All Forum Posts by: Jarrod English

Hello,

I'm not even sure what terms to search in here to find out if anyone has tried this before but here's the idea.  There's a few houses in my neighbourhood, 1 has been empty and for rent for a number of months and the one across the street has been for sale for even longer I believe.  I guess you call it a sandwich lease but not an option (not to own).  Basically what I'm thinking of is contacting the owners and trying to negotiate a long term rental (works on homes for sale and empty rentals).  I will promise the owners $1000 a month for 5 years and have permission to sub-lease and am keeping whatever profit I can make (say if rented for $1500).  I figure this sort of strategy would only work for homes on the market for long periods.  The perk for the owner is that they have guaranteed income and they can still sell their house after the term which may raise equity in the home as well.

It's just an idea I'm mulling over and thought I might put out some feelers to home owners/real estate agents (who will want a commission I'm sure).  Just thought I would throw this out to the BP community and gauge thoughts and feedback.

Thanks!

It's a good analogy haha.  Thanks for the tips, I will definitely be continuing my education and deciding what path to go down in the future.  What if I have a friend that's a commercial realtor, I could partner up with him if I do in fact find a deal through wholesaling tactics right?

I'll stop hijacking the thread now =)

As Brian mentioned above though, a contract stating that the place will be marketed would allow that sort of thing though wouldn't it?  I am also thinking about a license anyways.  We shall see what the future holds.

You know I've been browsing around here lately and although John might have a strong feeling opposed to wholesaling... I can't say I blame him anymore.  There seem to be a lot of threads started where people are locking up houses with no actual plan.  Of course they come here because they want advice and people will help them which is great.

I originally intended on going out there and finding things and putting them under contract.  But upon further reading I think I'd like to take a more laid back approach where if I find a deal, I will not lock it under contract at X price, but instead try and help the potential seller find a buyer.  You might be thinking that someone will swoop in and steal the deal but I'm not too worried as I'm just getting started (and people don't wholesale around here).  With a proven track record and buyers/partners in the future, I'd be more inclined to lock something up on site.

I live in Canada and the cost of your average home can be far higher in some cities like mine.  So buy and hold isn't always a viable strategy as it can take your average person far longer to earn/save money just to put down 5% on a $400,000 home.  Qualifying for conventional mortgages can be difficult too.  I have 2 houses and I'm strapped at the moment.  So I see wholesaling as potential cash on the side, but also an opportunity to find fix and flips should I choose to go down that route.  Something fun to get my feet wet in the business.

Just curious, when someone says they "have land," does that mean it is some acreage out in the middle of nowhere?  Is it possible to divide the land and sell it or divide the land and build multiple houses on it and sell those?  I'm interested in infill properties personally so just throwing that idea out there =P

No need to apologize to me, you didn't do anything wrong haha.  All we have here is someone wanting to sell a place and he probably thought you were going to give him some out to lunch price.  Probably he didn't fall into the motivated sellers category and was looking for full market price?  Just taking a guess though.

Love all the hate and discussion here haha!

Cody wanted to see a property, John started off with some decent advice by saying that operating honestly is key.  Cody didn't provide enough info upfront about whether or not he intended to close himself or has buyers ready or what his experience is.  It spirals out of control where John says operating without a license is not honest.  This isn't really FACT as he likes to put it, it's just his opinion.  There is no rule in the world that says you have to have a license to be an honest person, most people are honest.  Saying that most wholesalers operate dishonestly is not fact either.  As pointed out, there are honest and dishonest agents AND wholesalers, and even people in general.

You do NOT need to have a license to help a person, for example, with selling their home.  Sure it's a little shady if you go in and lock something under contract without the means to actually close.  That can be seen as dishonest... so don't do it (not saying Cody was going to here haha).

Moral of the story is ANYONE can provide a service and be damn good at it (licensed or not).  It is up to the investors, the sellers and anyone else involved to determine whether or not that service is for them.

Would appreciate more "in my opinion/experience" comments placed in posts.  Making blanket statements doesn't help either.  Just my 2 cents.  Have a good day.

Great discussion going on here.  Really appreciate the mention of there being no correct way to do things and everyone can choose their own path.  I try and spread this around to my friends haha, there's no right or wrong in life (I've read a bit on Buddhism).

Anyways, back on topic! I have known about this site for a few years now and have read posts, some books, and used to listen to podcasts. My issue is that I don't have the motivation! I have been interested in REI for a long time, done some renovation work and own 2 houses in which I rent out floors and rooms. I am becoming older (only 31 I know) but also becoming lazier. This is just the topic I needed to help work on my motivation. As mentioned above by the OP, doing what successful people do and making life changes will help I feel. Reading books more, motivational and REI books should probably help. I don't really have any friends that are interested in this sort of thing, and some of my friends even laugh at me when I talk about all the crazy ideas I have (wholesaling or dreams/goals), because they have the mindset of buying your house, paying it down and working the rest of your life.

I just wanted to thank everyone for the discussion and tips and welcome any more advice.  Every month I keep telling myself I should start taking action but never do.  I feel I'm on a tight deadline as I may go overseas for a 6 month working visa.  When I come back I may not be able to get my job back with it's cushy salary.

See you around =)

Does anyone do door to door marketing?  It seems most people send out yellow letters hoping for people to come to them.  But I'm more interested in knocking on doors and asking people if they've ever received letters or been approached (among many other questions).  Things I wonder about are:
- Should I have a corporation/business cards, a website perhaps or would leaving contact information be sufficient?

- What sort of questions do you ask and in what order?  How many questions (because I figure nobody wants a 15 minute standing survey)?  I'm sure people can be sensitive to a blunt approach about me looking to tear down their house and build something like a duplex.  However I've also heard of wholesalers being sneaky and saying "they love the area and are looking for something to purchase" and then going around and flipping it to someone else for a profit.

I need to prepare a list of questions and think about the flow as well as being approachable and friendly while having these discussions.  

Hoping I can draw upon experience from people that do this themselves.
Thanks!