Skip to content
×
PRO
Pro Members Get Full Access!
Get off the sidelines and take action in real estate investing with BiggerPockets Pro. Our comprehensive suite of tools and resources minimize mistakes, support informed decisions, and propel you to success.
Advanced networking features
Market and Deal Finder tools
Property analysis calculators
Landlord Command Center
$0
TODAY
$69.00/month when billed monthly.
$32.50/month when billed annually.
7 day free trial. Cancel anytime
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here
Pick markets, find deals, analyze and manage properties. Try BiggerPockets PRO.
x
All Forum Categories
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

All Forum Posts by: Blake Copeland

Blake Copeland has started 6 posts and replied 48 times.

Post: chris chico

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

Correction...... getting the good deals and cash buyers is the 20%...... 80% of your results come from 20% of the effort you put out there. :) it's true

Post: chris chico

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

i agree with Ryan, in that wholesaling is about getting good at 2 basic things and everything else can either be done by others or learned over a few attempts.

1. Finding great deals.

2. Getting cash buyers who are not tire kickers.

If you can do those 2 things you have won half the battle and more. Contracts, addendums, title companies, memorandum affidavits, etc etc are easy. It is the 80/20 rule. get the good deals, get the cash buyers ((that's the 80%)... then make profits.

Post: How much to spend on a rehab

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

Great advice on all of these responses here. I particularly agree with Frank for the fact that I know first hand about rehabbing fire damaged properties using contractors. He does too, based on the advice :)

It is very difficult to guage some kind of percentage on properties which need EXTENSIVE repair such as a fire damaged property. The main reason is that you don't know exactly what is going on behind the sheet rock and all the problems that come along with the things you cannot see with your eyes.

With fire damaged properties I can tell you from experience if it hit the sheet rock on the ceiling, just go ahead and budget for having to seal the attic COMPLETELY and OR replacing much of the framing. If you don't, usually the city inspector will eventually move you in a corner where you have to. Then again Austin is very strict with inspections, hopefully your city is somewhat lienient.

Also in regard to time budgets and cost budgets. Well, you can come up with the best budgets in the world "On Paper" but what really makes or breaks your budgets is to have effective General Contractors or Subs.. whichever you use and being able to keep them on target both with time and money. This, in my experience can be most effectively managed by

1> Hiring contractors which will not "screw you over" Easier said than done that is fir sure.

2> Having good agreements drafted with your contractors ESPECIALLY if you are not hiring a GC ((and in some cases even if you are)) bottom line is that you should prbably have elements in your contractor agreemrnts which nail down a couple of things which are......

Have clauses which penalize your contractors for going over the timelines.. which is a per day charge of xxx amount of dollars.

Also, you MUST and I cannot repeat this enough MUST have your contractors sign a "Lien Waiver" after EACH cash draw you distribute to them. I screwed up on this a few times and had mechanics liens filed for multiple properties until I got fed up and made it a part of the system. Here is the rule i think you should follow in a rehab ((maybe everyone does this, I dont know but i learned this the hard way))) Every time you write a check to a sub contractor or GC... inspect the work, pass or fail it and get it right... then BEFORE you write them a check.... have them sign a lien release waiver. It will save your ***.

When inspectors tell you something MUST be done, what I have realized is that there is negotiationg room with inspectors, and you can get questionable items on a rehab passed by approaching them as someone who is there to make THEIR job easier. This is just what I have learned after rehabbing over 12 properties. Everyone has great advice on BP. Last piece of advice is do not go waste $10k for a guru.... there are more than enough qualified people on here that are willing to give out great advice for free. =)

Post: SHORT SALE FLIP HELP

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

How to get around seasoning is the question.... Well, I have a pretty successful friend who closes 6 to 10 short sales per month. Here is what he does.

Within the first few days a notice of option is recorded. I'm guessing you did that early on. So why is it still creating an issue..?? Well. it is simply because the title company doesn't understand how the transaction works. They think a deed needs to have a name transfer. Since it is an option they think it does not count on the time clock as far as "seasoning" goes.

