All Forum Posts by: Matthew Perry

@Andrew Doyle my first project/deal was in High Point, NC ten years ago so I can understand where you are coming from in the NC area. My first suggestion is to really sit down to think out your goals and be specific. Life punishes those who are vague, so have your goals be of what, how much of, and by when kind of things from there it is creating the plan to match the goals and working backwards and fighting to attain them. Get connected and see where it can take you. 

@Chauncey Perkins, I called Atlanta home for six years while going to high school there in the buckhead section of downtown Atlanta and I have seen first hand what the real estate market has been doing over the last ten years. Sidebar is that Atlanta real estate is where I actually got my love for real estate and got my interest going, and is a large part of my why, and what I am chasing all these years later. 

I personally believe that agents make the greatest investors because they know what it takes to succeed. You know what it is like to prospect, you know what it is like to climb up that hill over and over again just have a low response rate, and the good ones have that entrepreneurial spirit to see expansion in many ways. I often wonder if we could limit the fear of the unknown and maintain the creature comforts of what feels right and comfortable to us would every agent become an investor- probably. 

First piece of advice is to always stick with what you know. The best place to find a deal is where you already are, and how better than an agent. Go to the sellers you have worked with in the past and put the word out you are looking to buy for yourself. As Frank Sinatra sang- start spreading the news. Real estate investing, much like brokerage, is a contact sport. All your doing is changing a pronoun and a verb and making it a statement not a question. Now it is I am looking to buy, instead of are you looking to sell? 

Second, use your tools. Knowledge is paramount, and you have great tools at your fingertips, use the MLS. Go look at properties that did not sell, or expired. Talk to the agents who listed them, who has the market share in the area you want to buy in?

Third, create goals. Do not be vague. Life punishes those who are vague. When do you want to buy something by? Spell it out in detail. Make them, a have what, a how much, and by when thing. f.e example: I want to have a four unit multi family for 500,000 by mid 2019 that is a goal. Now granted the number there is going to be different from market to market but the idea is the same. Once you have that goal it is working backward from there and figuring out what it takes to get there and what needs to be done. Then it becomes a case of rinse and repeat. 

Congrats @Timothy Doenges!! My first project I ever did was a two bed one bath 950 sq ft home in High Point, NC. We never forget our first one, and you are right on with the mentality of thinking there about hitting a single to start. Good on you as well for having the goal by 2020, now think about everything you did well here, what you do differently, and how you can start on the next one. 

We are in culture now that insists on right now mixed with just come along and follow my lead. One of my favorite entertaining aspects to do when I can is to find a real estate seminar in my area and find out how many of those people are there because they see it on TV and think to myself I can do that- how wrong is that mentality. Now it seems those people are moving into wholesaling because they have been told they do not need the capital to do it, or they see as you said on YouTube, or read about it the newest real estate investing book. Without question it is a struggle, and it is making the market far more compressed now than it should be because you people coming trying to scoop up stuff just because it meets some criteria they are seeing on the page in front of them. You do this long enough however you do not need some checklist in front of you, and it becomes more about intuition and experience that you are pulling from to know what a good deal is and what is a deal to let the hotshot fly by night person try and make the buck with. For me when dealing with investors it is staying true to my buyers list, and not deviating from that list. They are people first and foremost I know and know me, who know what I stand for, know my message, my purpose, and my reason. It is a list that I have taken time to cultivate and craft, because when I have a deal to take to someone they know that what cards I am holding and that I am not looking to get on over on anybody. I know when I call someone on that list in their specific area, first I know they will be interested because of our history and more importantly I know they will close. I look at that relationship as a see-saw we both need each other and if only person is doing anything they other is going to be stuck. This stigma is going to be the biggest problem for investing in the next decade as more and more younger folks get into the game, and I truthfully I am all for that because I want them to learn and see that this is not as easy as they see on YouTube. One of my mottos is I am my brand, and my brand is me and when I am looking at a deal to buy (to either flip myself or to turn and around and wholesale) I make sure to talk about why I am doing this, that I have every intention of being here tomorrow, the next, and the day after that. Money is not the driving force here, but it is rather the chase for me that I enjoy so much. Money is merely the byproduct result that comes. I find it best to make my story personal as to show I am not just chasing another deal, or dollar, or transaction. I found the more I talk about who I am, what and why I believe in a particular project my closing rate is much higher, but you better believe I will have data to back up what I am saying. 

