All Forum Posts by: Justin Pearson

"Adding value" is a really vague concept, can you be more specific? Does it include great analysis and reports? Does it offer some kind of incentive up front or on the back end? A great recipe for pie? I'm not being factious, I'm just genuinely curious what this "add value" looks like in todays web culture. What can someone offer on their website that can be done better or differently than other competitors? I've seen the usual video clips, social media plugs, questionnaires, etc. I'd love for our brand to end up on the top of the SEO pile when someone in my area searches for selling a home but I'm not sure how to go about it. 

Thanks in advance!

@Account Closed There are people out there that have the cash flow and can prove it, and may make very qualified buyers, but have a **** credit score for various reasons (Mine is great due to 20k looming medical bills). I'd check out Pace Morbey on youtube, he's got a whole channel on buying subject-to properties and/or creative financing. In your case you could list the price at a premium price over amortized over a long-ish period of time to make the payments manageable, and you get your interest rate on the loan on top of the sale price. You set the terms, its a matter of how bad they want it and what they can afford. If they default you take the property back, and unless they've trashed it, you get to pocket the payments made minus taxes as your payout for having to deal with the chuckle@#$%. 

@Rick Pozos We currently have a FB website, do our own custom "ball point style" robot-hand written mailers in yellow and red, and we don't cold call. What ways would you suggest I use to maximize our web presence and inbound calls? You are correct that whenever I'm the one picking up the phone and calling them first, almost nobody is interested in talking to me let alone selling. They're tired of the harassing phone calls and I don't blame them, I am too.

@Jay Hinrichs Do you think the potential of the market downturn we're beginning to see will motivate people to sell now before the floor falls out from under them? I understand that this difficulty is compounded by the fact that investors will see buying as more risky and make sure the deals are screamin and solid before signing on to a new project. I prospect dozens of wholesaler leads every morning in my inbox and the majority of them are garbage, and I know my buy box has become more restricted as a result. Other than offering lower prices and accepting a smaller margin, what other strategies do you suggest. And another similar question, could you rank say the top 3 hardest parts of your job now vrs say 6 months ago? Maybe some strategies you use to mitigate those challenges?

@Gerald Giebeig I'm painfully aware of what isn't working. How about some suggestions that aren't the same tired old ones being pitched by the youtube gurus? I'm here to learn but I need some direction on where to go, not where not to go.

@Jerryll Noorden Thanks for telling me what doesn't work. I'm not being facetious, I'm here to learn not get defensive about past failures. I read your long, "spirited" reply in its entirety but I'm unable to pull any actionable moves out of it. Direct mail doesn't work, driving for dollars doesn't work, text blasts don't work, etc. The answer you suggested is that I find real motivated sellers but didn't say how. Your website says you use "innovative techniques" and top notch advertising, but none of that is something I can internalize and put into action as I sit in front of my keyboard. Could you be a tad more specific and give some suggestions on what to do, not what not to do?

@Juliet Palfi Have you considered using seller financing of your hypothetical $500k house as an exit strategy once you decide to move on? If you are willing to live in a less expensive home then the cash flow from that long term note should be enough to pay down the mortgage on your next property and maybe some left over on top. Say you seller finance the 500k note and gets 3k a month in payments. Use that payment to pay down the mortgage on 2 cash flowing rentals and/or live in one. In this case you're using your property as the bank.

@Kiefer Caughron If possible within the laws of your state can you pass the additional costs to them via rent increase? Your statements from the utility should show an unusual increase in usage beyond the norm and raise the rent accordingly? If the bills continue to escalate be prepared to modify your lease on renewal accordingly.

@Demon S Rogers I would send a written notice restating the relevant parts of the lease he's broken, citing specific examples, and see if the problem gets resolved within the house. This not only creates a paper trail demonstrating good faith on your part but also gives them an opportunity to remedy the situation with minimal cost and hassle on your part. Habits like those don't appear over night, they take years to build, so I wouldn't have a ton of faith in an immediate remedy but your response should be tempered by the degree of the infraction. This buys you a little time to line up a replacement tenant if they force your hand to FU with the eviction process. Make sure they are aware that you will not hesitate to pull the trigger on it to protect your investment. Good luck!

@CJ M. Why not schedule a site inspection and see for yourself if they have caused damage already and head off the problem? Taking the costs from the security deposit only makes sense if they already think they aren't getting it back, in which case you will eat the loss.