All Forum Posts by: Chris Piper

No problem Christian. As far as I know, you don't need an LLC but I would research it a little more if I was you. Might be a good idea to form an LLC anyway for legal or tax purposes.

Jacob, why would you EVER want to invest your own money? Here are a few pointers:

1. $5k liquid is basically NOTHING in the investment world. I'm sure you worked hard to save that, but it won't do much for you.

2. The OC is hard to wholesale in. You probably just THINK it's hard to wholesale in. It doesn't matter how many wholesalers there are, what the market is doing, or what the prices are in the area. You can ALWAYS find deals. If you can't, pick another area and wholesale there. 

3. You don't need any money DOWN to wholesale. You find a deal, negotiate the price with the motivated seller and get it under contract. I NEVER offer an EMD, I just include a POF(proof of funds) letter so they know I have the funds to close. Never had a problem with it yet.

4. ALWAYS use someone else's money. You can wholesale with no money of your own. You can flip houses with no money of your own. Wholesaling will get you paid faster and with a LOT less effort and headaches than flipping will, but flipping will get you bigger pay days.

Personally, I'd start with wholesaling, move into flipping, then move into rentals. But always keep doing all 3 of them.

Check out my post on how to wholesale: 
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/862964-wholesaling-101-how-to-wholesale-for-beginners

Start wholesaling first. You can do it with no money. Better if you have a few hundred or so to start but it can be done with no money if need be. Make $10K+ per deal, takes you 3-4 hours. Then, once you've knocked out some wholesale deals you can get into rentals. 

Alternatively, start rehabbing immediately using OPM(other people's money). There are a TON of people and lenders out there and don't care about how much money you have or what your credit score is. It's all based on the deal. Bang out a couple rehabs, make $50k-$100K+ each, and you're on your way.

If you're interested in wholesaling, check out my very detailed post here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/862964-wholesaling-101-how-to-wholesale-for-beginners

I'd start with learning how to wholesale 1st. Then, continue to wholesale and add in Rehabs/Fix-n-Flips. Then, keep doing both of those and get into rentals. Check out my super detailed post on how to start wholesaling. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/862964-wholesaling-101-how-to-wholesale-for-beginners

As far as I know, there aren't any special laws you need to know in Missouri to wholesale. Just make sure you NEVER act in a capacity of a realtor. THAT'S what will get you in legal trouble. You're not selling properties you get under contract with sellers, you're selling your "interest" or "contract."

As far as forms, check out my Purchase and Sale Agreement here:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/VividKeys/wholesaler-documents/file/purchase-and-sale-agreement

And here is my assignment contract:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/VividKeys/wholesaler-documents/file/assignment-contract

Steve Morris, that was a long post just to basically say wholesalers are shady because they aren’t realtors or brokers.

Obviously wholesalers work a LOT differently than a broker or realtors. Our “moral code” is different than yours because yours has a strict guideline dictated by law.

I’m pretty sure I said “be honest” in the beginning so not sure how you got “screw people over” out of that.

And No, wholesalers don't need any EMD in most cases. Why not? Because if a wholesaler runs their business like I do, then they are fully prepared to close on every deal so there is ZERO risk to the seller.

The only thing I can come up with as to why all these brokers and agents hate wholesalers so much is because we don’t need any schooling to get started. We don’t need any money to start where an agent needs at least 6 months of living expenses to get started. We don’t have to answer to anyone or follow any company rules. We don’t have to PAY anyone to be able to work for them every single month. And best of all, we work a fraction of the time an agent does for 5 times as much money. Guess I’d be pissed to if I was only earning 3% and had to do a million showings.

I’ve never done driving for dollars personally. I just started out spending money advertising to get my leads and deals.

The software looks like it could be beneficial for sure. If you’re not pulling owner info for a LOT of addresses, then I’d say skip it. You can use the free tool from my post to pull contact info from their address.

If you’re thinking of spending $100 a month for it, I’d probably suggest running a Facebook at @$10/day for 10 days instead. If you WILL be pulling a lot of properties, then it might be worth a shot. At the very least try out the 14 day trial I suppose. 

Do a search on LinkedIn for “asset manager” or “special assets”

Those are the job titles of the people that control the REO's(bank owned properties) at the bank.

When you find some of those people, ask to connect to them and include a short simple message like: “Hey (name), I saw your profile and would love to connect with you. I thought we might be able to do some business. Look forward to talking soon.

(Your Name)”

Teddy, it's always a good time to get into real estate. Also, you may want to spend $100 for a month of Prop Stream. It can pull properties that aren't listed in the MLS that may be motivated sellers. It will also pull comps for you so if you find something you'll know if it's a good price compared to similar current sales, and it includes "Blue Hammer." That is a stand alone tool that will estimate repair costs pretty accurately based on local repair costs in your area. Hope this helps.