All Forum Posts by: Jaremy Moritz

Bob,

Are you contacting realtors about their own expired listings or just in general? If in general, I'd just pick one realtor and start to build a long term working relationship with them. Let them know what you're looking for and when a deal pops, throw them a bone. The amount of the commission is up to you. You don't have to have anything signed up front regarding a specific or "blanket" type of commission. Just let them know that you'd be glad to get them paid if they help you get a deal.

How are you contacting the sellers of the expired listings? Direct mail?

Once you've got a good relationship built, ask the realtor if there is any way you can just have access to their login code and be able to do your own research. You'll never know unless you ask.

Ryan, I am with you 100%. I've done nearly 400 deals and I've put up earnest money on less than 10 (other than on a few REOs I bought).

The way I see it, wholesaling is not investing. You are not buying this for yourself. You are not buying it retail. Don't mislead a seller into thinking that you are the one that will be buying it. The key is to be completely transparent about your intentions. If the seller insists on having earnest money, let them know that when you find a buyer, they will be the one putting up earnest money. Any objection can be overcome - it's all in how you pitch it.

Wholesaling is negotiating. Wholesaling is problem solving. Period. Don't make it more than that.

Why is earnest money even a topic for you when dealing with a motivated seller? If you make a point to explain earnest money and why you aren't putting any up, of course the seller will object. 90% of my discussions with motivated sellers have to do with their motivation, how I can solve their problem, and how the transaction will go down. The other 10% is the initial rapport building that has nothing to do with the property or their problem. Most sellers don't care about the details like earnest money, title company, etc. They care about how you can take away their pain. Don't create a problem where there shouldn't be one. Focus your conversations around their problem and how you can solve it, not about the numbers and how you've got "no skin in the game". The skin you've got in the game is the time and skill involved in eliminating their problem. If a seller raises a stink about earnest money, tell them that you'll be investing your time into finding a solution for their problem. Shift their focus back to the cause of their pain and how earnest money is not a solution - a buyer is.

Most agents I've encountered are clueless about investing. The rare few that don't have their heads buried up a dark hole are actually very beneficial, both on the buy and sale sides of wholesaling. Here's how:

Buy side: I've come across a few agents that regularly list "fixer upper" houses that others in their office pass up. I'm not talking about REOs, but true "individual seller" listings. These agents realize what their potential buyers look for and expect regarding condition and pricing. If you can build a relationship with them, you may be able to get a "heads up" on future listings. I always ask them to give me a couple days notice when they have a new "hot" one and see if I can get it sold before they post it on the MLS. Doesn't always work, but when it does you look like a stud and they will remember you on future deals.

Sale side: when you have an available deal, contact the selling agent for similar properties that have sold "as is" recently in the area of your property. Ask them to call the buyer that closed on the deal you saw on the MLS and tell them that you would gladly pay their commission if they bring you a buyer. The good thing here is that you already have a good idea what the buyer would be willing to pay based on the sale price, pictures, and comments on the listing. Even if that specific buyer isn't interested, the agent may have other buyers that might be.

As Charles said, not all agents are created equal. Hell, most are a pain in the *** when it comes to investing. But don't assume that they all are or you'll be passing up on a lot of potential business.

There's a few ways to look at this, in my opinion. I've got a few questions first, though.

Did you find the deal? I assume so, since your partner is willing to pay you up front. Did you come up with the assignment fee or did your partner? Hopefully it was you. Could you possibly make more money if you contracted the house yourself and wholesaled it to someone else?

The risk I see in this scenario is if your partner pays for the repairs and only has a lien on the property, he could be setting himself up for a headache if the seller decides to not sell. I've had this happen to me - I had to clean and repair a pool one time prior to closing in order for my investor to get his funds to close. Once the seller saw how nice the pool looked (it had been black and smelly for about 6 years), the jerk decided not to sell. I had to file the contract, put a lien on the property, and wait several years for him to decide he was ready to sell before I got my money back.

Find out the seller's motivation and use it to your advantage. If they are highly motivated, give them two offers: first, submit an all cash, very low offer. This is your best case scenario. If the seller accepts, write up the contract and wholesale the deal to a cash buyer, not someone who wants or needs owner financing. Most sellers want all cash and will accept nothing less. (Cash buyers are king, so when you find them, treat them well.)

Second offer is a short term "owner finance" for a slightly higher amount with their proceeds to be paid in monthly payments. This way, the seller has to deed the property over to your partner and thus is no longer controlling the transaction. Your partner will still have to fund the repairs but won't have the potential risk of the seller backing out of the sale.

I've know investors who do deals like you described, but I personally don't like them and won't structure any of my deals that way. Not to say it can't be done - I'll bet there are a lot of investors that use this strategy. I just feel it isn't necessary in the market I'm in since our property values are so low compared to other markets around the country.

Lou's reply is exactly what I do when I've got a deal I need to move fast. I have all the specs, pics, and video on my site and I blast the property to my list. If it is a good deal, it will sell fast from the exposure. Most of my buyers know that I don't "fluff" the numbers on my deals. Gotta build trust and don't B.S. about the numbers!

On the other hand, if you meant marketing your list to other wholesalers to try and sell their deals, the key to doing that is through networking. Actually going out and meeting with other wholesalers in your market can make you big bucks. You don't even have to have your own deals to make money wholesaling. I've sold a bunch of deals for other investors that couldn't find buyers for their deals. If an investor has a deal they can't sell, I can often line up a buyer for them based on the specifics of their property like location, price, amount of repairs, etc. Get to know the buyers on your list, including what they like, how many deals they can do at a time, and how they did on past deals you sold them will work wonders for you down the road. I've got buyers that will commit to buying deals "sight unseen" by having a good relationship with them and knowing what they want. Let them know that you care about their success and that you want to find the right deals for them. This can be a cut-throat business, so showing a little compassion and a personal touch will go a long way toward building good relationships.

