job for at least 10 years in one industry, and have a fairly large sum of money in the bank and you can walk into almost any home in your budget with the best loan rate and tax bene's and live large! That's pretty ideal.

There are lesser variations of this ideal all the way down to a family who can satisfy none of these "Ideals" but wants a home. These buyers, in my experience, have NEVER felt ripped off by me telling them that they can give me $5K-10K down and start making payments and in the agreed upon amount of time, you will own this home!
I think that's a pretty good deal for some. Not everyone, but some. Heck, people rent TV’s for their apartments! Now THAT'S A RIP OFF!

As for those who are willing to sign their property over to me? These are people who have reached the end of options. They can't sell or refi. They are going to loose the home and get NOTHING when the gavel falls. Or they can sign the property over to me. I will give them some money for their equity. Not much, but more than they will get at the end of the auction. I explain this to them explicitly! I hide nothing. They either are on board or not. It does not matter to me one way or another. It's not my house. It's not my problem. Most people will tell me to go kick rocks after they hear my offer. So I go and kick rocks! BUT...every now and again I will get that phone call that interrupts my rock kicking! And EVERY person that I have dealt with thanks me after the transaction is done! EVERY SINGLE ONE!

I once moved an old lady out of a house that was too big and too expensive and into a nice condo in a nice retirement community. I fixed the home up, staged it well and sold it for a $93K profit! To this day, I still give and get xmas cards and she and my mom have become friends.

When talking about this business in this type of forum, it sounds harsh and cold. But believe me, those that are successful in this type of business are those who are honest, transparent, soft spoken, great listeners and one who cares more about the players than the game.

Yes,

There is a contract b/t you and the home owner. The protection that the owner has lies within that contract. You are contractually obligated to the home owner to pay the mortgage on their behalf.

If you breech, they can sue you in court.

Do a search for subject to purchases. This will further clarify that process.

E-mail me and I can show you the contract that I use.

Take Very Good Care,

HuntMan1