All Forum Posts by: Richard Low

Update: I just Quit the Flip2Freedom Academy today

Sean Terry is a great motivator and teacher. And his podcast is great and because of it I bought a membership to Flip2Freedom.

Here's what I liked:

- I thought his live bi-weekly webinars were great, he had a Q&A session where you could type a question and eventually he'd get to yours. Ironically, this is way less mentoring than you get on BP or from a good local mentor.

- Wholesaling is hard. Sean does a good job motivating, since it's easy to get frustrated and give up, and this is built into the academy. I think this is one of the reasons for his success.

What I didn't like:

- The format of the whole academy is step-by-step video. He holds your hand through everything, from setting up a website, to email lists, finding buyers, sellers, mailers, bandit signs, etc. So why didn't I like this?

First, I signed up for the membership that 'unlocked' modules week by week, and the first 4 modules were either intro or focused on building a buyer's list. I got the the AZREIA, where there are plenty of buyers, so this wasn't interesting for me. I got frustrated waiting for the next module to unlock and was unwilling to pay $600 for the full yearly membership that gives you all the modules at once.

Second, some of his 'step-by-step' videos are out of date since the websites he used have changed their format. This isn't much of a problem, but this was tripping academy members up from the comments on each video in the academy. For me this wasn't much of a problem because I already knew how to set up a website, etc.

I also found that I have far less time to sit and watch videos as opposed to listening to the podcast in my car. This is a lame excuse, but as modules continued to unlock, I found it hard to sit down and watch them (my problem).

- I also didn't like how many of the initial modules were focused on setting up a website and web-based services. While these things are great, they often don't quickly lead to deals and take a fair amount of time to set up.

Why I canceled:

- I finally figured out on my own what everyone experienced here on BP has been saying: Wholesaling is hard - really hard. To create a sustainable marketing campaign you have to pay to play. Some things you can do yourself, but you're either going to have to fork out cash or spend large amounts of your personal time for months until you get a deal.

- My grades and focus on dentistry (I'm a dental student) were slipping. For my wife this was a red flag and we had a conversation about what needs to happen for our family. I was convincing myself that I could make enough money through real estate on the side so that we wouldn't have to take out loans this summer when my pregnant wife stops teaching school so she can stay at home to raise our baby.

In the end, I've realized that more student loans aren't the end of the world and that I need to focus on increasing my earning potential through schooling. My wife was also gracious enough to say "you can blame it on me when you tell you're friends that you're pulling out of real estate, so you don't feel embarrassed." She supported me for a while in RE and has provided me with a graceful way out - I've got a keeper!

So this is actually a temporary good-buy to real estate investing for me. I've learned a lot through BP, books, and podcasts and actually gave a presentation to my classmates about the decision to 'Lease, Buy, or Build Your Commercial RE as a Dentist.'

I'll keep listening to the BP podcast and might pop back on BP to post about whether we sell or rent our current home once I've finished dental school and go off to the Army, but I thought I at least owed you all an update on my brief experience with F2F and wholesaling.

Marcus, Welcome to BP, it's good to have more new people in Phoenix!

I too have been listening to Sean's podcast, Real Estate Investing Mastery, and the biggerpockets podcast. I've set up an LLC, bought some domains, and am working on my websites.

The one thing that I've learned about wholesaling is that it is not a free game. You have to pay to play. It takes time and consistency for marketing to work. And a lot of work and effort without much encouragement along the way.

Some people get their first deal quickly, while for others it takes as long as a year. That's why many people here on BP do not make it at wholesaling. I have yet to close a deal, but I've only started within the past 2 months. I'm not telling you this to discourage you, but to paint a realistic picture of the road ahead. I'm still determined to succeed, no matter what. You have to figure out why you want it and what you're willing to sacrifice to get there.

The alternative to spending money on wholesaling (risky) is to find some other way to build your capital over time (safer) and invest when you're ready.

If you ever need someone local to talk to, feel free to call or email me anytime.

I have the ultimate 'no-cash,' 'no-credit' strategy for being successful in real estate! Forget wholesaling, yellow-letters, bandit signs, or any program that the 'gurus' are selling. I've developed this strategy from an episode of Ellen that you will not believe, just check it out below for the one secret that will make you rich in real estate!

(Sarcasm doesn't come across well in forum posts, but that was a joke and my first attempt at guru-ing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTTczC27fko

This is actually really amazing and very inspiring. This girl, Willow, did a few things that most people will never achieve because a lack of self discipline.

1. She found a nitch to make some money on the side (selling other people's trash and flipping garage sale junk on craigslist).
2. She saved her money.
3. When she found an opportunity, she saw the possibilities and acquired private financing to make the deal happen.

Some of us that are new here on BP get hung up on 1 and 2. We don't have cash reserves but we try and jump in anyways because we're so excited. We say that we're 'wholesaling' to build cash reserves, even though marketing requires money spent over time to be successful (I'm mostly pointing a finger at myself here).

Others have some cash but don't have the patience/experience to wait for, create, find, or even recognize a true 'deal.' And when that deal does come along, if we need to obtain additional financing, if it really is a deal - the financing can be as simple as asking for it.

I'm sorry if everyone's already seen this video, I know it's a year old, but I just saw it for the first time and had to share!

And the nice thing about a duplex/triplex/fourplex is that financing up to four units is basically treated like getting a loan for a SFR.

I'm assuming you haven't seen a duplex/triplex/fourplex from you question, so sorry if I misunderstood and your intelligence is insulted.

Here's a pretty simple duplex:

I don't know how long this image link will work, since it's from a listing website.

My wife and I managed a fourplex in undergrad for a discount on our rent. We were overworked and underpaid, but it was good experience.

This is not the fourplex we managed, but it gives you the idea:

And sometimes people have converted SFR into two or three seperate units that can be rented (like when the basement has a seperate entrance, kitchen, and full bathroom), it's the same basic idea.

Your situation sounds a lot like how Karen Rittenhouse approaches purchasing, I'm assuming you've listened to the second biggerpockets podcast?

She basically said that everything that they tried eventually worked, whether it was car magnets, flyers, direct mailers, etc. They established both relationships and a reputation for that area.

I have the same plan as you for acquiring properties in about 6 years once I'm in a stable situation - finding a couple off-MLS buy and holds per year.

Welcome Fabian!

What kind of deals are you looking for here in Phoenix? Buy and hold, fix and flip?

I missed the AZREIA this month, but I'm planning to go next month. Let me know if you go!

Oh, and I'm looking for properties to wholesale and I plan on sending them yellow letters. Does anyone else have any feedback for this list from a wholesaling perspective?

There's a %Equity function, I can't remember what tab it's under. Listsource is a little hard to navigate at first, I had to mess around for about 30min until I found all the filters.

Here's my weird idea for ListSource criteria:
SFR
Absentee Owner (out of state)
40%-100% equity, with a minimum of 30k
100k-400k current market value

:: Last Market Sale Date - 2009-2012 :: <-- This is my weird idea

I figure since home values crashed 2009-2012 and they've come back up 30% in the last year here in Phoenix, some of the people with decent equity are those who have just purchased. I'm guessing there are absentee owners who are already sick of landlording long distance and want to be rid of their properties and move on.

I've seen a few people here complaining about a low response rate from their absentee list, so I'm wondering if my criteria hasn't been hit as hard. Let me know if this is a dumb idea!