Good on you for pulling the trigger especially after getting so close the first time. Now, relax, evaluate, act, implement, repeat. 

Trust your numbers, ignore the noise. 

You have actually answered the question with the question. Your appreciation at this point has provided a good ROI, and the question you can ask yourself is if it is going to appreciate at the rate it currently is and if that is the case is it worthwhile to hang on for a couple more years and then sell it. Truth of the matter is does not sound like a good candidate for BRRR strategy but does not mean it is total write-off. Personally, if it was me I would put it on the open market with a number you would like and take anything above a number you feel good and confident about and chalk it up to a win and go out and find another property. You could partially refinance to take out enough to begin to finance another property, but I have never liked that thought line because all you are doing is taking money from Peter to pay Paul, and that is certainly not beneficial to you.

@Account Closed Do not try and force something that is not there, just worry about being authentically you. Make it about them. Any time I meet with a new investor I make sure to ask three questions: 

1) Tell me about a project you are currently doing that you really like (this provides them a chance to brag, and I have never met an investor who does not like to brag) 

2) Are there any crucial factors you are looking for in a project in a deal? (this will tell you if they are cash flow, prestige, ROI, or add on investors)

3) If I have a project that fits into that criteria, what is the best way to get ahold of you? (this shows you are actively looking and want to stay in contact with them, but also shows that they are someone to be sought after) 

It is a five minute conversation and hopefully it yields a new contact for me, and I put in the highlights of the answers of what they gave me so when I have a project I scroll through and find the right person. Example:

John Smith 

AREIA Providence (where I met the person)

-boston multi family that generated 5k in cash flow

- cash flow only! 

- email proposal to whatever the email is and then set up phone call. 

I concur with what @Jerryll Noorden said there, that you do not reinvent the wheel on this one so to speak. Simple is better. Studies have shown that people are going to be less driven via a call to action with having no base line for who you are and what you are all about. The latest Zillow marketing survey spells out clearly that just saying your in real estate and are in the area is not enough, big whoop. When we begin a farm our first mailer, note, or card whatever we are doing is always just saying that we are going to be active in the area and directs people to where they can find out more information about us. It is definitely a long play and we are continuously building off the last mailer we did in that we are talking about us. I am also a firm believer in a mailer should never be about wanting to buy your home, that is not going to work and you are appealing to a small piece of the marketplace in that in people who would actually use you, instead make it about you, and your company. Did you just buy a house in the area? How quickly did you close on it? What value can you provide? For all that go to our website and see what we can do for you! 

I agree with sentiment that investors care about what you bring to the table. What is it that you can do? An investor by definition is looking to invest in something, or even someone. The first piece of advice is to find the project. Now granted this is just my personal opinion, but there is a new trend out there of raising the money and then the project , but to me at least that seems backwards. If you find a great project that can generate a quality level of cash flow there will be a good number of investors who will happily take that deal, because you have solved a problem for them in that they do not have a project to invest in and by bringing a project to them you have solved a problem and in return showed what you can bring to the table. I agree with the those who have said go to meetups, investor meetings, wherever the decision makers are is where you want to ultimately end up. A great skill in this business to know is who is looking for a project, and to know when to use that to your advantage. The last thing you want is to have a great project in front of you, but nobody around you is lending, having been there I can tell you that is a hopeless feeling. Real estate is a contact sport, so do not be afraid to go out there and just start saying hi, I am ___________, what are you looking for right now?