All Forum Posts by: RJ Reynolds

That's my point exactly. You are NOT stuck even with an exclusive agreement. I didn't want to range too far off topic so I did not go into detail however I have to wonder why you didn't properly vet the first three agents you worked with before working with them?  

Let us pretend for a moment that you call me and ask to see a property. You explain that you are an investor and do not want to sign an exclusive agreement.  Great, I"d love to meet up with you and show you the house of interest. We set up time & place and viola, we get to meet and get to know one another and you see the house. THEN, after showing you the specific house of interest, I explain that while I understand your position regarding exclusive contracts, if we are going to continue working together I'd like a contract. then I tell you that a contract CAN easily stipulate that I am your agent with regards to the property at 123 Main St Nowhereville, MA or if there are multiple properties and we are feeling each other out as to suitability for working together then we can go with a 24 hour exclusive contract.  What I'm looking for is a meeting of the minds that demonstrate to me that you are not going to go around me to "save" the commission.  It also helps if you do go around me, that I have documentation indicating your agreement to work with me in some fashion.

Finally, I have an escape clause.  You can fire me at any time with 24 hours notice.

You see there are contracts, then there are real contracts.  I'd love to work with a handshake however, I have obligation to my broker and to myself to do my best to provide documentation against those that abuse our good work.

Fits and Starts reading it myself.  Please join in.  I've read parts of it in the past and am currently at the Stage One: Find pages right now.

One of the early keys I've seen is not 'reinventing the wheel' each time.  Go ahead and use a system created by and used successfully by others who have come before.  Sure markets shift and modifications to the system may be necessary at some point but a proven system can take alot of the fear & risk out of it.  It's non longer a 'gamble'.

The popular television show "Tiny House Nation" will definitely put a bit of a push on the possibilities.  Great topic.  If financing is an issue that is a "problem" that a savvy investor can solve. To my mind the bigger concerns are finding the construction talent to build them right and making sure government regulations, local ordinances etc are not an issue.  

Hello Jim from a fellow Massachusetts native.

Welcome!  

 Thank you Travon. I'll be blunt, you can't fix and flip with NO money. The words sell books, courses, ideas and build dreams of wealth for those without means and that is a very good thing.  You need money, it just doesn't have to be yours.

Consider replacing the word MONEY with VALUE and think about the value you bring to a project.  Now sell that value to the money (investor) in order to pay for the project. First two steps are:

• Be a valuable asset to all that you meet, you never know when you will meet the money and it's good practice.
• Have a solid business plan, utilizing the readily available resources such as public library, SBA and this website among others.

By the way, 'valuable' can be attained in a smile, kind word, or nice gesture. 

As for the 'find' part, that you can certainly do without money which is, I believe, why wholesaling is such a big topic.  As you drive to work, home, the grocery, evaluate each property with an eye toward how it appears in comparison to it's neighbor and what could be done to bring it 'up to snuff' if it's not.  Do your research to find non-owner occupied properties and make a point of driving by those.. are they occupied or not, run down or well kept. Clues can be found all around us.

and on and on it goes. Volumes of writing exist on these topics, knowing where and how to start, ah, now that is the question.  I'm reading FLIP, care to join me?

 I hope it's a good one!  Enjoy and if/when you get around to FLIP, let me know what you think.

I admit it, I can't tell if the bear trap idea is a serious one.  BE CAREFUL using anything that might cause personal injury.  The legality of bear traps in your area as well as the possibility the 'trespasser" will sue you.  We know what a litigious society we are in.. just sayin.

 And if I can't hire a contractor who is too busy, I ask that contractor who they would recommend.

For those who are starting out, the right information on how to go about doing something is critical.  The book I'm currently reading is called: Flip: How to Find, Fix and Sell Houses for Profit" by Rick Villani, Clay Davis, Gary Keller a description of which can be found at

BarnesandNoble

Anyone who wishes to read along and discuss, I'm open to it!

How did this turn out Chris?  Curious locals want to know. :)