All Forum Posts by: Joe Evangelisti

I do many different kinds of investing deals and one of the deals I like to do is flipping. I’ve built a business that can scale it (so I’m not the one doing the demo or adding baseboards). If you want to flip more deals – and flip more profitable deals – then here’s a simple strategy that can help you.

I call it the “Buyer Brain” strategy because you’re essentially thinking FIRST about the person who will buy your flip when it’s all done. You’re going to get into their “Buyer Brain” and think about what’s important to them… and then you’re going to create exactly the property that they want to buy.

1. Identify a target market that you’re going to flip for
Many flippers focus on a generic, poorly-defined homebuyer. “Anyone who could buy my home is my target market,” they’ll say. But this is the wrong approach. Instead, think about someone specific: A new couple without kids? A young family with their first child? Seniors who are downsizing but still want a space for their grandkids? The house and the neighborhood will influence this decision.

2. Determine this target market’s needs
Each specific target market will have its own unique needs. That new couple without kids might prefer a luxurious and romantic space, as well as a larger kitchen or dining room where they can entertain. That young family with their first child will want a safe, healthy, and child-friendly environment. Those seniors will want doors and faucets that are easier to turn and a bathtub that is easy to get into, a few more garden areas, plus perhaps a simple play structure in the backyard for the grandkids.

3. Flip your property
Now you can start the flip. Do your demo, source your material, and create a beautiful house… being sure to customize the house with your target market’s needs in mind. Of course you don’t have to spend a fortune to do this – just a couple of extras can help to position your property as ideal for that target market.

4. Promote
When it comes time to sell the property, promote it heavily to your target market in the places where that target market pays attention. A new couple without kids will listen to different music and read different things online and pay attention to different ads for houses than a young family with a first child, and that young family will listen to different music and read different things online and pay attention to different ads for houses than seniors… and so on. Figure out where your target market is paying attention and promote your house in that area. Sometimes the cost is slightly higher but the advantage is that you can advertise less but still reach more of the best audience.

And imagine how your target market will react when they walk into a home that designed EXACTLY with them in mind!

It’s a powerful strategy because it helps to solve one of the biggest challenges that flippers face: Becoming too emotionally attached to their deals. When you think first about the buyer and what they want, you build a property for them, reduce the likelihood that you’ll overspend on inconsequentials, and increase the likelihood that the right person will buy.

This simple strategy can make a difference in your flips. Try it out on your next flip and see what happens!

Like this post? Read more like it at www.theflipking.com

A lot of people talk about being real estate investors. They’re attracted by the potential for scalable cash flow that leads to wealth and freedom. They like the idea of staying home and doing deals in their pajamas from the comfort of a recliner.

A LOT of people talk about being real estate investors but few actually follow through. Some start but then stop. Other don’t bother starting at all. If you are interested in investing in real estate and want to ensure that you join the elite group of action takers who actually DO instead of TALK, then you need to follow this simple Action Taker’s Guide

Get Started
The first step of taking action is to get started. Yes, I know this sounds simplistic but it’s true. It’s like the old adage “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” If you want to do deals you have to take one step forward. Think of investing like a giant filter: Many people enter the filter but only a few take the first step. And fewer still take the second step. And fewer still take the third step. Don’t sit on the sidelines… Take the first step!

Do More
To be an action taker, you need to do more. Real estate investing isn’t like showing up to a 9-5 job and waiting for your boss to give you an assignment. If you want to be a real estate investor, you need to do more… and if you want succeed in real estate investing, you need to do WAY more. (Note: This scares off a lot of people but I always believe that the spoils of victory go to those who are willing to do more than anyone else).

Push Back Fear
Along the way you’ll encounter struggles, trials, challenges, and obstacles, and especially the unknown. All of these things will hold you back and, more significantly, they’ll create fear in your mind and cause you to doubt yourself. You’ll wonder if you can; you’ll wonder how you can; you’ll doubt that you can. Guess what: Nothing worth doing is without fear. And successful real estate investors aren’t fearless…. They’ve just learned to manage their fear.

