All Forum Posts by: Jan Kerr

@Jerry W. It sounds like you have adapted well to the changes in the markets and evolution of technology to keep your business up to date. Congratulations on your newly acquired cache of properties. On the issue of the lack of qualified, reliable, ethical and affordable contractors, I empathize. I have been there many times as have most other investors that I know. We all eventually come to realize that contractors have a shelf life. For the reasons you have mentioned as well as several others, we need to prepare our back up plans to replace contractors as quickly and seamlessly as possible. That means having multiple people lined up to step in if one fails to perform or show up. I know you said that your population is low and there remains a shortage of qualified people. Maybe I can offer some suggestions. First, whenever possible always have at least four of each type of contractor on a list to draw from as needed. Look for the nearest local trade schools and see if you can recruit from there to bring on newly licensed or apprentice contractors through the classes under the supervision of their instructors. When you see a house under rehab, stop and talk to the contractors on the job. I have had success not only getting to know them, but they are usually willing to walk you through the current project they are on and show you their work. They are often eager to give you their numbers so you can call them when you need them. Try to give the contractors as much notice as possible by scheduling your projects as far in advance as you can and get into their schedules. Finally, if you are not already using a very detailed contractor agreement to hold them accountable for the quality of workmanship, materials and adherence to deadlines, it would be helpful to get one in place.  I am happy to help if I can. Good luck!

@Mohamed Mahmoud Kyle J is right. Each one has to pull your credit, but as long as you do all of your rate shopping within a two week period, it should only be counted as one inquiry to your score. I think the two week window is the key.

@Nida Hussaini Here is what I suggest...

You have to expand your thinking process. Decide how badly you want this. If you want it badly enough, you will become more determined and not let delays or disappointments stop you from moving forward. Persistence is the only way to be successful in this business. If you give up, you will never know what you could have accomlished. 

Sometimes you have to do a little leg work. Not everything you need will be found easily on line through established sites like the ones you listed above, becasue like you said, they get picked over pretty quickly. Get creative and know that there is a way around, over, under or through every obstical. Toughen up , ask for advise when you need it and never look back.

Here are a few ideas for you: Find ways to advertise to the potneial sellers in distress or owners of distressed proeprteis so that they know you are there to help them. Get local information about pre-foreclosures and reach out to the owners directly in a helpful way. Get others to bird-dog for you to bring you deals for a small referral fee if you get the properties they bring to you under contract.

@Erik B. Off market deals are everywhere. Here are a few ideas for you: Find ways to advertise to the potneial sellers in distress or owners of distressed proeprteis so that they know you are there to help them. Get local information about pre-foreclosures and reach out to the owners directly in a helpful way. Get others to bird-dog for you to bring you deals for a small referral fee if you get the properties they bring to you under contract. 

@Ashley Clements My husband is not involved in my real estate investing for the most part becasue his risk tolerance is much lower than mine. He's supportive of what I do, but doesn''t help me with it. Perhaps you should have a new REI Savings account that he does not know about. Maybe if you could keep the one he knows about and start adding to another one, you'd be able to juggle his priorities on how to use that money with yours of wanting to use it to invest a little better. I don't think it is dishonest of you to do what you have to do to follow your dreams.

@Erik B. I am wondering if you are taking advantage of every possible way to search for deals. Where and how are you looking for deals. Maybe we can offer you some new ideas about where to find deals with numbers that will work. Also, are you making offers that work for you anyway, even if you aren't sure if the seller can or will accept them? Are you working with an agent or are you trying to deal with sellers directly?

@Jermell Shavers After reading what you said, I was wondering if you have your self employed business structured as an actual business. If you did, you could pay yourself an actual paycheck from the company on the books and show an income beyond your rental proeprties. That would go a long way in helping you qualify for loans. 

