How to use Craigslist to find Investors

Having a good list of ACTIVE cash buyers (100+) is imperative to being successful in real estate wholesaling. Posting online ads like CHEAP FIXER UPPERS – ALL CASH, is an AMAZING way to market and find cash buyers, but there is another way to use Craigslist and other online classifieds to go DIRECTLY TO the investor. This will help you sift through the fluff and see who is really doing deals, because there are too many talkers and skeptics that will call you and waste your time.

Go to your area’s Craigslist section, click on “real estate for sale” under the “Housing” section. Go to the Search Bar at the top left and type in a word that someone would use to describe a house that has been recently remodeled, i.e.; remodeled, updated, rehabbed, etc. Then, just to the right of the search bar, there is a category that says “In:” click that and select “Real Estate – By Owner.” Then click search.

Sift through the search results and find houses that have recently been updated and contact the seller. If there is an address posted, look up the address on Zillow.com to see the last time it was bought and for how much. It is a good idea to have as much knowledge as you can before you get on the phone.

You can also call any and all FSBO’s you see and simply ask if they are an investor or looking to invest after selling their property.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about what questions to ask an investor while on the phone or face to face.

Whole$ale Tip of the Week “Consistency”

Hello Hu$tlers I know it has been some time, we have been slammed lately. Ground Zero is going well and we are flipping assignments as well. But what I wanted to talk about is  “Consistency” and I mean it in every fashion. How Consistently are you putting out bandits, how consistently are calling back sellers, how consistently are you making craigslists posts, how consistently are you GROWING your business! Consistency is not difficult it takes discipline, and will help you achieve you goals. The only way you are going to make consistent MONEY, is if you are consistently doing the things necessary to grow your business.

Money Never Sleeps

Money never sleeps, and most of us sleep too much, is that possibly why most of us don’t have as much money as we would like or need? Wall Street is one of my all time favorite movies, and this clip is from the film where Micheal Douglas calls Charlie Sheen before the son gets up, and tells him to get to work! I love it, because like they say ” The early bird gets the worm”.

-Peace

Gut Check Time

The bottom Line is as an individual you are in control of your success. Even if you do most of the neccesary things to be successful, you know deep down inside that you are not doing enough. I know personally that I need to step my game up! Eric Thomas cut me to the bone with what he says in this video…. Enjoy!

Whole$ale tip of the week “Educate Yourself”

Whole$ale Tip of The Week

“Educate Yourself”

Now for you readers that are getting started, or even been wholesaling/investing for some time, by reading this post you are already on the right track. Each day you want to educate yourself.

– It’s Gut check Time!

“Knowledge is Power’ and as cliche of a statement that is, it is as true now, as it was the 1st time it was ever muttered. Ignorance(a state of being uninformed) is not an excuse for failure, but will take you down that road fast!

There are a few elements in wholesaling and investing that you need to address and work on daily.

1. Networking – A successful man/women has a successful network, so work on this daily and reach out to people in your area and industry that are doing what you want to do, and align yourself with these people. Ask them questions, and listen to there advice.
2. Resources – This can be anything from Cash Buyers, to Private Money Partners, to even hard money. Find it and grow your list of resources for funding your deals.
3. Negotiation – If you can’t do this, you will not be successful… period! Don’t be discouraged if your not some negotiating ninja, you just need to educate yourself, and practice, we all have to start somewhere. Go to borders, barns & noble, amazon wherever and pick up this book by Herb Cohen called “You Can Negotiate Anything” it will help, I Promise. Negotiation is a skill that needs to be worked on. You must have a strategy in every negotiation in order to get what you want out of the situation.
4. Organization – Without systems of tracking things, and recording information you will fail, I like to create spreadsheets in excel to keep track of everything.
5. Prioritize – Certain tasks must take priority over others, because of time-lines, deadline, and promised response times. Don’t waste your time doing things that will minimize you efficiency. And always due what you say you are going to do, follow up calls ect. You got a rep on the line, remember that you will be know as a one that gets things done, or the chump that doesn’t.
6. Reading – Reading blog post like this are great ways to get inspiration, and find information, but take things to another level, and find books that pertain to Business, Negotiation, Marketing, ect. This way you are not only staying sharp and on the cutting edge. But you will have inspired strategies to implement into the growth of your business.

