All Forum Posts by: Robert Hanson

Whenever I see a wholesaler with that type of website I know they're garbage.

I always know when there has been a "guru" seminar in my area because 10 of those sites will start popping up over and over on Craigslist. I'll see bandit signs with new phone numbers offering terrible deals.

Of course after a couple of months those sites disappear and so do the bandit signs. Then the "gurus" come back into town and the cycle keeps going.

It's not a bad idea to have a couple of buyers lined up but at the end of the day if you get a property under contract for a TRUE wholesale price then you should have no problem selling it.

Last month I did 9 properties, 2 land owned mobile homes, 2 condos, 1 vacant lot, 1 duplex, and 3 single family houses. I sold them all within 48 hours because I bought them at the right price. I could have sold all of them without a single person on my buyers list because the deals were so good.

Remember, as a wholesaler you make your money when you buy, not when you sell.

It takes most people a LONG time to learn how to truly price properties and the majority give up before they figure it out.

Antonio, STOP. Please, just stop.

Every time you post a new thread you make it a point to say you don't have the time to do the necessary steps in order to be successful in the area of real estate that you're trying to focus on. You are a prime example of what gives wholesalers a bad name. It isn't a get rich quick gimmick. You MUST put in the time and educate yourself in order to have any kind of success. I say this with looking at the history of the threads you have created and the posts you have made. You quite honestly have no business putting properties under contract because you don't know what you're doing yet.

I wish I could be encouraging to you and tell you to chase your dream but you need a dose of reality. Try to open yourself up to the idea of working harder and finding enough time to do this business properly. Listen to the advice that successful people are giving you and use it as a tool for learning something new instead of consistently replying with an excuse of why you don't have the time or why it won't work for you.

Again, I am sorry to be so harsh but hopefully it's something you need to hear and will help you long term.

Burt,

What are you looking for in a mentor? Are you looking for a step-by-step guide on how to wholesale or looking for someone you can talk with and ask questions/get advice from?

If it's the latter, I honestly don't think you will find what you're looking for with any advertised program. I just don't truly think those "gurus" are in the trenches enough anymore, if they ever were.

I would suggest this, reach out to one of the many experienced wholesalers here on BP and make them an offer to help you as you get started. I don't think you would have a hard time finding someone who is proven to be successful and paying them a fee for a few months in order to pick their brain whenever you needed to.

Here's my big issue with these programs, if my focus is building a guru program or mentor program then I am not focused on the market and how it's changing. I am constantly evaluating how my market is changing and how I need to adapt my wholesale business to stay ahead of my competition.

I wholesaled 57 properties in 2011 and am on track to do the same number this year. The way I acquire my deals has completely changed from how I did it in 2011 and I predict will completely change again in 2013.

I think most people will tell you this though, at the end of the day it doesn't matter how many courses you have taken or how many gurus you've talked with, it all comes down to you. There isn't some secret trick that only one guru knows or an easy way to wholesale.

Antonio Bodley I don't cruise around town looking for houses. Like I said, one of the ways I acquire property is by sending out letters. Surely you don't think I drive around town looking for 750 addresses every week to target with my letters, right?

Please don't take this the wrong way but it seems through the topics you've made and the questions you've asked that you have very little to no experience with wholesaling. That's not at all a bad thing, it means you have plenty to learn and a lot of room for growth. Your replies to suggestions often seem to be something along the lines of, "well that might work for you but this is how it works for me". My suggestion would be to take advice from those who know what they're doing and are actively doing it. If you aren't consistently turning 5+ deals per month over at least a 12 month period then you should be extremely open to suggestions. Even when and if you do start doing that many deals per month you should still be open minded but you have a bit more credibility with what saying works for you. I did over 100 deals in 2011 and am constantly reading and researching different strategies and ideas from people who are doing the same thing.

Antonio Bodley As you talk with more and more people you will see that the great majority aren't going to sell to you. Unless the person is motivated to sell I don't want to spend more than a couple of minutes on the phone with them. Most of the people who are going to sell to you aren't going to know the cost of repairs or the current value.

I just don't spend a huge amount of time researching each and every call I take. Like I said, most of the people I talk with just aren't motivated enough to sell at the price I need it at. I also send out about 750 letters per week and turn typically 7-10 deals per month so I don't have a lot of free time.

I agree with you Jerry that anyone with a lot of experience should be compensated based on what they're able to charge. I might value my time more than someone else and charge more. It's up to the consumer to determine if my time is worth more than someone else.

If I were the OP, I would jump all over the chance of working with an experienced wholesaler. Bigger Pockets is a great resource with a ton of useful information but you being able to get experience from someone who is successful is huge.

If you stick with the business then you will get to a point where you can give a ballpark estimate of an offer within 5 minutes of the first phone call. I only ask three questions.

1) What's the address?
I always get the address.

2) What kind of shape is the property in?
9 times out of 10 I hear it's the nicest house on the street. I want to hear, "it needs work". I obviously will ask what all it needs if they tell me it needs work.

3) What are you looking to get for it?
9 times out of 10 I get the reply of "you sent me the letter, what's it worth to you?" I do from time to time get someone who will give me a great price, so this is why I ask.

I am rapidly getting as much information from the property appraisers website and the MLS while I am getting the answers to numbers 2 and 3. I am fast enough now that I can keep someone on the phone while I am getting the additional information I need. If I take a long time to get them my offer they might call my competitor because they are so motivated to sell right away.

If my ballpark estimate is acceptable to the seller then I drop everything I am doing and meet with them to view the house and sign the contract.

As far as farming an area, that's for retail real estate agents. You need to cover as much area as you can. Wholesaling is a numbers game; cover as much ground as you can.

I have a couple of thoughts...

First of all, you shouldn't look at taking advantage of a sellers ignorance as a good thing. I am always straight up with sellers and give them the comps that I find, I then explain that I need to buy their house for $XX in order to make a profit. I can tell by your questions that you aren't experienced and I think most would agree that starting out with a mindset of taking advantage of someone is not good.

Secondly, why on earth are you having an appraisal done? Learn to run your own comps. It will be very difficult to make any money if you order an appraisal for every house you look to make an offer on.