All Forum Posts by: Jason Windholz

I didn't take it as criticism against Tulsa REIA.

This is a typical situation for any REIA or speaker with a product:

Speakers will have some fluff in a short presentation (90 minutes or less) unless you are in a training session, but they also share some good information in the time allowed. Many of the courses offered come with 1, 2, 3, or more days of training. You can't fit multiple days of training in 90 minutes.

Also the crowd is mixed with all levels of people: some brand new, some with a little knowledge, some with a little experience, and some with lots of experience. Because of this they have to keep it on level for everyone. 

We have had speakers talking about such advanced topics and training that it went over 98% of the people's head. People got up and left because they were lost on the topic. Think of it as people in general. You have a room with a mixture of elementary school, middle school, high school, and college students. If you start talking about Advanced Physical Chemistry II you will lose most of the crowd, even many college students. 

It that scenario, the speaker will have to keep it at an elementary level and some advanced stuff, but not too much. Also you will have some fluff so that they can offer their product. 

There are "nuggets of information" in the presentation, thats the wording I use. Some people call them "gems" but it all means the same: little pieces of valuable information mixed in everything else to try and satisfy the whole crowd. And in any room mixed with different people, there will always be complaints: too basic, too advanced, too much fluff, too hot, too cold, and the list goes on.

Most of the presentations and events I go to in Oklahoma and other states is 99% stuff I already know, but I can usually get 1 or 2 valuable nuggets of info that make it worth it for me.

I know I am not going to change your mind, I just wanted you to understand the whole picture, and why it seems that way for almost every real estate presentation you have heard.

Also, even if a particular topic is not what you like, the networking and meeting other investors, contacts, pros, etc. is also a valuable part of the main meetings.

Also since everyone seems to like beer, should that be offered at the meetings??

Before you order new cards, lose the owner title. All it does it satisfy a big ego. Even if you are the owner of rental property, its better to just be the manager. Think of the good cop bad cop routine we all see on TV and the movies. It is very fitting for real estate. The owner is the bad guy, "just a manager" is the good guy. Its great for dealing with tenants and the public in general. You can tell all your family and friends that you are the owner, but you will be surprised what tenants will share with you when you are "just a manager" working for the owner. 

oh, I had to google map it, closest to Savannah. About the same distance between Atlanta or Jacksonville FL, and there are lots of choices in those two cities. 

Research is key to this business, what you need is close, use your Eagle Eye to find it! lol

Wet funds are not exactly hard money lenders, although similar, they are different people. Hard money loans are usually 6 months or a year. Wet funds are usually 1 day to a month. Wet funds lenders usually have a fee for extensions and the longer it takes, the more it costs. They analyse the numbers on the deal and look at you "new" buyer to make sure its an easy closing. If its too risky upfront, they won't even fund it. Then you would need a hard money lender to close the deal. 

And even if they list, and it expires, there can be a deal there. I responded to a classified ad, sent the seller a follow up letter after talking to him on the phone, and 6 months later, when the listing after talking to me expired, he contacted me for my lease option plan. I filled the house over the weekend and made $$ over 3 years until it refi'd out.

No, you are still in the "house" mode, deals are made in the "people" mode. They respond to you and say, "i have a problem, this %&#% house is a burden in my life." You say, "I can solve your problem" They are happy to give you the burden and you just made a good deal! for cheap, or with financing!

People are not thinking "I need to sell my house, so I should contact an agent" they think, because it won't leave their mind "this *(&*&* house is a problem in my life, and... oh look, someone can solve my problem...

marketing is key to any business, even Realtors have to market their services to get sellers.

its called "wet funds" or transactional funding. 10 years ago (or so) you could "float" the money and close without bringing any money to the table. Now you have to have the funds, even if only for a minute or two, to do the deal. 

It usually only costs a point or 2, but 1 point a day, times 365 days a year, equals 365% return on their money. But only half that if they only do it every other day. and so forth. And 1% of $100,000 is only 1 thousand dollars. So just consider it a fee, like a repair, and pay it to do the deal. It sounds like you have lots of room in your deal to cover it,

There is lots of that money around Atlanta but I am not sure by where Statesburo is in Georgia, but it probably works except in rural areas.

PS its not illegal (committing a crime), so you won't go to jail for a double closing. Its the title companies that won't insure the closings and the traditional title companies don't want to take the chance.

Zillow and Trulia have gotten much better over the years, they used to be a joke but I guess they have learned over the years. But nothing is 100% as good as the MLS, but you can still do deals with 90%, or 80%... or less of the MLS.

I have been licensed in Texas and Oklahoma and finally let them lapse, I got first license in Texas, a non-disclosure state, where if you don't have the MLS, you don't have anything... to Oklahoma, where I live now, where they have a transfer tax so sales prices are public knowledge and 3rd parties love to sell it, and the counties publish it for free!

I guess what you get, that is not public record, is seller's info on expired listings, how many times the listing was renewed (1 month on the market, but expired 2 years since) and other data that only the Realtor's know like personal info the sellers share and some agents put in the listing.

Now when approaching agents, they are traditional and proud of themselves. Its against their code to give you access to the MLS, so even if you ask for pieces of it, you are in a grey area.

And if you take them up on the free stuff (which they offer to potential sellers ONLY in hopes of getting a listing)... they will see a waste of time and not want to give you the free stuff that was designed to make them commissions.

If you want the MLS, jump through their hoops and get it, otherwise you don't need it. Most motivated sellers don't list, or it already expired, and most of my deals came from my own marketing, not the MLS.

I have put that down in a few houses a couple of years ago and have not had any problems reported. I installed it myself and am somewhat of a perfectionist on reading the instructions AND following them, every detail. 

I am fixing to put it in 2 more houses, but after your comments, I will go check out the other installs to see how they have held up. 

I will post a comment later on the results.

I bought my first home at 20 yrs old and my first investment property at 23 so you can do deals while young. I didn't have any money saved up. I went to a trade school and did have a job to put food on the table, but none of that money from the job went to real estate. Also I quit my "real" job when I was 24 in order to rehab my houses.

The best part about being young, is that you haven't had to hear (at work) from all the old people, who didn't do anything with their life. 

Plus when you start out with nothing, you have nothing to lose!

Oh, and I started doing real estate in Dallas so this stuff works in Texas. 

Advice: Join the RICH club in Houston to network with the other LOCAL pros, because my rei career took off when I joined AIREO in Dallas, which is no longer an active rei club, but in the 90s it was the only club in the metroplex, and it was pretty good.