2 years and still nothing!
Winter Park, FL · Member since 2017 · 35 posts · 4 votes
So I've been at this real estate stuff for almost 2 years now and I still have not had any deals yet! I tried wholesaling but Florida seems like a waste of time. Any other recommendations on how to get my foot in the door?
I am going to take a slightly different approach. Sherman, I say give up! Let me clarify. Something that you are doing is not working and you need to stop it. You say you tried wholesaling in Florida. First of all, how about not wholesaling in "Florida". What about a specific county, city, neighborhoods in Florida that you hammer over and over and over? I believe it is virtually impossible anywhere in America to be doing things right for 2 years and not buy a house at a discount. There has to be something you are doing totally wrong. I am in Dallas, which is highly competitive. I am not even a wholesaler, not a flipper. I am just a dude who buys a few houses here and there while working a full time gig. I don't have huge marketing budget like the big boys. I am not some guru, fast talking salesman. I don't have a magic postcard or letter. Between December and February of this year I closed 4 deals. Kept 2 as rentals and sold 2. The only things I can really say I did was be consistent with my targeted marketing, be authentic with sellers, target a specific area, and leverage the people on my team who have the expertise I don't. I think you need a serious evaluation of what you are doing. I am as regular dude as it gets; other than my great looks, sense of humor, quick wit, ability to smooth talk the ladies, critical thinking skills, sweet jump-shot...My bad, I got lost in myself for a minute. Good luck homie. I know you will figure it out. You already have a key trait....perseverance.
First, so what? Better to make no deal than a bad one, just for the sake of making one...a deal that is. You're doing fine.
Here's my take on wholesaling as the first step into REI:
You're not going to become a good wholesaler with two years of experience. Wholesaling of course involves finding deals that other investors can't and passing them on to investors who pay you for them. By definition, these deals have to be better than the deals that the investors might find themselves. They have to be spectacular deals, special deals, awesome deals, super-duper deals.
An awful lot of guru training seminars tell you that the way to get into real estate investing is wholesaling. They call it all kinds of things, but really, it's finding deals for well-established real estate flippers and passing them on. The well-established flippers are supposedly too busy flipping to find their own deals. This is wholly untrue, of course. It also only works reasonably well in an up market, where there's plenty of money to be made in flipping.
The reality is that everyone is exposed to unexpected real estate deals in various ways, through our jobs, through our network of family and friends, through living in the neighborhoods that we live in, through our various professional contacts. A great deal of real estate exchanges hands under the radar. The guru training seminars that tell you that the way into REI is through wholesaling really just expect you to be able to mine a deal or two from your little slice of the under-the-radar real estate market and pass it on to flippers who would otherwise never be able to find it. It's the same sort of reason why Kirby keeps training vacuum salesmen for the opportunity of a lifetime. The Kirby people don't really expect you to be able to sell dozens vacuums door to door. They expect you to be able to sell one or two of their vacuums to your own friends of your family, whom they could not otherwise hope to reach as customers.
So the gurus are feeding you a lot of hype about how to find deals when all they really expect is for you to tell an established flipper that your Aunt Martha's friend Juanita's neighbor Billy Ray just died and Billy Ray's sister told Juanita's hairdresser Marq that she just wants to get rid of Billy Ray's old house because he had a huge stash of transvestite porn in his basement that she really, REALLY doesn't want to go through and throw away to get the house ready for retail sale.
What do you want to do in real estate? Let's start from there.
Hello @Sherman McLendon,
Try changing your perspective - deals can be found in other places from Real Estate groups within your area of interest: real estate investing associations (REIA), and google meet ups opportunities like Deal Makers.
There are motivated homeowners out there, but keep in mind that Florida has a lot of investors. You are competing with those with more experience and money.
Whatever you do, do not give up on your dreams.
From Nancy
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, everyone! I know great things take time, so I will keep learning and keep trying. @Jim K., I ultimately want to become a developer long term, but in the mean time I'd like to start flipping and land-lording. @Account Closed, I'm sure I could probably go that route, just need to find some financing.
Don't give up!!!
I do not know the one best way. I am sure that there are multiple good ways. But what I'd do if I were you is to buy a small, cheap investment property, or better yet, an inexpensive, run-down house for you and your family to live in that has an additional apartment to rent. Even two extra bedrooms or even one would fine nowadays in the age of Airbnb. I would buy that investment property/house hack and move into it and/or rent it. Then I would aggressively focus on paying down whatever financing it took to get the house, fixing up the house in my free time, and learning how to be a decent landlord or Airbnb host.