Well, seasoning starts when the contract is recorded NOT when the option is excercised. So that may be a lack of knowledge on the title companies end. So, maybe you should deal with a title Co more in tune with how short sales work is my thought on the issue. An option contract is a binding agreement, and therefore is treated as such in regards to recording. An option is valid at recording and can cloud title at that time. The title company is looking at the option as being valid only when it is excercised on the B to C sale, and that is where the misunderstanding of seasoning requirements comes into play.

My buddy Nathan Jurewicz closes anywhere from 6 to 10 short sale transactions a month and has gotten pretty good at them. He told me himself that this misunderstanding is an occurence frequently on many peoples deals. The title company and the mortgage company should be schooled on this so they can become aware of the fact that seasoning requirements are met starting at the time of recording of the contract rather than when the option contract is excercised.

Post: U.S. Marshalls Auctions..??

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

Wow, sounds like a good deal after the waiting period. How did you guys even hear about these deals in the first place? Do they post this on a website...?

Post: Buying Unclaimed Properties

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

I was looking around on the net the other day, and found a link that said "Unclaimed Real Property" for the state of Texas. Ended up going to the secretary of state website i think it was, and there were a ton of land parcels that were in a category as being "unclaimed property."

They were cheap, and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience buying these type of deals and how in the heck they get there in the first place! Seems like a good bargain would be purchased by an investor long before it was placed in an "unclaimed property" status with the state. It reminds of that crazy dude with glasses on TV Matthew Lesko who has that book filled with all these "free government property" resources. Is that for real..? Has anyone bought that book by the way..?

Post: U.S. Marshalls Auctions..??

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

I've heard about auctions conducted by the US Marshalls and other government departments where property including houses and exotic cars are seized by drug cartels and others and sold to the highest bidder. Does anyone know about these or been to an auction like this..?? Might be some good deals..

Post: Looking for a good direct mail letter

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37
Originally posted by Tony Severino:
we use a simple yellow letter, followed by a 5 post card campaign spread 2 weeks apart.

It is the basic yellow letter, Hello My name is ......

Our post cards are 4x5 inches and get in on the .29 rate.

5 post cards following the yellow letter,,, we avg 20-40 calls per week.

Tony


What type of sellers are you marketing to? Absentee Owner, abandoned house etc..? Thanks

Post: DC Fawcett

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37

Sure here's how it works in a few sentences... He has 3 key members of his team. The agent who handles the A to B transaction. He has a negotiator, and he has a BPO agent that he uses to go meet w/ the banks BPO agent when they go to the property.

Nathan gives a cut of the spread to his negotiator and a bonus to his agents. H epays his BPO agent a set fee per deal. His program is designed on HIGH volume. He will do a bunch of deals that he makes 15 to 20k on VS a couple where he makes ALL the profit.

He outsources everything. Each of his team members has a specific role in the transaction. He doesnt talk to the bank because his negotiator does this. He doesnt collect hardship letters and any seller info on the A to B because his agent does this. Many agents frustration is in attempting to work the transaction on the A to B side as well as the B to C side of the deal, AND deal with the bank negotiations. Nathan has eliminated the need for agents to do this so they can focus on selling.

Lots of people ask, well what if the spread isn't large enough for him when the short sale gets approved?? Answer... he values his relationships w/ his agents so he lets them go forward w/ it anyway and collect their commission. This works because he does so many deals ((he personally has over 100 in process at any given time)) it doesn't matter if he makes little to nothing on a few.

He files a notice of option right off the bat, this helps with the 90 day seasoning when it is flipped to his end buyer. I can understand how it doesnt make sense that you would never tal to the seller. He is able to do this because his team is trained to know EXACTLY what his criteria is for deals. He only does this in the Tampa market too.

Sorry for the long response, that's the best way I can explain it though. Have I closed a short sale yet?? No, i'm still building my team. I know he does this though everyday, and is quite successful at it. Hope that helps clear it up a little better.

Post: Virtual Wholesaling -is it possible to do? help

Blake CopelandPosted
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 75
  • Votes 37
Originally posted by Jovan Johnson:
Yes it is possible... you just have to have a good buyers list lined up.. once you have that you can search properties online, and you can do deals by email, fax,mail and phone


Jovan, we do a lot of offline marketing. I was wondering if you would be willing to share a few online strategies you have found helpful to finding deals?? Thanks in advance.