All Forum Posts by: Jason Timmerman

In our business model we either double close or just work with a local agent for documentary purposes.  We grossed over $4 million thus far in 2017 and have general counsel on staff.  We make sure we're not breaking any laws.  I'm just looking for thriving markets, not legal info.

Hello all,

I am looking to expand a local wholesaling business to a virtual market.  I have been looking at several.  I prefer a market that is not inundated and oversaturated with wholesalers.  So basically, the largest markets are out.  I am looking to pick from 3 or 4 mid sized markets in order to test the waters. 

Does anyone know which of the following, if any, have a decent need for real estate wholesalers?  Let me know which are best of the following:

Raleigh, NC

Greensboro, SC

Tampa, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Columbus, OH

Kansas City, KS

Indianapolis, IN

Grand Rapids, WI

Ann Arbor, MI

Oklahoma City, OK

Atlanta, GA

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

@Jeff Riber According to him, he did something very similar after Katrina. The insurance claims must be filed and pending, but the insurance company, at least in those instances, still honored the claim. Perhaps special legislation was passed because, if possible, it would alleviate FEMA's burden immensely if a large percentage of people are able to have a means of finding a new home themselves as opposed to overwhelming the limited FEMA capabilities. And my guess is that most people would not want to be displaced for months or years so I don't think finding motivation is the issue.

As long as the insurance companies honor the policies that were in existence (using the argument that I was the homeowner when the disaster struck and I am the one who suffered the loss and obviously the one who carried the policy), it should work.

I am still a little on the fence morally about going into the markets devastated by the Hurricanes (Houston, Tampa, Naples, Jacksonville, Corpus Christi, Galveston), BUT I was somewhat convinced by a fellow wholesaler that we are doing many of those people a service. A lot of people have lost their homes either permanently or for a very long duration. They are going to have to wait several months and maybe years until their insurance claims get straightened out and they receive money to rebuild. Many of them will be in FEMA provided housing (hotels, motels, small apartments) for upwards of two years. Without the insurance money, many of them will not be able to purchase a different home.

So wholesalers can actually be a big help to them. If we purchase their home for $40k, they can use that money as a down payment on a new home somewhere that wasn't devastated by the storms. Then, when the insurance money comes in, they can use it to pay off their new mortgage, or at least a big portion of it, and they will not have to deal with the FEMA housing and uncertainty for years.

So my question is this, if I'm going to do this, what market would any of you recommend? 

I am looking to set up a virtual wholesaling division in either Nashville or Tampa.  Does anyone have any further info on those two markets?  I've done some research and I feel like Nashville has been a robust market for awhile but may have peaked as far as wholesaling is concerned.  Tampa seems to be a strong market with more potential growth.  My fear is that, even if peaked, there is still some time to earn some profit in Nashville and then get out before the market dries up and Tampa is just much more of a question mark.  

Does anyone have any advice on these two markets?

So it appears that Texas has had a robust real estate market for some time now.  We are looking to set up a virtual wholesaling market in a Texas city.  Obviously Houston is going to be a real estate mecca in a few months, but we're not comfortable attempting to benefit from such profound loss.  So Houston is out. 

We have it narrowed down to Austin, Galveston, Dallas/Ft Worth, and San Antonio.  Some of the suburbs of Dallas are also in play.  What markets in Texas are most ripe for a large scale wholesaling endeavor at this time?

When?

I agree that we should get a Monmouth County Meetup going.  The County is a very difficult market and I think bouncing ideas off of one another is a great idea.

I have to wonder why everyone is trying to work the same areas of Northern NJ.  The markets up there are not even very good anymore.  If you want to have success, look west to Morris County or south towards Middlesex.

@Talha Shahid,

Direct mail is definitely the best option in NJ right now.  Essex, Union, and Somerset Counties all show good response rates from basic postcard mailings.  We see about a 4% callback on basic postcard mailings there.  Middlesex is very streaky.  We have stepped up and done costlier and more inventive mailings and still haven't been able to increase our callback percentage to the levels we were hoping for.  Monmouth County is the worst.  We get some calls but the sellers are entirely unreasonable about the prices.  They all want retail price for their houses.  Obviously that's not the business we're in.  The only areas of Monmouth worth mailing are Red Bank, Asbury Park and Atlantic highlands.  Other than that, Monmouth just isn't working. 

New Jersey is a tough market because taxes are so high and most sellers remember ten years ago when their homes were worth $150k more than they are now.