All Forum Posts by: Lawrence Taylor

@ lawrence taylor 

One thing to consider when you are at these REI events is that many people who seem like they are "making it rain" with marketing or picking up properties, exaggerate what they're doing, how much they have and what they've done. This causes spectators and followers to have unrealistic expectations, especially if they're new in the industry. I see it all the time. I meet someone at an event. They openly tell me how many properties they've done or how much money they have, or how much they spend on marketing. Then later they end up applying for financing through us or having to provide proof of funds and 75% of the time they were exaggerating or just straight up lying. 

The reality is, there are more home investors and wholesalers than ever in history, including wannabes. This is simply because our population is more financially educated and has more access to marketing avenues, internet & education. Everyone is always looking for an edge and easy way to make money. There is this common false idea that wholesaling is easy and it leads to big gains really quick and this falsehood is enhanced by people who put on these seminars or start these collective real estate groups catered to new investors. It's borderline predatory and if you think that going to a weekend seminar will get you ready to wholesale- be prepared to be disappointed.

While you can make money quickly, its not nearly as easy as these jimmy seminars or GURUS try to tell you. The market is saturated with wholesalers and investors and will continue to be saturated as long as real estate becomes easier and easier to buy. The way to mitigate being treated as one of these wannabes- have all of your ducks in a row. You must have a system in place that makes your buyer and seller feel comfortable with the process and they must know that you are a professional and know what you're doing. Then you must prove it. 1000 letters DOES NOT equal 1 or 2 buys. It's all about your system and your service.

Hello @Lawrence Taylor

Welcome to Houston, Texas

If you are just sending 500 letters/postcards a month , you may get frustrated real fast, as the marketing is not working as you have planned.

the investors that I know in Houston they get 0.5% to 1% calls from their marketing and out of 25 leads they get a deal in average

if you send 500 cards, you will get 2-5 calls a month and it mat take several months until you get a real deal

What I suggest is to drive for dollars in older subdivisions built in 1980 and below, look for vacant homes or distressed properties and send them post cards, call all FSBO and rent signs. Do this every week for 2-3 months non-stop and you will be surprised with results you get. Save your hard earn $$ and by using this method you will have faster results

@Dev Horn

The market can only be saturated for those who aren't running a systemized business.  

Your marathon term fits well.   Most are in the pac of wannabe investors  The true marathon investors are so far ahead they aren't bothered by the mass. 

@Lawrence Taylor

Hi there! I picked up on two things:

GOOD PLAN: "So my plans are to continue focusing on direct mail"

and NEEDS WORK: "I only send about 4-500 pieces a month."

Make that closer to 4 to 5,000 and you should happily feel the results. And make it a good mailer - i.e. personal, 2 page, decent offer, etc. Get good data, merge/sort down to your ideal seller list, and use sometime like Yellow Letters to get it out. If you stay with it you will be too busy answering the phone to event think about driving around and knocking on doors.

Hope that helps!

Truth is, YES, Houston is very competitive right now.  But unless you are thinking about moving or blowing off your interest in real estate, I do think the over-saturated idea could talk you out of taking action or staying on the course you've set.

Guys that drop 10K pieces of direct mail will get more calls and do more deals than those that drop 1K.  But that is no reason to stop and talk yourself out of being aggressive and wanting something more for your family.

Every day, play with the cards you are dealt and grab opportunity wherever you can find it, even if it takes MONTHS to find a deal.  The guy that dropped 10K pieces of mail started out just like that - working with what he had, refusing to give up when he discovered it was way harder than he thought.

This is a marathon, not a sprint.  Settle in and do what you can with what you have.  There are deals happening every day out there and someone is getting them.  Why not you?

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Philadelphia is a VERY rough market but people still find deals. So Houston may be similar. 

The question is how many pieces are you sending out per month in addition to door knocking and driving for dollars. 

In Philly,  if you're just mailing absentee, I think it has to be more than 4K per month if not more than 6k. Other list (tax lien etc) aren't quiet as much required mailing but still as competitive so you have mail frequently (biweekly vs monthly) . That's me speaking for Philly. If Houston is ANYTHING like Philly you definitely may want to see about increasing your marketing budget 

It might help for you to define what you are trying to achieve. Because "saturated" will depend a lot on what you mean. Are you trying to fix and flip, wholesale, buy and hold etc.