Looking for mentor for wholesaling

Thanks for the advice. I have attended a meeting once, in Metarie, LA and was very excited to see all the people involved. Looked like there were close to or a little over 100 ppl that attended. However, my local REI is over an hour and a half away in either direction. I do intend on joining to have access to the investors and other resources. Having limited resources at this time I have to manage my funds appropriately every step of the way.

I am looking to see what resources were available to me here. I have purchased a great course from Eric Meademar, which was VERY informative for a great price, but still have some questions, or blanks to fill in. I have read through most of the posts in the forum but haven't been able to find the answers to my questions yet. Like what types of things do you actually say to the homeowners when you first approach them, what letters/post cards do you send out do you send out. I am looking for answers more so pertaining to the approach. I know every deal is not the same and there are different circumstances, which is why, I was searching for a mentor or someone to help in those areas. I feel confident in being able to structure the deal properly.

I would also like advice on how to find the right attorney. What questions should I ask them to see if they would be the right attorney for me as a real estate investor. I believe I will turn to my local REI for that referral. I do believe however, there are probably many people who could benefit from that information.

Seems as though most of the questions in the forum are directed at terms in the industry, how to structure a deal, how to figure remodeling costs, etc. As far as remodeling costs, I would like to share that I have found a great resource to help with estimating repair and remodeling costs, which is a book called the National Repair and Remodeling Estimator, produced every year. Great for a novice investor and I would suppose experts in the industry as well.

Hopefully, with continued effort and research on my part I can find the answers to my questions and get my first deal.

Thanks for having such a great resource of information and people.

Nicole

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:26AM

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Icon_minipost Jun 30 '08, 08:30 PM

Nicole,
Your first post mentioned you were looking at how to locate the owner of a vacant property. Looking into vacant properties should be just one of many methods of identifying motivated sellers, that can be potential wholesale deals. The other ways include but are not limited to, preforeclosures, divorces, probate, tired landlords. When I see an abandoned house, I take the address and look it up on the county tax assessors website to see who pays the taxes. Then you can either send them a letter and/or call them if you can find the number through a site like white pages.com, or 411.com. Also, you can knock on the doors of the neighbors and ask if they know where the occupant moved. You can develop your " script" in time, and get some suggested scripts from various guru sites and books, but initially you could just say in your own words that you are interested in buying their house. You just need to ask a few questions to find out if it is the kind of house you buy as an investor. Then ask about the underlying loan, any repairs needed, etc. You can check various sites and comps in the area to get an idea of what the value would be, and estimate the repair costs. Then if the seller seems motivated you can take the time to make anoffer, or write up a letter of intent. I might have some sample scripts if you need one. Good luck, Mike

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:26AM