I would learn how foreclosures work in my county and state, doing the research and spending the time to figure it out. I would choose a target neighborhood in my area to invest in, and I would learn the area frontways and backways, walking the streets, taking notes, printing up a big map and making notes on it, visiting the shops and stores, eating at the restaurants, learning my way around the municipal building of the place. Of course, you should already have been doing quite a bit of this in your attempt to become a wholesaler. I would get to know agents in my target neighborhood. I would take them out for lunch to pick their brains about the neighborhood. Above all, I would use public records to find out who the tradesmen that most frequently service the area are, starting with the master plumbers and locally licensed electricians, and I would get to know them and ask them about the agents they most frequently work with.
All properties that you consider will need to be renovated, in some way. Either they need to be renovated as durable, hardened rentals or they need to be renovated as high-value for-sale properties. I would spend a great deal of time and energy learning the nuts and bolts of how this is done and what it typically costs. The more effort and energy you spend here, the better flipper you'll be and the fewer times you'll be taken advantage of as a novice in the field.
If you have any questions, don't be afraid to reach out, OK?
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, everyone! I know great things take time, so I will keep learning and keep trying. @Jim K., I ultimately want to become a developer long term, but in the mean time I'd like to start flipping and land-lording. @Account Closed, I'm sure I could probably go that route, just need to find some financing.
Sherman, have your savings been going up all this time? (If not, why not?)
Have you bought your own primary yet? (If not, why not?)
What skills do you already have to be a flipper? (Installing a furnace, replacing siding,...)
ie. If you don't have value-adding skills - how do you expect to become a flipper?
ie. Other than trying to find deals (while others have found plenty), what else of use have you been up to during those two years? Btw, this is me being encouraging! Good luck...
@Sherman M. I am a simple man. (But, very successful ;-)
1) Make offers
2) Team up with someone on a partnership & Joint Venture.
3) See number 1 and repeat
@Sherman M. Not every strategy works for everyone. Here is how I would approach it.
1. Make a clear and honest assessment of where you are today. Current income, net worth, experience, credit score, time to allocate to activity, ... It is ok to have a low net worth.
2. Understand where you want to be in short term and mid term.
3. Sit down with an experienced investor and write down clear and concrete achievable goals.
4. Execute on these goals.
I echo the comments above about house-hacking, saving money, etc. Also, decide on which strategy you want to pursue (flip, b&h, brrrr, etc.), so you can zero in on it and see if it'll work, instead of hopping from one thing to another. Focus is vital here.
if you want to be a landlord how much money have you saved? surely enough for at least an FHA loan to house hack? even 20k for a small purely rental SFH or condo should be easy for most people saving vigorously for 2 years.
@Sherman M. Results equal effort over time. You've told us your results and the time, but not the most important part, your effort. What exactly have you done? And how much of it have you done?
I do not know the one best way. I am sure that there are multiple good ways. But what I'd do if I were you is to buy a small, cheap investment property, or better yet, an inexpensive, run-down house for you and your family to live in that has an additional apartment to rent. Even two extra bedrooms or even one would fine nowadays in the age of Airbnb. I would buy that investment property/house hack and move into it and/or rent it. Then I would aggressively focus on paying down whatever financing it took to get the house, fixing up the house in my free time, and learning how to be a decent landlord or Airbnb host.
I would learn how foreclosures work in my county and state, doing the research and spending the time to figure it out. I would choose a target neighborhood in my area to invest in, and I would learn the area frontways and backways, walking the streets, taking notes, printing up a big map and making notes on it, visiting the shops and stores, eating at the restaurants, learning my way around the municipal building of the place. Of course, you should already have been doing quite a bit of this in your attempt to become a wholesaler. I would get to know agents in my target neighborhood. I would take them out for lunch to pick their brains about the neighborhood. Above all, I would use public records to find out who the tradesmen that most frequently service the area are, starting with the master plumbers and locally licensed electricians, and I would get to know them and ask them about the agents they most frequently work with.
All properties that you consider will need to be renovated, in some way. Either they need to be renovated as durable, hardened rentals or they need to be renovated as high-value for-sale properties. I would spend a great deal of time and energy learning the nuts and bolts of how this is done and what it typically costs. The more effort and energy you spend here, the better flipper you'll be and the fewer times you'll be taken advantage of as a novice in the field.
If you have any questions, don't be afraid to reach out, OK?