Have Fun
I think this is the most overlooked and/or forgotten component of taking action. The high performing real estate investors are having fun doing what they do. That’s a huge difference to the mass of investors who are struggling to get their first deals done. Those many struggling investors are focused on the difficulties they have to overcome and on the goal of making money… which is okay but the high performing action takers are having the time of their lives. They love the challenge; they’re inspired by the very activities that cause some investors to throw up their hands in defeat.

Embrace Imperfection
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this from investors: I just need to figure out this one piece of the puzzle before I get started. Well, they figure out that piece and then they discover another piece to figure out. Without realizing it, they’re on a hopeless quest to acquire ALL real estate investing knowledge. Forget that plan. You’ll never figure it all out. (I’ve been at this for a long time and I haven’t). You just do the first imperfect deal, learn from it, and then do the second imperfect deal. That’s it.

If you put a bunch of real estate investors into a room, you’ll discover very quickly that most desire to be investors but don’t desire it enough to do anything about it, while only a small few are actually doing deals because they’re action takers. Follow my simple Action Taker’s Guide to get you moving forward on your deals.

Have you talked to a lender about financing? Most lenders require debt coverage which it doesn't sound like you'd have at those numbers.

He's a coach/mentor as well as a legit deal maker. I've seen his deals in person. He's one of the very few "Gurus" that is actually IN the business. I'm in his Mastermind group.

We use clearnow.com Not sure the exact fees but I know it's cheap.

You go girl. Starting is 95% of the battle!

We state that tenants are required to sign up and maintain an account with www.clearnow.com. Their rent is actually "credited" $200/month for using this service. In other words if they don't pay clearnow the rent is $200 higher. We haven't had a problem with this method.

He's the real deal. I'm in his mastermind group.

Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

3 bed/3 bath

Gated community with underground parking

Open floor plan

ARV: $190k - $230k

Repairs: $20k - $25k

Cash price: $115k

Contact George for access: 609-413-4398

I often get questions from investors about how to invest, so I’ve been answering them here. In this blog post, I want to answer the question “what is wholesaling?”

Most people who are new to the real estate investing world haven’t heard of wholesaling. They’ve heard of flipping or rehabbing, which has been made popular on those annoying TV shows. And they’re probably aware of renting or landlording as a type of investment. But wholesaling is the hidden way to invest.

It’s very powerful because it’s a way to invest without using a lot of money or even doing a ton of work… plus you don’t have to deal with tenants!

Here’s how wholesaling works (and I’m using some really basic “layman’s language” here and just giving you a simple explanation… there are, of course, variations on this that are too detailed for this blog post).

In short, wholesalers find a property, lock it up, and then wholesale the property to a buyer.

It works like this (although you should be aware that there are some variations from one wholesaler to the next):

1. First, they find a property. Good properties to wholesale are priced below-market by motivated sellers.

2. Once they’ve found a property, the wholesaler will then put the property under contract by purchasing the right to buy the property. This ensures that no other buyer can swoop in and purchase the deal.

3. Then, the wholesaler finds a buyer who wants the property and the wholesaler sells that “right to buy” contract to the prospective buyer for a fee. (The buyer now owns the right to buy the property and they act on it, purchasing the property from the seller at the priced agreed-upon in the contract).

As a wholesaler, you are paid the fee by the buyer when they purchase the contract. That’s where you make your money. Ultimately, you’re getting paid because you find a seller and you find a buyer and you bring them together. The fees you earn range from a few hundred to a few thousand, depending on what you negotiate with the buyer.

Again, there are variations to the wholesaling explanation above but this is the simplest way to understand wholesaling.

It’s a great way to start investing because it requires almost no cash on your own (you should give a small deposit to the seller when the two of you sign the contract but it’s often very minimal) and you don’t need to use your own credit because there’s no mortgage involved and you never actually own the property yourself.

And if you’re already an investor, it’s a great way to expand your business without a lot of effort (such as fixing a property or finding tenants).