All Forum Posts by: Ken Nyczaj

@jacob I don't know any wholesalers. You could always try to market to these owners directly or work with an agent who specializes in foreclosures that could give you information as soon as a foreclosure comes to market.

@Jacob Masters I grew up in the millersville/ glen burnie area. Public schools aren't very good and I can't say they're getting any better.

That being said, there are definitely some duplexes in the area where you could try to buy the whole duplex and rent the other side out and have that pay for your mortgage. If you want something that is around the same price but economically on a higher end, and better schools you could look into Pasadena which is only a few miles away.

Alecia Bunch I’m in the same boat as you. Trying to close my first deal, all I can say is- continue to learn as you progress through the purchase. If you’re using conventional financing the date to offer to close takes some time. Have the right professionals in your corner and they’ll help you along the way- Lenders, Realtors, Insurance Agents, Attorneys, Title/ Escrow Agents, contractors. It’s a good idea to build this professional circle and develop relationships before your first deal so that when when a great deal hits your radar, you’re ready to act. Hope that helps, good luck and seek council from others.

Roger S. Go to your local county assessor and schedule a court date to dispute the increases. You can certainly negotiate to what you should be paying in taxes.

@Sue Matt your local Title company should be able to provide one.

@Sean K.

The past few months I've been receiving seller phone calls as well and I create a mock script that I repeat to myself every day, while in my office or driving to make it flow naturally. Definitely don't read from your script, repeat it every morning and eventually it will just sound like a normal conversation.

You can't possibly know which seller is going to call you from which list unless you have different phone numbers attached to each motivated seller list (which some people do, I don't)

Consider your criteria, you should have a general knowledge of around what the ARV is for your ideal property, my criteria is 3-4 bedroom with 1 1/2 to 3 bath under 2,000 sqft, 20 years or older. Unless you are just targeting a huge swath of area? For me I am sticking with 5 local zip codes, all suburban to make it easier on me.

I don't ask property specifics, you can look that up on tax records and it can be waste of time, here is how my script looks:

1. (seller) Hi this is _____ I received your letter

Hi, Yes, I'm Ken, I'm a local investor that lives... Thank you for calling me. Do you have  couple minutes to talk?

2. (seller) Yes.. how did you get my information/ name

I walk local neighborhoods and your house was in an area I'd like to invest so I looked up the county records and your name came up.

Do you have a house you're wanting to sell? YES

Is the house currently listed with a real estate agent? NO

3. (seller) Yes, I'm thinking of selling this one property.

Do you mind if I ask WHY you are selling?

(seller) It takes too much time to care for the property... etc

Ok, I see well I'm here to help you and just have a few more questions:

--Are you the owner of the house, could you confirm your first and last name?

--Is this the best number to reach you? Is this your cell phone?

--What's the address of the house you are interested in selling?

--What's the timeframe you'd like to sell your home?

--Is the house occupied? Do you mind if I speak with the tenants?

--Do you have a mortgage, second mortgage? Do you mind if I ask how much you owe?

--Are you current or behind?

** I may not get to all of these or some of them the seller will have already told me out of order, remember to listen more than you speak, they'll give you a lot of information.

** Now here is the important part, talking price:

I always buy As-Is so you won't need to do any repairs. Can you tell me about the condition of the property? Roof, flooring, paint, etc.

(seller) It definitely needs a new roof, and some of the windows are leaking

That's fine, we can take care of it. For the house in its current condition, how much would you be willing to sell for?

(seller) IF PRICE IS HIGH

How did you come up with that price?

(seller) well the house up the street sold for that much, I figured mine only needs a roof and windows so $10,000 less should work right?

"I see"... be quiet for 10 seconds and see if they negotiate down with themselves.

If nothing... "Homes that are fully renovated will sell for around the price your asking, Your best bet would be to list it with an agent and see what you're home is worth, would you like an agent recommendation?"

** Don't be the bad guy and insult them when they're asking a price that you know just won't work. My sweet spot is from $80-$130k depending on which neighborhood, if they ask for much more than that I don't ever give them a price that I would pay. Ask them to do their homework and get back to you. Countering with an investor offer will only hurt your rapport.

(seller) IF PRICE is FAIR

Ok, that's in a price range that I could work with. How about I come by tomorrow, does 2pm or 4pm work?

(seller) 4pm

Thank you! I'm going to sit down and do some research and I'll see you tomorrow. I'll give you a call an hour beforehand.

This isn't a script I came up with, courtesy of @Michael quarles and @j scott It was a combination of listening to their podcasts or reading their books.

I know time is precious and you don't want to waste it, but when starting out, try to get appointments, it will only help you get more tuned into this experience. Obviously if they're asking $300,000 and that is $200,000 over what you can offer then that's a waste of time. But if it's within 10-20k maybe give it a shot. And remember practice practice practice, don't read off a script.

@Corey Stanley You could pay a company to outsource, many great companies on here. Or you could DIY by compiling a list into excel and then mail merging that list into Microsoft- YouTube will teach you how to do all this.

You can use a company to get your lists for you like listsource or you could create your own list by going through each individual parcel. Look for owners with equity, people always say absentee, but if the absentee owner doesn't have equity, will you really be able to get a great deal?

Hope that helps good luck.

@John Allen Hi John, welcome. Don't get overwhelmed with all the information out there. Treat it like a buffet, take what you need and come back for the rest later. Not sure who coined that, I forget, but great quote.

@Aaron Galat If you have a lot of assets to come after maybe get an LLC, if you're renting with not much for a lawyer to come after then you may be fine w/o one. I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as specific advice.

As @Account Closed said, don't market directly to short sales or foreclosures. In Maryland there are some laws protecting those homeowners from unlicensed individuals.

I just listened to a great BP podcast that will give you some advice on new wholesaling. Episode 97 with Kyle Pettit. For about 5 minutes he just explains how he writes 30-50 yellow letters a week and sends them to homeowners. Not sure how he finds his lists, but I think your best bet is to find owners with equity. You don't really have a deal unless the owner has some equity in the property, start there, (use list source, rebogateway, your local title company to find lists, or scan the tax assessor website and do it yourself). As you get more experienced maybe you can start working short sales or foreclosures. Think about adding business cards to each one of your envelopes with your mission statement or what your company/ you actually does on the back of it.

Hope this helps, its the strategy I'm taking.

@Eric James Thank you, you too!