All Forum Posts by: John Hyatt

Originally posted by @Christy Barton:

First off, I love the fact that you are putting in serious work and mustering up the courage it takes to go door knocking.  I also really admire the persistence you're showing by handing everyone you know a business card and telling them about what you're looking to do.  I need to get better at this.  

The only thing I'd question is this: do you think you could get better results by sending out mail to motivated sellers?  I know you want to focus on your neighborhood but honestly, you might have better luck if you broaden your search.  

Don't be so hard on yourself.  Your tenacity is inspirational!  I just don't want you to get burnt out and quit within your first week.  Hearing a lot of no's and getting doors slammed in your face is bound to wear on you over time.  

This is just my two cents.  Whatever you do, don't give up!

Thank you Christy! I was thinking of mailing them as well, just trying to keep cost down as much as possible starting out, but I think I will follow up with a letter in the mail or a postcard to those outside my neighborhood and those I door knock. Thank you for the tip, that is a good point and not to mention that its over 100 degrees today and only going to get hotter, I think mailing is a great idea!

My goal is to get 50 units via Subject to and then sell them on a Rent to Own in Arizona to create a passive income of $5,000/month. This is just the beginning and then I will take that money and invest in Mobile Home Parks and so forth. What I am doing:

1) Talking to 5 people a week in my sphere of influence asking them for referrals and if they want to sell.
2) Handing my business card out to two random people a day and let them know that I will give them $500 for everyone they refer that goes through.
3) Door knock 10 strategic houses a week (FSBO, Pre-foreclosure, Make Me Move on Zillow, or any house in my neighborhood)

By the way if you have any tips or advice please let me know!! I can take constructive criticism, I am constantly learning! If I am doing something dumb that I shouldn't be let me know or if I should be doing something let me know. My goal is to get 50 houses as fast as possible, no need to beat around the bush lol :)!

Here are my results:

1) Talked to 5 people in my sphere of influence today (Wholesaler, two best friends, Co-worker, and my dad). This week I did the easiest ones just to get me started.
2) Had my carpet cleaned this morning and gave my card to the guy and he will come back in the future so I can maintain that relationship and add to sphere of influence. Handed my card to the Post Office Worker as I was door knocking - he didn't seem to excited, but I am expecting a 1% referral rate from cold market anyways. 
3) This is where I get disappointed in myself - door knocking. Here are my door knocking results for week One:

Went to 8 houses total (Goal was to get 10 "No's" - just finished reading "Go for No")

House #1: I was so nervous, I have been door knocking before, but never alone and it has been a while so I was very nervous starting again. I was walking up to the door and saw a no soliciting sign and walked back to my car like a wimp! I didn't want to start the day off with a mean response.

House #2: I just walked up to the house and left the card/note on the door, again like a coward! I was too scared to even ring the doorbell.

House #3: Okay, finally I was so upset with myself I just went up and rang the door bell. The lady answered and I got nervous and said: "I was in the neighborhood and was wondering if you wanted to sell your house?" she said "No" and closed the door.

House #4: Rang the door bell, no one answered so I left card/note.

House #5: Rang the door bell, no one answered so I left card/note.

House #6: Blocked off by a gate surrounding the whole house, it was recently burned from the inside it looks like and a complete rehab going down. Not only could I not get to the door, I wouldn't want this house because I am not sure if that fits in with model of a Subject To, would require a lot more Capital.

House #7: Lady answered and with more confidence I said "Would you be interested in selling your house?" She said "I am renting, but the owner just listed their house I can give them your info" I then proceeded to tell the owner that if I got the house she may be able to stay there and asked if she was interested in a Rent to Own. She got excited and said she will give contact info to owner. Regardless, its a FSBO so I will contact the owner as well from Zillow.

House #8: Rang the door bell, no one answered so I left card/note.

The Note I am handing out is on a large yellow sticky note (about 6 inches by 4 inches) that says the following: "Sorry I missed you, I stopped by to see if you are interested in selling your house? I saw your house on Zillow and would like to buy it!

-No Realtor commissions
-Fair price
-Quick Close
-Little to no equity okay
-Even if you are late on payments that is okay

I will try again next week June 6th at 10am. If you want to meet sooner or are not interested please call/txt or email"

I leave my contact info of course and then on the back also leave a business card.

Some problems I am having already:

1) It takes a long time to hand write the notes
2) I already ran out of houses in my immediate neighborhood that are Pre-foreclosure, FSBO, and Make Me Move. I want to focus and dominate my neighborhood so I think I may just have to start handing cards/notes to 10 random houses next week (after I visit the ones I said I would).

I asked my best friend to keep me accountable and I am also posting on the site for accountability. I am very disappointed in myself this week, but I plan to get better every day! Currently started reading "How to master the art of selling" any other good books that you can recommend would be great!

