competing against the big boys 28 posts by 18 users

Posted: 07/21/2010 at 01:46PM

Just because they are marketing to them, does not mean they get them.

Get out there and make it happen, and the results will come.

Posted: 07/21/2010 at 04:22PM

Curt, with that reply you beat me to the punch!

Posted: 07/22/2010 at 12:42AM

Richard,

I agree that networking is a great way to get in front of potential buyers, sellers, business partners and lenders. It does take work and have seen it work for me.

Networking is not telling people who you are and what you are selling. It is much more than that. It is about looking for ways to mutually benefit each other.

Posted: 07/27/2010 at 07:54PM

Curt & David, surely you don't mean lay down and die because one can not compete with the big boys? I hope you mean to say be your own competition or hustle, hustle, hustle.

Anywho, good question.

Posted: 07/29/2010 at 03:56PM

Thanks for the clarification and advice

Posted: 07/29/2010 at 05:00PM

Mr. Lunsford;
Genunine advice you obtained in your post, some very accurate - put this to mind "Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) Military Commander and 34th US President
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog". There are plently fish in the sea. Just keep your passion, stay motivated, and focus; you too will accomplished wondefull goals! May the best be with you

Posted: 07/29/2010 at 08:40PM

Some very interesting suggestions. I've had success targeting a niche market. For a while, it was bankruptcy court. I got to know the bankruptcy trustees, and they would call me when a property they thought I might be interested came up. I also targeted auto repair facilities with environmental problems, and two of my most profitable buys were easily fixed environmental problems nobody else would touch. One niche I now target are service or retail business owners who own their real estate facilities with low or nothing owing but need cash to keep their business operating. I do a sale leaseback, in which I purchase the property for a below market price, say 30% discount, and then lease it back to them for a below market rent. After 5 years the rent reverts to market, and I have created a great buy for myself.

Back a hundred years ago or so when I was buying residential properties, I targeted duplexes, as most residential investors avoid these. Some are easy remodeled into large single family residences, others in many area can be legally seperated and sold as individual units. Another niche I targeted in those days was probate situations - once again getting known by the probate attorneys and being able to move quickly when a deal came up.

Networking and niche targeting can overcome any deficiency in advertising budget. Homevestor franchisees are not real estate investors, they are in the real estate business. With high overhead they need to churn 50 houses a year. As an independent investor 3 or 4 good to great deals a year is all you need.

Posted: 08/06/2010 at 04:18PM

I do things on more of a personable level. Those who have very large marketing budgets may tend to be larger businesses and/or have more staff which can be less personable. In my experience, I find most folks would much rather work with a person who has a face and cares about them than a faceless corporation who does not. Just my thoughts. Hope that helps!

Posted: 08/12/2010 at 01:29PM

If I could add something to the discussion it would be to forget about the "big boys". Just get a marketing campaign in place that you do every month without fail. Be consistent and follow up with everyone that calls. That not so motivated seller (today) may become very motivated in the future. If you have been helpful in the past, there is a good chance they will remember you when they absolutely must sell .

Also, do what you do "better than everyone else". Provide better service, faster service or something else the big companies don't do as well as the little guy can. Be memorable.

Finally, like so many folks have said, network, network, network! People like doing business with people they like.

Posted: 08/14/2010 at 11:42PM

All great responses!

I can tell you most of the big boys are looking for equity, and if a property isn't a "clean" deal with 30%+ equity they'll tend to pass it over.

We've been very successful with marketing to sellers that have little to no equity. They can't be upside down but ideally they'd have $5K to $20K in equity.

You find these sellers by targeting the expired listing in the MLS. The seller is motivated and is open to creative solutions.

Here's the strategy which is nothing new: Send the seller a Yellow Letter telling them you want to buy the house. When you meet with them negotiate to keep the existing loan in place for up to 3 years and give them $1,000 to $2,500 cash.
Your essentially buying the property "subject to" the existing loan.

Once you have the deal tied up you can then market the property on Craig's Lists offering 'No Qual Seller Financing" your looking for a retail buyer that has $10K to $15K as a down payment.

You then assign the contract to the new buyer for the difference between what you agreed to pay the seller and the down payment. ($15,000 down payment - $2,500 cash to seller = $12,500 profit)

This in any market is a HUGE opportunity. Just be sure you have the title company service the loan by collecting the payments from the buyer and pay the sellers mortgage company. This way everything is audited.
Do be aware that most bank have the right to call the note "due on sale" although I've never heard it happen.

Hope this helps,

Cheers :)
Sean