I'm not at all a fan of gurus. But I do not believe what you said is accurate. First, there are plenty more deals out there than just those that you come across through your personal network of family and friend. You just have to find them. Second, the gurus just want your money. Most will not even get one deal.
It's a tough market to start in, you may want to think about getting your license and working on a team or saving up to buy a rental. I'm generally not a fan of wholesaling. I think a lot of people think it's an easy way to make a buck, but I usually see a few wholesalers who are really good and do a ton of volume, and a bunch of others who generally languish. It's a real feast-or-famine industry from what I've seen.
@Sherman M. Look at it this way, its two years of learning!
@Sherman M. No biggie, at least you haven't lost on a deal! Maybe go get your RE license and be a realtor to start?
@Sherman M. The hardest part is finding your niche and catering it to work with your personality. You may need to try a few different things before you find what works for you. If you're interested in learning more, I wrote a whole book on the subject. Good luck!
Simplest idea in my mind is purchase a home that you will occupy . FHA / VA financing available for about 3-5% down a no brainer IMHO. Live there for a bit rent it out do it again and keep repeating. Great way to get started . focus on the little things and don't forget Rome was not built in a day there are no shortcuts - hard work always wins out. My thoughts.
Keep trying, don't give up. Remember the first deal is 100 times harder than the second.
I am going to take a slightly different approach. Sherman, I say give up! Let me clarify. Something that you are doing is not working and you need to stop it. You say you tried wholesaling in Florida. First of all, how about not wholesaling in "Florida". What about a specific county, city, neighborhoods in Florida that you hammer over and over and over? I believe it is virtually impossible anywhere in America to be doing things right for 2 years and not buy a house at a discount. There has to be something you are doing totally wrong. I am in Dallas, which is highly competitive. I am not even a wholesaler, not a flipper. I am just a dude who buys a few houses here and there while working a full time gig. I don't have huge marketing budget like the big boys. I am not some guru, fast talking salesman. I don't have a magic postcard or letter. Between December and February of this year I closed 4 deals. Kept 2 as rentals and sold 2. The only things I can really say I did was be consistent with my targeted marketing, be authentic with sellers, target a specific area, and leverage the people on my team who have the expertise I don't. I think you need a serious evaluation of what you are doing. I am as regular dude as it gets; other than my great looks, sense of humor, quick wit, ability to smooth talk the ladies, critical thinking skills, sweet jump-shot...My bad, I got lost in myself for a minute. Good luck homie. I know you will figure it out. You already have a key trait....perseverance.
You guys all have given great insight and advice, thank you! So to add a little more background, I have been a Realtor in those 2 years as well, but didn't really give much effort to that after realizing it wasn't really what I wanted to do. I kind of got the license just to get involved in real estate and possibly learn a few things about laws an such. As for what I have been doing towards the investment side, I signed up for guru trainings/seminars (nothing more than $100 per session), did direct mailings (postcards, hand written), made phone calls/text, bandit signs, drive for dollars, researched auctions. Had a few people respond but I believe mainly because they wanted to know how much I thought their homes were worth since they knew I was a Realtor. As far as money goes, I feel I have enough to make something happen but when I spoke to my loan officer that I used on the agent side, he made it seem that my work history (sales commission) needed to be two years solid at the same place in order to get approved for a loan. And since I had switched companies a few times, I have held off on trying.
Have you really not found any deals, or not found any deals that you felt engaged to pull the trigger? Maybe you need to broaden your criteria. I cannot imagine not finding a single deal in two years, especially with being a licensed realtor. Activity creates activity!! The more you grow your network, the more deals you'll find. But at some point you'll have to stop having "analysis paralysis" and jump in with the sharks.
The best thing I can suggest is to read everything you can on real estate investing (flipping, wholesaling, renting). By doing so, you will gain the necessary knowledge to find and make deals happen. There are deals that I have heard of that could only be pulled off by people with intimate knowledge of real estate. This knowledge can only be obtained through increasing your knowledge (reading, networking) and experience. So perhaps the reason why you have not landed a deal yet is becuase you have not explored all your options and more than likely that is because you are not educating yourself as much as you should. In two years, unless you have other barriers (like finances), it seems that you should have landed on something by now.
Like in sales, you want to keep your pipeline full. The more you fill your pipeline, the more deals you will get and the more consistently you will get them. Set up systems in place to keep your sales pipeline full and make time to keep your knowledge pipeline full.
If you feel that you have no time to read, then consider audible. I make it through 1 to 2 books a week. I have been doing this for over 5 years and if I hadn't, I wouldn't be where I am today in business or real estate investing.