All Forum Posts by: Jake K.

Just remember , it sounds easy , everybody thinks its a quick buck , lots of people are trying to do it . 

Its not .

@Jake K. I have put down as little as $10.  However it is unethical to give a seller the impression you are going to solve a problem for them when you the deal may not go through is unethical.  So it is best to have the money or ability to close if you can't resell it to another investor. Now if someone has abandoned the property and doesn't really care then that is OK. But if they are really counting on you, you should be able to close. That is hard to do without money.     

If you market for deals by direct  mail it could take thousands of dollars to get your first deal.  Or you could mail out just one letter and get a killer deal - but counting on that is like winning the lottery.  

It can take a lot of money for marketing. However there are other costs. What if you pay for title work and it kills the deal? Maybe you find a Hard Money lender to do short term financing (transactional funding) for a double close and they want money for an appraisal up front. There are a lot of hidden costs in any type of real estate including Wholesaling. It doesn't have to take a lot of money to wholesale but it does take some. 

Another factor is it takes real work. One advantage is hard work can substitute for some of the  money. But wholesaling is not easy. It is a job. 

I don't say these things to discourage you. I say them to prepare you, so you don't get discouraged when roadblocks come up.

Hey Jake!  All the previous listed ways to market will work if you are dedicated to the practice of sending letters and following up.  When I started, I didn't have that kind of patience.  I wanted instant results!  Remember, this is one of the few industries that you can begin working in today with no money or credit and have large profits in by tomorrow.

The very fastest way to build your numbers of people to sell your wholesale deals to is to write down the number from or photograph every "I buy houses" sign.  Look through Craigslist for the I buy houses ads.  Every one of these people is a wholesaler of fix and flipper looking for their own inventory!  They may also have inventory for you to wholesale to your buyers.  Just call and ask what their criteria are and if you find a deal that meets their needs, they will be glad to take it off your hands and leave you a profit.  These are the guys to network with!  Since they already have the cash or are connected to cash you can leverage their network.  Most are glad to let you do this if they are also profiting.

The next step is to find and join every REA in your area.  You don't actually have to join the ones that are farther away, just show up for their meetings from time to time.  They all have networking time and time to talk about their deals or criteria in every meeting.  

These two steps will give you enough leads to get working and making money right away.  Afterward, if you have the time and patience to write letters and build an email list and whatever, you can do that to supplement your marketing efforts.

Feel free to contact me if you want more information!  I am glad to help.

Direct mail to motivated sellers, such as probate, divorce, late payments on mortgage, tax liens.  

Door knocking pre-foreclosures (in a fast foreclosure State)

I've wrote letters. Mailed to absentee homeowners with 50% of more equity; got the list from list source. Mailed out 120 bout a week ago. received 4 calls thus far. Need to improve my phone conversation(s). Probably should of done this sooner; but looking to more experienced investors to assist me. 

Billy Smith, I used to be with Wells Fargo. Operative words "Used to be". Way too much funky stuff going on over there, so, one year ago... BYE!!!  I will not tolerate a company like that, will not allow any company to steal one dollar from me. Forget it.

More than happy with JP Morgan Chase. They are excellent. :)

Careful out there!

~Daniel F. Harb

Cheers! 

We are new investors to  the Baltimore market! Happy to keep in touch!