All Forum Posts by: Roi Azoulay

My previous comment was "flagged" by bigger pockets as they think I was trying to sell you something for free, anyway. I am local; if you need help, reach out; good luck!

Quote from @Tonya English:

I’m considering hiring an attorney for a class action suit against the scammers from Launch Your Leads that take thousands of dollars and then you never hear from them. Their previous company Amplify My Business has the same horrible reviews and scam so they closed down and started the new scam called Launch Your Leads managed by Matt and Tom Mclleland. If anyone else here has been duped by these scammers, please reply.

Sorry to hear about your experience. The "online leads" trend becomes a vast pool of scams, each one discovering a new and "better" way to find motivated sellers via SEO/Paid adds/Social Media etc, and automatically aims to make a profit from selling those so-called leads. They have a podcast, a mentorship program , and a website with (paid) investor reviews in less than a month. Hence, they are not in the real estate business. They are floating marketing fishermen, and the stars of this pool are the Gurus who preach about motivated sellers/leads program/other catchy name. They have never purchased a house themselves or flipped a property, but they look great on Instagram/Youtube and here in Bigger pockets, too. I hope your attorney can help you and remember to stream your energy to find the next deal yourself so you can cover this loss; this is the most helpful way to let go of that feeling of being scammed. I wish you good luck! 

Quote from @Victoria E.:

@Roi Azoulay did you use a lender? do you mind referring.  I am also looking at an SRO.

 No, I used cash and am still in litigation with SRO; I work with lenders on different properties. Please PM for info.

Quote from @John S.:

Hello everyone!

I'm an investor based out of Long Island, NY. I've currently got 2 multifamily properties here with 5 total units -- I live in 1 of them.

It's been extremely difficult to find multifamily properties that meet the criteria that I'm looking for through the MLS, and when I do, they're extremely overpriced. The last house I bought, was brought to me off-market by my agent, and it's seeming that off-market is the only way to get good properties without the MLS prices.

I've recently got a nice business card printed up, and would like to start a direct mailer campaign, using BatchLeads to find multifamily properties in the local towns that I wish to invest in.

I have a pretty strict criteria about what I'm looking to purchase at this time:

-Legal 2-or-more unit large Multifamily (not required to be owner occupied)

-Each unit should be at least 3 bedrooms (so if it's a duplex, it needs to be 6+ bedrooms)

-Sewer (not septic)

-Gas (not oil)

A lot of this information is not readily available online, so once I start my mailers, I'm sure I'm going to find people who eventually respond, but that don't have criteria which match what I'm looking for.

I feel like it would be a waste if I paid a bunch of money for direct mailers, and then someone reaches out to me to sell, but their house doesn't match the criteria of what I'm looking for -- I don't know anything about wholesaling.

What can I do to monetize these leads, or is the answer is that I need to learn

Where do you pull your direct mail campaign list from? On some websites, you can filter by number of units, bedroom, size, etc. Nothing is 100% accurate, so you will have to review the data to ensure you are not wasting $ on dead ends (property just sold/on MLS, recently rented, etc). Once you have a good amount of filtered data, it would be more accurate to continue to reach out to different types of mailers or use direct reach. NY Market is very competitive, so getting a good deal might be worth the investment of being flexible with your preferences or any upgrades needed on the property; cheap houses are houses that need work or problems that need to be fixed.

Quote from @Max Yuan:

I think we can agree finding good quality off-market leads is not easy. Even with PropStream and PropertyRadar, I'm usually not the first to reach out upon seeing the lead. As a result, I actually created my own frankenstein of an automation pipeline combining public notices, county data and skip tracing so I can get the leads directly from the source and act on them as soon as they are available. Now I am realizing there are too many of them for me to personally execute on, but I also hate the idea of wasted opportunities.

How does an experienced investors actually scale their operations besides just hiring VAs? Does anyone have any experience partnering with different RE teams local to the lead? How are those deals / incentives usually structured?

Thanks in advance!

 Working on large-scale data is great b/c sometimes it's all about how many owners you approach daily; the issue with over-the-top details is also getting lost in targeting specific owners and situations, aka focusers/tax liens, etc.

There are two action steps no AI or VA can do better than you:

1. Prospecting data and filtering - not all lis-pendens means "distressed property"; working manually takes time, but it teaches you what a possible-good lead is you should focus on s and what is just a "maybe" or not worth wasting your time on. Understanding why specific property sold for "x" and where it went, aka flip/rental/auction, etc., and getting familiar with each zipcode so when the next lead comes up, you are much more educated to handle a conversation or pitch a solution. 

2. Leads Management - filter, tag, and create tasks for each lead to arrange them better in your system; for example...there might be 25% probate leads that have the wrong data or new data exist somewhere (the right contact people, a newly assigned executor to the case, etc.). Navigating through all this information helps you target a specific number of leads you can focus on and follow up on constantly.  

Ultimately, you want a good amount of properties to convert to leads by nurturing and creating relationships with the owners, being the ones to solve their problems, or offering them the best price possible. That takes time but gives you more advantages than cold touch-and-go solutions.

This firm is known to advertise fake distressed properties all over NY and reach out the the actual owner w/attempt to get listing agreement, Unfortunately they are still active and keep doing this for many years and no other website/mls does anything about it.

Still available?

Hi @Raza Hussain Jafri I have done assignments as well as traditional closings in NYC. Find an attorney that understands your goal and can tailor a specific contract for your needs; eventually, both the seller and buyer attorney will need to agree to the terms if you have aimed to add the 3rd buyer without going to double closing. Just closing cost + tax alone can eat much of the assignment fee, so calculate that into the offer.

Like @Mohammed Rahman said better to deal with a local attorney in the county you are working, but if you can't find one, it is still doable. 

Quote from @Tashina Badgett-Thomas:

Where should I start with wholesaling in Seattle? Education? Software?etc?

Wholesale real estate has become a trend in the past few years among people who thought they could make more income by teaching the "secrets" than from actual real estate transactions; this trend is amplified by the power of social media, youtube, Facebook groups, etc.

Before you surround yourself with the next shiny object, think if real estate is what you want to pursue and learn the basics. There are excellent resources out there nowadays, including books and tutorials. Even getting a real estate salesperson license is not that complicated. I would start with free, unbiased education and move along toward actual practice as an agent or salesperson under the supervision and guidance of someone local who is willing to train you and answer questions, learn about the RE laws of your state, become familiar with your market, see how comfortable are you speaking to strangers and build relationships; the rest is up to you. 

@Christopher Bawiec 

@Devin James answer + 1 

> From my experience, the deals are in the follow-ups, don't let loose on the contacts you made - When that homeowner is ready, you want to be on his phone call list. 

Keep doing the work, and good luck!