These are just a few things to consider, and should be worked on daily in your pursuit of financial freedom. Educate your self in these areas of your business daily, these are tools you need to have that would be important in any business, not just real-estate, and will help you on your path to success.

– Sam

p.s. For Questions or comments, hit me up!

Should Wholesalers get a Real Estate License?

So there is a lot of discussion out there whether or not as a wholesaler if you should get your real-estate License or not. It is a question that I have asked myself a number of times, and at first I made the decision not to do. But after a few more months of thinking and dealing with incompetent Real-Estate agents, who had never heard of wholesaling, and even some who had never heard about buying houses for pennies on the dollar. My partner and I decided that this is something that we should pursue, and let me tell you why.

Gurus and other people that I have spoke with that have been wholesaling/investing for years typically don’t have one, and respectively don’t need one.  They will even discourage the thought of it, why? Because they are already Rich! They are already established, they get referral business, and have a solid network that solidifies there business in there market. They have mastered there niche and marketing strategies, and have systems in place for doing those things necessary, and have employees they pay to carry out those tasks. As a newbie, how do you compete with that.

The bottom line is that the game has changed, and in order to compete in today’s market you need to be well equipped, to the best of your abilities,  and I mean having the access to all pertinent tools, and the ability to MONETIZE(notice the caps) every lead you get, especially when you are getting started and cant afford to spin your wheels too much. Now some might tell you to find  a Realtor to work with, well if you read the begging of this post then you will realize my own personal frustration with incompetent agents, and I can promise you there are a ton of stupid ones in your area as well.

So here are a few reasons Why you should get one.

Reason #1

As a Wholesaler, your primary objective, is to find Motivated sellers, and put their properties under contract for pennies on the dollar. As an Agent you have the ability to work with the largest motivated seller in the country! THE BANK! You can utilize your buyers list and market your listings to those buyers… Plus you have more time! And trust me if you are an active wholesaler like myself, you now how time, and I am talking about your contingency period in your contract, which is typically 10-14 days can sometimes not be enough time to get that property flipped. The reasons so are a mile long; from the availability to show the property to your investors, too the seller lives out of town, ect. So that can be beneficial.

Reason #2 Generating Leads

This is important to growing any business, if you build a solid reputation with the bank for moving units and helping them recoup quickly because your the guy/girl that gets it done, they will keep plugging you with deals, FOR FREE!

Reason #3 Marketing

I don’t know what kind of response you are getting from your direct mail campaigns but, I would say approximately 60% of our responses are people who are under water, and needing to preform a short sale on their property. That is more then half of the responses we get, meaning we need to work with an agent, because only a licensed Real-Estate agent can preform a short sale. And just so you know it is illegal, at least in California, for a Licensed agent to pay any non-licensed person, involved in a real-estate transaction.

Reason #4 Sellers that want Fair-Market Value

Now some people want Fair-Market Value for their property, and because of the condition of the property, and location they could get it. That’s great if your an agent, it sucks if you are wholesaler. And trust me you will run into that situation more than once. Not everyone that owns rental property needs money so desperately that they will whore off there house to get a few dollars. So what do you do pass it to the idiot that didn’t know what you where doing in the 1st place?  Do you just toss the lead because YOU can’t do anything? Just so you know if you were to list a house for $200,000 and have a buy/sell commish set with the principal(seller) @ 6 %($12,000) if you simply list the house and a buying agent comes in with a buyer. You split the commish 3%($6,000) a piece and after paying your broker probably walk with a little over $4,000 in your pocket.

It’s your decision, these are just a few examples of why we are doing it, I am tired of watching money walk away, and I want to be able to maximize the amount of money I am able to make from real-estate, in all aspects. The end product I think we all want, is to be the investor, and you have to make alot of money to do that. Wholesaling is a great way to generate huge profits, I will not have to stop wholesaling because I get my Real-Estate License; I just have to disclose to everyone involved that I am Licensed Real-Estate agent.

I want to be a BILLIONAIRE $o freakin bad!