Your other comment about Hard Money Loans being risky may be correct, but only because they carry a higher interest rate. The thing about hard money is that you can calculate the cost of it into your budget for the deal. If you have your team ready to get the job done within 4-6 months for a flip or a quick refi, you'll be fine. HML's are designed to be short term. They are less interested in your credit history as they are in the equity in the deal. I think once you research the ones you might use and profile each one of them in depth, it won't be so scary for you to consider using them. They are not your best first choice, but they have their place. I mentioned this before, but I have no way of knowing whether you saw one of my previous posts. I've designed a Hard Money Lender Profile Sheet to help you complete that in depth profile of your lenders. If you want a copy, please let me know. Leveraging the cash you have on hand seems to me to be more beneficial than using it all up and then starting from scratch when you want to take on another project.

@Shiloh Lundahl I could not have said it better myself. However you define the relationship or what name you give it, both parties should be up front about their role and make sure expectations are clear. I too am both a mentor and a coach. I know you understand this from our previous conversation. When a person chooses to be a mentor it is becasue we want to share our knowledge and we take great satisfaction in watching another person grow and succeed. I get just as excited watching a client succeed as I do my own. I often take on clients to teach them for a fee, but I have specific packages with set rates and those packages are defined to a specific time frame of support and sometimes a specific topic. However, Once we get going a client will display a certain need on a different topic that requires an adjustment in the curriculum to suit their needs, so I will often add time to allow for that new education they require while still teaching them the main topic that was agreed upon. I give specific assignments at each session and hold the client accountable for the completion of those assignments making sure they understand that the reason for the assignment is to help them learn and grow by applying the techniques or strategies being taught. Sometimes the assignment is simnply to teach them certain skills or to literally get them to step out of their commfort zone so they can make better progress. I have never cut a client off at the end of the allotted time stated in the package and I care very deeply about every person's success. 

@Mitch Messer I appreciate your definition of coach vs mentor, but I think the lines are not so rigidly defined. For most of my coaching and mentoring career, (20 years), my clients/students were assigned to me or given to me by the education companies who did touring seminars around the country to bring in clients. I have always done my best to teach them whether or not they were really ready. I always did an assessment of their skills and started by teaching them what they needed to know be successful, even if it was just time management or building their confidence so they coult take the necessary action steps to move forward. I coach the whole person, not just the investor in them. I knew that each student assigned to me was counting on me to help them, and in their minds they had paid me for their education even though they had actually paid the seminar company who was compensating me at a much lesser rate than the students had paid to them. It was never about the money, but money has to be part of the equasion. I had to be compensated for my time and the student had to feel the value of the education.  I communicate and explain things very clearly in simple layman's terms and make sure they understand what they are being taught before I move on the the next topic. I also hold them accountable for their own success becasue I know that I can't make a person get out of bed in the morning. It is up to them to put that education into practical use because I cannot do it for them. Nor have I ever partnered with a student on a deal, as much as they may have begged. I think that would be unethical for me to benefit from any deals that they did. I am and always have been a mentor, even if the relatioships have started as coaching. Still to this day I have former students contact me and I always help them even if their "coaching" ended 15 years ago. I love teaching and I am good at it, but it has never been just a job to me. Even when I am giving Free Sessions I deliver real content based on what they need becasue it isn't about me. I will always be grateful for those seminar companies even if I disagreed with their methods because I have met and stayed connected to so many wonderful people all over the country. I have my finger on the pulse of the real estate markets in every state becasue I work with people from every state. One of the seminar companies had me on their sales floor for a while back in 2004 and quickly pulled me out of sales and back into mentoring/coaching becasue I was still teaching on sales calls. I can't help it. LOL!

@Michael Torossian Yes, I do. We can talk about it if you'd like to connect for a conversation.

@Nick Rutkowski Hahaha! Nice sense of humor Nick. Yes, you really should hire people to do the work. The minute you pick up that hammer, you are limiting your income potential. Let them do what they do best and get it done fast. Your time is better spent finding your next deal.