All Forum Posts by: Rico Johnson

Be careful. They charge outrageous fees. I would have your attorney go over any paperwork with you and explain the true cost of the money.

First Title on Harrison Ave, Terrie Monnie Title in N. KY, OR CALL  my girl Keya Hamilton over at Stonebridge Title in Blue ash

Hi Austin,

It's awesome you have $40K saved up at 19 years old.

Before you jump in, here are three things I would do first:

1.  Learn as much as you can by attending the webinars that @Brandon Turner puts up here on BP. You need both money and know-how to invest profitably in any investment, specially real estate.

2. Define your investment goals first. Do you want passive income from that $40K? If so, go with rental properties. Do you want to grow that $40K into $100K in 6-12 months? Then do fix-and-flip.

3.  Learn how to find good deals. I've just posted How to Find a Good Deal (Even if You're a Newbie) in a HOT Market here on BP (just click the title)

If you're a newbie real estate investor and have not found a good deal yet, don't fret. Real estate markets all over the country are HOT and when they're hot, finding good deals is very hard. But you got to be patient. Not having a deal is better than getting a bad one. As having acquired 94 deals (and not all of them are profitable), I would know :-)

So, I am writing this forum post to share with you my top 5 ways I find good deals even in today's HOT real estate market. I invite the more experienced real estate acquisition experts here on BP to chime in. By doing so, we help the newbie real estate investor to find good deals. Here we go:

1.  Word of mouth - don't underestimate the power of word of mouth marketing to find good deals. Tell everyone you know you buy and sell houses even if you are yet to acquire your first deal. Invest in business cards and pass them to everyone you meet. Be a walking, talking billboard. Sometimes, you can get good deals in the most unlikely places. One of my mentors found a good deal when she first met her hair dresser. In response to the question "What do you do?", she of course replied "I buy and sell houses". Her hair dresser happened to speak with a friend who was desperate to get rid of a house she inherited. The house was dilapidated and she didn't know what to do. To make the long story short, she acquired the house, wholesaled it and made a cool $10,000 wholesale fee just because she tells everyone "I buy and sell houses". Do the same. You're no longer an engineer, secretary, or sales guy - if you want to acquire your first deal - tell everyone - "I buy and sell houses".

2. Strategic alliances - a corollary of word of mouth marketing, but one that is more focused is what I call finding and cultivating strategic alliances. These are people who encounter real estate all the time and might be good sources of off-market deals. Here are some of my favorite strategic real estate allies:

  a.  Real estate attorneys or title companies - sometimes deals fall through the cracks and some buyers can't close. If you find and cultivate relationships with real estate attorneys or title companies, and you position yourself as a credible buyer (I will post how you do this even if you're a newbie in a separate post), they might refer you deals you will never find otherwise.

  b.  Property Preservation Companies - these are companies which secure preforeclosure/foreclosed properties for banks. They clean out the properties and sometimes do light renovation prior to putting the house on the market. If you can get them to forward you properties before they renovate or before they put them on the market, you can have a source of off-market properties.

  c.  Private note buyers and private lenders - these are private individuals who have money and instead of buying properties, they buy the mortgage notes or they lend money secured by properties. Note buyers and private lenders might have houses they have to foreclose and most of the time, they don't want to take the properties. They are in the business of lending money not taking back properties so if you help them get rid of the properties by acquiring them, you got yourself a strategic ally who can feed you off-market properties. How do you find note buyers and private lenders? Right here on Biggerpockets!

3.  Property Managers - property managers deserve a separate section because they can become very lucrative source of deals  for you. Network here on BP online and attend your real estate investors association and network offline. Find and meet as many property managers as you can. Some of them have property owners who are retiring or some are motivated to sell due to life situations like divorce or death in the family or a critical illness. You want to be the one to help them get rid of properties so they can cash out.