$1,000,000,000

Money isn’t everything, it is just the one thing in between us and all of the the things we want, need, and desire. To become a millionaire now a days is to be more financially sound than most, but to become a BILLIONAIRE. You would be part of the most elite group of people in the world, creating generations of wealth. Personally I want to be like an African-American Donald Trump, but not everyone would like to be that notorious. So to become a billionaire how many houses would you have to wholesale??? At an average of $10,000 profit per house it would take you 100,000 homes wholesaled to reach that mark. Now alot of these wholesaling guru’s out there are quote end quote flipping 200-300 homes a year (which is alot), so at that pace it would take like 500 years! Ouch. I think it’s possible, you are just going to have to do alot more than wholesale houses, your going to have to wholesale jumbo jets and million dollar estates as well!!! lol!

While we are on the topic of becoming a Billionaire, below is this song I am really feelin right now by  Travis McCoy feat. Bruno Mars It is just a little motivation, check it out and pardon the French!

P.$. What would you do with a $1,000,000,000?!?!?!

– Peace

Success is up to you!

Success Is up to you! And there is no excuses. Failure is a result of quitting, and only YOU can determine or allow you situation or circumstances to get the best of you and define your lifes outcome. Ever see the movie ” The Pursuit of Happiness”? minus some of the dramatization, that is a true story about a man by the name of Chris Gardner. now this is not a movie review, but if you are a struggling entrepreneur like most of us are; and if you haven’t seen this movie, then you need to see it. The movie is about one mans struggle, and I mean STRUGGLE to achieve the life he wanted for him and his family. From his wife leaving him, homelessness, and trying to raise a son on top of that, WOW! The moral of the story is, even lifes most challenging circumstance can be overcome. It is not easy at times, and that is for all of us, but perseverance, determination, and focus on what you want, can bring you to where you want be in life. So today is your day, seize the day and get what you can out of it, and remember “Success is a Journey, not a destination” – Ben Sweetland

– Peace

Whole$ale Tip of the WeeK “Bandit Signs”

Whole$ale Tip of the Week “Bandit $igns”

Our Whole$ale tip this week is regarding “Bandit Signs” and how important they are to your business. Depending on your market you should have seen a number of these plastic, wooden, or cardboard signs on telephone polls in your area. The Reason why people use these signs is because they work, and our effective for finding what are all looking for, Motivated Sellers! Now If you have read any of our previous posts then you now that bandit signs have been essential to our business, and making us money ever since we could afford to buy them. Bandit signs can be very inexpensive, I mean as little as $1.00 per sign. Now the old saying is true you get what you pay for, a dollar bandit will typically be a plain white piece of corrugated plastic, and you will have to get some sharpies and write on it yourself. This can be very time consuming and depending on the legibility of you writing many not look so hot. When we were getting started that $1.00 bandit sign was a heaven send, it brought us a huge wholesale that after fee’s and everything net us $17,500. If you are balling on a budget like most of us, this is a good solution for getting started. A more open budget can afford you a custom printed sign that will save you a tremendous amount of time. So here are some Photos of signs past and present that we have used and our currently using.

http://www.supercheapsigns.com is where to go and get them. All white plain sign will cost you a dollar per sign, the more elaborate custom printed ones will run you around $2 per sign.  Whatever it takes you to get these signs get them, plus be consistent, there are a bunch of wannabes where I live that come and go, I mean in the past 6 months they already quit putting them up, and I know it wasn’t because they had too much business, and we just got another deal from our signs this last week.  That’s great for us but don’t be like them, don’t quit!

P.$. Sizes Does Matter! we buy 18″x24″ signs

-Peace

This was Gen. 1 lol they worked!

This was Gen.2

These are the latest and greatest!

Bandit $igns are good for Busine$$

If you are wholesaling and have not invested in bandit $igns, your are hurting you business. Bandits are inexpensive, easy and can be immediately effective in growing your business. We have YTD (Year to Date) invested roughly  $700 in our bandit campaigns, and have been contacted by over 300 people, and are closing on our 3rd house from this marketing.  Totaling PROFITS around $39,000. That is decent considering on average we have 15-30 signs up continually. Now Preston Ely in his latest edition of “The Flip Factor” mentioned you want to have 50-100 signs out at all times. That is alot, in my opinion but I can only imagine at this point what that could do for business. So it’s Gut Check Time! Get some signs!

P.$. we buy ours from http://www.supercheapsigns.com

-Peace