Lots of good info so far. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is having a good follow up system. Over 30% of my deals are from old leads (sometimes a year old or more) that I stayed in contact with the owner at least monthly and was ready to pounce once the timing was right for them. A lot of sellers, even motivated sellers, are "just fishing" for info upon their initial contact. Having a system in place, and actually using the system, can keep you fresh in the seller's mind for when they are finally ready to sell. If there is motivation and/or equity in a deal, I work it until it is sold, either to me or to someone else. Just because a seller says "no" doesn't mean "no" forever, just not right now.

As for a top 10-20 daily tasks, I don't work that hard so for me it's only a few. Here's my list:

1: Follow up on old leads scheduled for today in my database
2: Set appointments on warm or hot leads, either from old leads or from recent leads that sellers have called back and requested an appointment
3: Complete scheduled appointments for that day and present offers
4: Get marketing and showing status updates from my sales assistant regarding active deals still needing buyers (I don't personally sell my wholesale deals anymore)
5: Get status updates from title company on files with issues
6: Analyze leads from today and call sellers back to try and set appointments
7: Input warm and hot leads not ready for "immediate buy appointments' into my database for future follow ups
8: Review schedule for the next day so I've got my "buy appointment files" prepared

Simple as that. Wholesaling is not complicated, so don't try and make it complicated.

Not sure exactly what you're asking. I've never heard of a realtor being able to pull a list of cash buyers through the MLS. Do you mean compiling a list of all transactions that have closed with the buyer paying cash? If so, it might be possible, but unlikely.

What you can do, though, is contact a realtor and start to build a relationship with them and let them know what you do, what your goals are, and how they can benefit from working with you. I've had many realtors bring me buyers for my wholesale deals. Don't feel that there's no room for realtors in your deals - that's just crazy. Having a realtor bring you a buyer is no different than another wholesaler bring one. Everyone wins, everyone gets paid.

First thing I'd do is call some other title companines and see if they can close the deal without the violations having to be cleared up. You might also contact an attorney to see if that's state law or just title company procedure.

Here in TX, we are able to close on properties with violations. I just did one a few weeks ago. Laws might differ from state to state, though.

Dee,

I've had both kinds (and still do) and it's best to keep it short and simple. In my experience, most motivated sellers want to get right to the point and a long, drawn out site just isn't what they are looking for. Even if they aren't highly motivated, they will likely submit their info and having a 1 page site with the "seller information form" at the bottom will do the trick. Initially, sellers in desperate situations don't care who you are. They care about what you can do for them and how you can solve their problems.

The key to a successful website is to have a local phone number placed several times on the site and ANSWER the phone when they call. I can't tell you how many times I've asked sellers what it was about my site that got them to call me as opposed to other investors and they've said "You answered the phone, they didn't!" When sellers call off websites, they almost always call several investors back to back to back. If you answer and your competitors don't, you obviously have a much better shot at getting the deal.

I know a bunch of investors in my market that let their advertising calls go to voicemail. They only call the ones back that sound interesting to them. Then they wonder why I get a bunch of deals every month and they struggle to get one or two.

I regularly receive calls from new investors wanting to bird dog for me, so here's my 2 cents from the other side of the situation:

Most bird dogs I've dealt with couldn't sniff out a deal if it was placed right in front of them. I'm not knocking bird dogs, just the so-called experts that claim to "teach" them how to find deals. There are so many people that want to learn the business and are willing to bird dog for the experience, it seems like every lame-*** guru has a product to sell so they can capitalize on the "frenzy". A lot of the "newbies" that call me are fresh out of some course or seminar and try to sell me properties that make no financial sense whatsover. I've had quite a few even tell me that my way of analyzing properties is wrong. From an active investor's standpoint, it gets very frustrating dealing with bird dogs that think they know more than me. Don't be like them, for your own sake.

I'd like to say I give everyone a chance, but the reality is that I've spent so much time training and retraining these bird dogs (and most of them never do a damn thing) over the last couple of years, I am very hesitant to even begin working with new ones. The ones that I do work with have been screened, trained, and kept on a short leash. Once they start bringing me crap, they are pretty much done. I'm telling you this stuff because you'll likely encounter investors that have had the same experiences with bird dogs as me. Don't let my comments discourage you, though. Just don't be like the idiots I mentioned.

Now, on a more positive note, you can definitely get a good education in real estate by bird dogging if you can latch on to some good, honest investors in your area. I was lucky back when I started investing and got to work as a buyer for an established real estate investor. Not exactly bird dogging, but pretty darn close. The knowledge I gained was priceless... everything from how to advertise to negotiations to rehabbing. Knowledge that has made me a crapload of money since then. I didn't make much working there, and you might not either as a bird dog, but the fun begins when you start doing your own deals from start to finish.

Bottom line, if you can find good quality deals as a bird dog, you should have no problem hooking up with solid investors to either buy them or wholesale them for you. If you really want to succeed, though, screen your potential investors like I do my bird dogs. The last thing you want is to take a great deal to an investor that screws the deal up and you don't get paid on it. Once you find one or two good investors, stick with them and give them first crack at your deals in exchange for them teaching you about the business. Remember, bird dogging should be a short term deal - only do it while you're learning how the process works. Once you've got it figured out, stop bird dogging for others and do the deals yourself.