All Forum Posts by: Sam Craven

My wife is a PHd psychologist, has ADD and is a very successful business woman.  As other have mentioned focus seems to be where you are lacking.  My wife really prefers to not take medication but it certainly helps when she needs to concentrate for long periods of time.

One thing that has helped me stay focused is getting a coach and support system around me to hold me accountable to the long term goals i communicate to them.  I have a CEO group i am apart of mentor and have had various business coaches for different parts of my business that keep me accountable.

You don't have to pay money for it but you do get a higher caliber of people.  There are a lot of team members in my companies that hold each other accountable to things and some of them even have once a week accountability partner in another state.  The most important thing is find someone and do it consistently.

Find a way to surround yourself with people that can keep you focus and uplifted, and maybe even seek professional psychological help.  I run 3 businesses and have a psychologist in my corner that helps keep me straight.

Your offer should be based on what the property is worth not the underlying mortgage.  A lot of wholesalers run into this issue and try to get an offer accepted before realizing they are over promising on something they cant deliver on.

Run your analysis based on the ARV, Repairs and rental rate and offer what you can pay according to those numbers.

Banks ARE willing to take a loss, so always offer and ALWAYS follow up.  Just dont try to make a deal work that isnt a deal because it wont end well for anyone!

As a wholesaler your primary jobs are marketing and sales.  You need to be very good at that.  Spend more time trying to become a better marketer.  There are some seriously good resources here on BP!

@James Call There is certainly a sweet spot for investing if you want a bit of both appreciation and cash flow, that's what our investment fund is doing. To do it well you need to source below market value properties that need work. You can find those both on the MLS and through wholesalers.

Braden I feel your pain but unfortunately I don't believe the majority of people and businesses operate from a long term vision now or in the past.  If they did the success rate of new businesses would be higher.

The barrier to entry to get into a real estate license and ESPECIALLY wholesaling which does not require a license is LOW.  Full disclosure our house buying company wholesales hundreds of properties a year but i advocate that if you are to wholesale properties that they should be required to be licensed just to bring some regulatory oversight and make it just a smidge harder for people to get started.

Our wholesaling company is working really hard to grow large and train our client buyers and sellers to expect more from their wholesaler then "buyer beware" and a bunch of weasel clauses for sellers they are getting now.

For instance:

Every seller knows we are wholesaling  and is given the option to list the house with us at a higher price

We guarantee our ARV and rent comps to our buyers

We own a construction company as well so we KNOW our rehab numbers and adjust quickly as prices adjust

We still take $3-$5k non refundable (unless we cant get clear title) from buyers and i know thats a source of contention for BP but as a business operator those deposits protect our sellers and ensure that whoever puts the money down is ready to close then.  There are too many fake buyers in market to not a non refundable option fee to ensure the buyer is ready to go.

I know there are good arguments against the deposits, but so long as you are dealing with reputable companies the deposits are a non issue.  But reputable being the key work....which goes back to my licensure argument for wholesalers.

Nothing more frustrating then putting in a bunch of work on a house, plopping down the deposit and in the end the title isnt clear and the deal dies.

Get the contract to title so they can get to work, you can start marketing the property before title gets the report but disclose that to buyers.

Happy hunting

 James my properties in the woodlands have been slow movers for 3 years.  Prices are stagnant for rent and appreciation and DOM are high.  Its actually better to be in the lower rent areas around it in spring then woodlands proper.  My investment fund discounts woodlands deals a smidge to account for this.  It seems like all the value in that market increased WAY ahead of exxon moving in, then once people started actually moving there the market was over it.

You are describing wholesaling.  Regardless of your intention to close, your intention to market the property to other people should be disclosed to the seller.

SEO is a great strategy that takes a solid 12mo before you get consistent ROI from it in a market that is competitive like Houston. But once it gets going it can outperform the others.

Our experience with DM is different, we have found ways to keep the CPA and CPL competitive and its still a workhorse in our wholesaling business.

PPC is another story!

Im saying the good ones are worth it, but as with anything do your homework and make sure they are reputable.