-John

Hi Tiffany, Looks like you need new flooring throughout the house. Shouldn't cost more than $3k, some cabinets and countertops in bathrooms could be upgraded for another $3k-5k depending on cabinets and countertop, paint throughout (you can save money if you do yourself) or pay someone to get done quick. Based on just the pictures out here with my contractor I would estimate $15k in repairs. If you need new roof or A/C I would add $12k-16k for both. The kitchen cabinets look really nice, I would keep. Not sure about foundation, my contractor has found simple solutions in the past and have never paid remotely close to $15k. That being said having foundation problems on a first flip may be advised against. You could wholesale it quickly and easily make 10k of the numbers are correct. If you like risk and have a good contractor lined up I say go for it! You have a huge upside! -John

Hi Rhondalette,

Personally, my dad and I have that as one of our rules. Never rent to someone with an eviction, the reason is not so much that they got evicted, it’s because the mindset that is attached to it. In Arizona, it’s pretty hard to get evicted, you have to essentially not cooperate with the landlord to get evicted. If you are a tenant and you know you won’t be able to make your payment you should let the landlord know ahead of time and try to work something out. Instead, they not only missed a payment, but they refused to get out of the house! The landlord had to spend extra money to force you out of your house. That being said of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. We had this one couple recently and the lady had an eviction almost 20 years ago when she was 19. She has proven herself since then and turned her life around, plus her husband had a solid history as well.

Evictions may be different in your state, but I would recommend talking to them about the eviction and asking what happened. If they say anything other than taking 100% responsibility, I would point out to them what they did to their previous landlord and ask why they did that? I am sure you have heard this 100 times, but it costs way more to move a bad tenant in then it is to have the property sit vacant a couple months and get a great one!

-John

Does anyone know who owns the most units personally? I know Donald Bren, Sam Zell, and others, but they own a portion of a company that owns the units. Just listened to Grant Cardone podcast and I don't think I have heard of anyone who owns more units.

Originally posted by @Tony Blaine:

Originally posted by @Wayne Brooks:

You're doing a financed offer, as opposed to a cash offer, so you'd provide a loan commitment/approval, not a POF.

What if it's 75% LTV with 25% down coming from investors?

Your Question has the answer 75% LTV = "Loan" to Value. I had similar issues when doing short sales, the bank looks at Hard Money as a Loan. Like Wayne stated you would provide loan commitment/approval. The only reason they might as for POF as well is if they want proof that the investor has the 25% down. In that case, usually a Bank Statement will suffice.

Hello,

I am going door knocking this weekend to find “Subject to” properties that I can take over their loan and do a Rent to Own or sell for quick cash or short sales that I can be the listing agent on (if they are too far underwater), and of course any regular listing. My plan is to map out a neighborhood, knock on 100 doors or so and ask them if they are looking to sell their house. I am going to start doing this every weekend and wanted to get some advice. Any help on any of the questions below or anything you can think of is much appreciated:

1) Should I take a flyer/business card and leave with the homeowner or on their door? What do you think is most effective?

2) Do you think this is the best use of my time – door knocking?

3) Any other ideas to help me find properties that I can take over their loan? Ideal candidate is someone who is moving states and just needs to get rid of property or similar (divorce, probate, etc).

4) Any tips?

Thank you in advance,

John

Hi James,

Have you done the numbers yet? How much of a raise do you think you could get moving? I would write down the pro’s and con’s. I recently made a move from the Title Industry to Healthcare for not only a raise, but also a career path. My job at the Title company was capped as well. Not only did I get a raise, way better benefits, but most importantly my job is more secure and potential to move up happens way more often where I am now. I went from a company of 500 people to 50k+. I had free time at my previous job, but I believe you can find free time anywhere. That being said though, if you are moving to a more risky career for money then I would proceed with caution.

If your making 50k and you think you can make 75k, then maybe the risk is worth it. All depends on your risk tolerance and what the numbers are. Also, depends on your goals as well. For example: If you are looking to save up 20% on a 100k house, that’s 20k…I would break down how much you currently save each month and reverse engineer your goal. 20k / 1k a month would take you 20 months are almost 2 years to save.

-John

Hi Wayne,

I worked for a couple different Title companies over the past 5 years and I would recommend calling a few different Title companies and say you are an investor...usually the smaller Title companies will provide details for free. I know, because I was the guy running the reports. You can search the county assesor's website, Zillow, ask a realtor, and other stuff, but I think a Title search is the best. If you absolutely cannot get one then I would proceed with caution and if the numbers make sense it may be worth the risk.

-John

Hi Mike,

Working for a title company for the past 5 years I have seen that direct marketing via postcards works really well, the key is consistency. I have seen people send out mailers once and get no response so they give up. The ones who are successful are the ones that send it out consistently. I have seen realtors who don't know much about real estate with a lot of business simply because they know how to market. You can even do the USPS has a program every door direct and its like 14c a postcard (in AZ at least). I have heard it is better to mail 100 people 10 times then 1000 people once...

-John