Founder-Soft - who needs Freedom$oft!

Originally posted by Chris Norton
As someone who's looking to get into real estate investing, the software and program has appeal to me largely because I feel it would jump start my business set up and give me a streamlined work flow and process.

I'm starting from nothing. Here are the main points that appeal to me.

1. Getting an LLC started. (I know I could do it myself)
2. A quick up on getting a buyers list going. They supposedly pay $2 per cash buyer lead
3. Syndication automation. Post the house on 17 different web sites.
4. Comps: Yes, the $97 / mo goes towards support and the multiple data feeds. I recognize the need to also figure out my own offer price and think I have someone I can consult with on this.
5. All contacts, leads, campaigns, etc can be kept in one online place.

With a 60-day refund policy, I'm thinking of getting it to try it out. Other than the "high" purchase price, I haven't really heard any serious objection to it in this forum thread

I have to admit that if I we're a newbie, it would appeal to me also. Being in this business for a while has taught me that there are many tools that can help you. Nothing can replace the sheer knowledge of your market. My advice to you is to learn your market. Now let me save you some money.

1. You should have an attorney do this to get it set up properly. If you are willing to spend $3000 for the software, then you can afford an attorney. With that said, there are companies such as http://www.legalzoom.com and http://www.mycorporation.com that make it easy to set up a company for an affordable price.

2. They may have buyers but are they actively buying in your market? Local buyers might also pay a more in a competitive market. The best way to look for cash buyers is to search the county records for properties (mainly from entities such as LLC and Corps.) that have closed without the buyer obtaining a mortgage. If you find a company, do a search by name to see how many properties they have purchased, where they buy and how much they pay. Google and give them a call or leave a note at the house. You can also drive the neighborhoods and look for rehabs in progress.

3. Check out http://www.postlets.com, http://agent.point2.com/ and listhub.net

4. Call a realtor. You'll be surprised what they'll tell you if you make conversation. For AVM's - Why pay? They are so many free ones. Freedomsoft uses these same AVM's to run they're "Freedomsoft Estimates"
http://www.express.realquest.com
http://www.eppraisal.com
http://www.cyberhomes.com
https://mortgage.chase.com/pages/other/home_value_estimator.jsp
http://www.bankofamerica.com/modular/index.cfm?template=hc_home_worth_modular
http://www.myhomeequity.com/HomeEquity/homecalc.do
http://www.zillow.com (bottom of the list for a reason)

You can also purchase Realquest Professional or Dataquick. For active and sold comps, run a search of the property address thru http://www.trulia.com

5. Use Saleforce's http://www.force.com (free) which gives you the option to enter custom tabs (Contacts, leads, campaigns, etc) and fields. It's pretty simple to set up but you can also hire a developer for way less than $3000; They're might be data that is local (ex: assessor's parcel id) to your market that you want to keep in your database.

You can also use good ole Microsoft Excel. If you sign up for Microsoft Bizspark then it's free!.

Freedomsoft might make it convenient by bring all these things together. Is it worth $3000 plus an additional $1164 a year? You have to decide that for yourself but for most I would say not so much. If you do decide to purchase the software, be sure to put it on a credit card. These guru's have a way of not being reachable or giving you the run around when it comes to refunds. With a credit card, you can charge it back. With a debit card, you're out of luck.

P.S. Humans Don't Suck!!! :-)