4. BP Real Estate Marketplace - thanks @Joshua Dorkin for putting up BP and the Real Estate Marketplace. Now, to be honest, not all the deals posted here are good deals. You got to get your education by attending the webinars here. And use the Calculators. Analyze the deals. Get a second opinion from BPers who are not in your market who are acquisition experts. Check with your local real estate agent if the property is on the MLS. Some so-called "wholesalers" have the guts to market properties on the MLS at a higher price than listing. Why they do that, I don't understand. If the property is not on the MLS, the numbers seem to work, then go ahead and call the seller, visit the property and make an offer. You can't acquire a property without making an offer!

5.  Direct Mail Marketing - this technique is not for the faint of heart, and not for someone who does not have at least $2,000 (preferably $5,000) that you can spend on direct mail marketing. Like always, get the knowledge first before you jump. IN order to have a successful direct mail campaign, be clear on your investment objectives and based on this, you can target the right sellers with the right marketing piece. For example, if you want rental properties in good areas, the last thing you want is a list of section 8 landlords (no offense - I have section 8 properties, but the typical section 8 properties are not in the A and B areas). Having said that, here are 3 direct mail sellers I've found excellent off-market deals:

  a.  Code violations - these are property owners, they have not kept up with the property and that's why they have code violations. I've gotten response rates as high as 30% from sellers who have severe code violations (not just tall grass or broken windows but mold infestation, or even structural damage).

 b.  Expired listings for properties in newer subdivisions - these are prime candidates for subject to's or sandwhich lease options. Sellers of properties in newer subdivisions won't have a lot of equity yet and they will be bringing money to closing. If you can help them through subject to or sandwhich lease options, then you could get yourself an off-market deal.

c.  Vacant properties - this is my favorite as I am very good in finding owners of vacant properties. When you mail to them, find first where they live now. You will be one of the few people mailing to them and you can get a very lucrative deal. How do you find vacant properties? Just drive around specially in C subdivisions (not in A or B areas). How do you find where the owners of vacant properties live? That's a topic I will write about later.

So, to the more experienced investors, what other techniques do you have for finding good deals in today's hot market? 

To the newbies and experienced investors alike, have you tried some of the techniques above and what's your experience in your market?

Commercial Warehouse/ Office Building $200,000

3,000 sq ft of office 4,000 sq ft of warehouse space

Front Dock attached

Seconds to highway, 5 minutes to downtown Cincinnati.

@Jon Moore @Jake Walroth It is called the Court Index give the a call. If you need any help with figuring it out call me. Also if you have any wholesale deals that don't fit your criteria call me. 

Hello I am a investor from Cincinnati doing 100% of my investing in Cincinnati. I have done rehab flips, wholesale deals, buy and hold, take overs, land contracts,  provided short term financing,   and short sales. I am very eager to see what I can learn and how I can contribute to helping others learn through the Bigger Pockets forums.  Let's connect! 

The best way to find wholesalers that are actually doing deals is quite easy. Here in my market there is a real estate publication that goes out everyday. They report  everything from civil cases to foreclosures.  I use this publication as a way to network. I simply browse the property transfer section and take note of those that are selling real estate at reduced prices. I send the sellers letters to fish for future deals and I send the buyers letters to help build my buyers list.

Of course those wholesalers that are assigning their deals won't show up in public record. NO PROBLEM. What I do is get a list of title companies and call them inquiring if they are investor friendly. Explain to them that you would like your info forwarded to their most active customers that wholesale deals. They should not have a problem doing you this favor. Nine times out of ten it will result in future business for their title company.

Dalton

It seems that your city may not be a bad place to start. If you choose a strategy and execute correctly you can become the authority in your market.  For instance, if you learned the ins and outs of short sales, structuring owner financed deals, or lease options you could easily become "that guy". You could perfect your craft at home and take the show on the road in the future. It always helps to be familiar with the market that you are investing in.

Find a seller that is willing to sell on terms. You may be able to find a motivated seller that has recently had an eviction by researching your local court filings.  Approach them and ask if they might be willing to sell on terms. You make a small down payment to the seller, and you promise to refinance out  within an agreed period of time (24-48 mo.). At that point you will pay them off in full. You provide them a service where they will not have to maintain the property or worry about tenants. You in turn get a property with little to no money down with financing included. This approach will require you to do some marketing, and will require you to have your paperwork in order.