All Forum Posts by: Mike Nelson

@Max N , I second @Jack Bobeck . Yes, there's that risk and it happens.

It's part of your job as a wholesaler to make the seller understand the contract he's signing. You have nothing to worry about him changing his mind if you have made things clear upfront and you have made him understood how he will benefit from the deal.

LOL..nice!

@Account Closed , I think you may just be bored. If the part-time job provides you that diversity and helps you unwind, doesn't sound like a job to me at all. Seems more like relaxation or you're right, keeps you social and sane and even grounded.

I'm not in the same situation exactly but I understand what you mean. It's one of the downside to self-employment that's not often discussed but yeah, there's that challenge. You get bored, you're often too busy running your business but once established, you might reach a point where you have too much time on your hands that you know would not be effective spent on your business but on something else. For me, it's about taking up new hobbies, working out, making time to go out and meet people, especially those who I know would not only be good social companions but also share my interest for running a business particularly marketing.

Just as long as it's something I am interested in, would make me a better person/entrepreneur, I do it. :)

You can just type the text or describe how it looks like if you can't upload it, @Account Closed .

Be cool, man! :)

@David Doyle , yes I've found some good deals in CL. Don't rely on it entirely, of course. But it's true there are real fsbo leads there. Besides, it's for free.

You don't want to waste your time going through ads yourself though, so definitely hire someone else to do that. It only becomes a waste of your time if you do it yourself. What's even better is if you could hire a VA or someone part time to contact those leads and only pass to you the real fsbo's or best, those that seem motivated.

That's why more than the property, it's important for us Wholesalers to market to motivated sellers because they have the motivation. And building rapport with these sellers early on, even before you know their situation is key because that's how you understand what they're going through and where they're coming from. If you can open their minds to how you can help them by providing a solution to their situation, you can make them understand it's a win-win for you both.

And @Zaid R. is absolutely right. You have to believe that you're providing valuable service to these sellers. You're not just making profit out of a deal, and make sure that's not all you do. For every seller that comes your way, always figure out first how you can help him win...and then you'll win!

@Gerald Harris , I do believe that every house or place has its own story to tell...especially if it has a long history. From what you told us about the seller and his late wife, I can tell it's good vibes in that particular house. I can't tell for certain about the girls that came with the house though. That is a sad story.

At some point in our lives, we come upon and dwell in places like these. We don't always know something's there unless we are told or we start to see and feel things. It sounds like a good deal to me. I'm not scared of ghosts so I'd go for it, lol...what's important is if you decide to buy it and fix it, you give the property the care and respect it deserves because it may be important to those who have lived there including the owner, his late wife, those slave girls and whoever else spent their lives in that place.

I'll have to agree with everything @Sharon Vornholt and

@Michael Quarles said. You can't spend all of that budget in one mailing just like that. Your success will greatly depend on how well targeted your list is. And follow-up is key. You may or may not get a positive response from any one seller in the first mailing but with persistent and strategic follow-up, you will more likely catch them at a point when they become most motivated.

@Bret Miller - I usually find them in odesk.com or onlinejobs.ph. I am not affiliated with either sites. I just personally prefer them over the others. I've really learned over time when it comes to outsourcing. I've had some not so nice experience with VA's before but now I can confidently say that I already know how to pick the good ones. :)

I include a background of what I do in the job description and what a VA's job is. I prefer to use the job title "Real Estate Virtual Assistant". That simple.

There's no script to follow when interviewing a VA. Simply ask them questions that will get you answers which help you gauge their personality, behavior, intelligence, etc..

How I like to do it is...I include a short script in the job post and instructions to record the applicant's voice and send me an mp3 file. This helps screen those good English speakers only. I keep them and we proceed to phone interview. I ask all sorts of questions like their strengths, weaknesses, expectations, previous companies and work, about themselves and even how they will handle specific scenarios.

Learn to let go of those tasks that are eating up your time but you know you can pass on to a VA. You have to trust that she will be able to do it as good as you do. Don't trust a new VA with confidential and sensitive info at first. Just try to feel them out and give the VA bigger tasks and responsibilities as you go along.

Hope this helps! :)