All Forum Posts by: RJ Browning

I just wonder why we just don't get rid of real estate licensing and that whole thing and just all wholesale and do contracts without any over site.. do you have any thought on that.. why is there a real estate agency. ? 

I'm not against licensing by any stretch of the imagination. I'm against those that are licensed feeling like they have more entitlement and more of a monopoly over transactions than what they actually do. In my first response to the OP I mentioned the analogy of the WE BUY GOLD business. Just because I think there is a legitimate niche for that service doesn't mean that I think Jewelry stores should go out of business. I think that when it comes to owners and properties that there are many different scenarios. As a wholesaler there are scenarios that I can't provide a service to.. I understand that. However, there are scenarios that I can. That is why my marketing campaigns are targeted towards those situations. 

@Jay Hinrichs

not taking a position here but there are plenty of homes that sell on MLS as is.. just look at any bank OREO non of them ( banks use whoelsalers to sell there boarded up foreclosures.. they use legit auction companies that have real estate licenses in the markets they serve or they list with OREO brokers.. those that have not ready for prime time can list and sell as is.. happens every day.. that's not an argument.. but I get those that are distrustful of any one of authority type thing.. same folks don't have checking accounts etc.

I can't help but get the impression that you are indeed taking a position here. It appears to me that you would like everything to go through the MLS just because it can. Yes distressed properties are sold everyday on the MLS. Doesn't mean that everyone wants to go that route. And if I contract a property before it hits the MLS do I not have a right to do with my equitable interest as I see fit? I found the property, I negotiated the purchase, I have all options and remedies available to me that anyone else would. I understand the intent or ability when signing the contract. Save that discussion solely for those that default on that agreement.

the ethics argrument only comes to play when taught by on line gurus

I understand that most guru's teach some unethical approaches. I wont even try to defend that subject. However some do teach the core concept of finding a great deal, contracting that deal, and assigning that contract for a profit, while being transparent to all parties involved. And in my eyes, thats an ethical strategy. 

1. tell the seller your the cash buyer when you are not... and no one can tell me this is not how its done 99% of the time I get 10 or more yellow letters each and every week that say the same thing and I know those are not real buyers. so that's a moral dilemma.. not telling the truth up front in your advertising.

I can tell you this is the way I do it, I tell the seller that I work with a group of cash investors ( I do ) and that we purchase these properties to rehab and resell. I also let them know that while I will be contracting under my name that I will most likely be closing under a different entity depending on which partner (cash investors are partners in these transaction, no?) expresses the most interest in the property. 

2. subject to your partners approval when you have no partner.

Please see above

3. leading sellers on to think they have a solid deal when in fact the ONLY way it will close is if you can resell it.. this causes a lot of harm to those in distress IE foreclosure I have bought many a home that a wholesaler could not get their act together and I stepped in and bought it behind them.

I know of alot of agents causing harm to home owners as well. Have you ever heard those stories? I can't solve the problem of bad apples in every batch.

and then you have license laws.. I mean if licenses were not required to bring two parties together for compensation IE assignment fee then for sure I would not be licensed I don't like having to do CE all the time.. and pay dues etc etc.. 

A couple of things here. You are a licensed to represent the seller. You have a responsibility to represent the sellers best interest. That should indeed require licensing and oversight. However, I have no responsibility to the seller other than what we agree upon in writing. If they agree to the deal being contingent upon whatever contingencies then that is 100% legal and ethical. Once I enter into this agreement with the seller I am not taking compensation for bringing them to a buyer. I am fulfilling my obligation to my agreement with them. If that agreement is fulfilled by an assignee then that is ok, because my contract was assignable. Now if I signed an agreement with them and said, I'll find you a buyer at x amount, if you will give me x amount... then..... 

the idea that wholesalers are the only ones that can sell messed up properties because realtors can't that simply not true.. A broker will list it as is where is and price it accordingly. And it will sell.. especially right now.

And the idea that the MLS is the only option available to a seller is ludacris

@Jay Hinrichs

@Eddie Garcia I have also been reading alot of the "wholesaler bashing" that has been going on in BP forums. It seems that there is a general consensus that wholesalers do not add value to the transactions and are usually dishonest and unethical in the way they conduct their business. Not to even add in the fact that most claim its illegal. 

My thoughts are this, Wholesalers can and do add a value to the realestate community. They generally market for off-market properties and provide a service to property owners that want to sell their property without having to dress it up for the MLS. I tend to think of wholesaling as the "pawnshop" alternative for houses. Do you think the WE BUY GOLD people pay what the piece of jewelry is worth? No.. they pay a scrap price, that price is well below market value for a complete piece of jewelry but who wants a broken ring? Its the same concept. WE BUY GOLD businesses and pawn shops offer a service. So do wholesalers.

As far as the legality goes, consult a local attorney. Personally I feel certain that there are more areas that you can assign equitable interest in contracts vs those you can't. However it is a gray area almost everywhere. Of course the Licensed side of RE isn't going to support the unlicensed brokering of houses regardless of the method used. But I say if you do it transparently and ethically, then rule the gray area... 

Yeah the app is really popular in my area as I suspect it is throughout the US. I've tried repeatedly to keep ads up on it. If you look now there is a services section. Just make sure that you post to it. I also featured my ad for the 1.99 a day. It's seems like good exposure to an ideal audience. 

Just wanted to mention that the Letgo app now has a services section. I was able to post a picture of my WE BUY HOUSES flyer there with my number and website address. Previously before the Services section was added my ads were always discarded.  Just a bit of Free Exposure I thought I would share.

When pulling my absentee lists I notice that there are alot of 100% equity results, Im wondering if the mortgage information just isn't available on most of these properties and therefore this value is a sort of default in that event. I realize that I can't cull out the 100% equity as there may be some true free and clear properties in there. What is everyone's experience with the accuracy of the equity percentage. Im assuming 99% down would be fairly accurate as that would be a sign that there is a mortgage reported and therefore the 100% equity default isnt in play. Just curious

I'm entering the property address into my County Tax Assessor site. They have property photos available with the other information. I'm working with a really small budget so while I,m there I also take a look at the sales history and further cull properties based on how and when the property might have been acquired. But I simply save the property photo with the address as the file name, I'm actually spending the day trying to find a way to systemize the process a bit. Its labor intensive at the moment. But hey, I've got more time than money at this point so I'm just trying to push forward.

I would absolutely love to take you up on that offer, To be honest though I cant afford that size list or the postage at the moment lol. I'll see what i can do though.. It's an amazing offer and I certainly appreciate it. Raincheck?

Thanks a lot @Michael Quarles that means a lot coming from the founder of company such as yellowletters. What I lack in funding at the moment im trying to compensate with creativity in its place. Starting off with limited resources I just feel like I have to maximize my marketing response rates. Besides, I'll have a benchmark for when I am able to source out my mailing campaigns.. ;-)

Having a rather small budget to work with on my first mailing campaign, I decided to spend a little more time on it and came up with a variation of Mail2flip's  mailing which places a photo of the property on the mailing to increase opening rate. I just wanted to share and get any opinions on  my efforts. I am only able to send out about 100 mailings. I am mailing a High Equity, Absentee Owner list from Listsource. I guess at a 1% response rate I could expect 1 call huh? Thanks in advance.