Building Back Up To 30 Deals a Year (long)

Building Back Up To 30 Deals a Year (long)

Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes

I’m getting my act back together and would like to show anyone that is interested how I am doing it.

My wife and I have been real estate investing for 8 years in San Antonio, TX. For the last several years, we’ve typically bought and sold between 25 and 30 houses a year. Our exit strategy is mostly to fix and flip retail, but also sell some houses with owner financing for long term cashflow.

Here's what happened and what I am doing about it:

Last summer my family took a vacation to the west coast. We went from San Diego to Seattle over three weeks, stopping in the major cities and San Simeon. What a beautiful place (the west coast in general).

Seeing Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose†was on my list of things I wanted to do and so we visited the Air and Space Museum in McMinnville, OR. Seeing this place really rekindled my desire to learn how to fly. I’ve wanted to learn for the last several years since I had flown with another investor down the shoreline of Lake Michigan. What an absolutely amazing experience.

So, as soon as we got back, I started researching flying schools and taking flights with different instructors. For several months, all I was doing was thinking about flying. Investing took a back seat and I was playing "semi-retired".

I ended up passing my checkride in November and immediately realized (now that my brain was starting to allow other thoughts) that we had quite an inventory of houses waiting to be rehabbed. I would never wish rehabbing 6 houses at one time on anybody. We had some that were already finished also that were just sitting on the market.

The market got really slow over the new year and I was hesitant to pick up anymore, especially because I was so wore out from dealing with contractors and rehabbing issues (the hardest part of this business in my opinion).

Fast forward to the present, the houses are all finished and on the market and we are getting them under contract. I now need to fill by deal pipeline again.

I feel like I am starting over (I know it is not completely starting over) because what you experience today is usually a result of what you did the last 3-6 months.

I was needing motivation and was thinking about ways to make the process more exciting. :idea: The result is that I have decided to share, with whoever is interested, the process. I am going to show how I am marketing, documenting the leads that come in, my analysis, purchase, rehabbing and selling of the properties for others to read about and learn from.

I will be posting regularly on my blog (in signature) as I go along. Please join me. I would love to hear your ideas and feedback. It should be a fun ride.

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Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y

I also just fished reading your 7 Crazy Real Estate Investing Stories--very entertaining!

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    The thirteenth week is now posted. Not so many leads this week, but we did get the Hidden Iron house under contract to be sold. I also had a really interesting conversation with the seller of a house I looked at. This was a first.

    Thanks for the compliments!

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    The fourteenth week is now posted. Got 15 leads this week.

    The Def Leppard house rehab is now underway. I've posted the numbers for the deal, the scope of work for the rehab, and the before pictures.

    Enjoy.

  • Wholesaler · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 294 posts · 152 votes
    15y

    I read your entire blog today. Great info and I appreciate the work you put into it.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Thanks, Stinson.

    Guess I need to work on posting a lot more content. The whole thing? How long did it take you?

  • Wholesaler · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 294 posts · 152 votes
    15y

    I read it on-and-off throughout the day but I skimmed over most of the dead leads. With all of that original content, I hope you're getting a lot of organic traffic. Nice work!

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    The fifteenth week has already come and gone and is now documented on the blog. This week I released the free lead manager web application, got 21 leads and visited a death house.

    Thanks for following along.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    The Sixteenth week now up.

    Got only 7 leads this week but put one (even though it was a lead from before) under contract!

    I am going to call it the frustration house and you will see why.

    I've totaled up the lead count for each source from the beginning of this thing to today. Here it is:

    Total Leads: 221

    Lead Source Total Leads To Date
    Buying Website: 111
    Bandit Signs: 44
    Yellow Pages Ad: 25
    Driving For Dollars: 15
    REO Realtors: 6
    Absentee Owners: 5
    Wholesalers: 4
    Realtors: 3
    Referrals: 3
    MLS Search: 2
    Probate Letters: 2
    For Sale By Owner: 1

  • Brick, NJ · Member since 2011 · 1 post · 0 votes
    15y

    I really enjoy reading your blog. As a beginner and someone new to real estate investing, I've found your site to be highly informative. Thank you so much for the time and effort you're putting into sharing your experiences.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    No problem. I'm glad it is enjoyable and helping to show the real aspects of the business.

  • Chris ClothierBusiness Member
    Rental Property Investor · memphis, TN · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    15y

    Danny -

    I hate that I just came across this post today. You've got a new fan up here in Memphis - best of luck with what you have going on. I'm looking forward to getting more acquainted with your blog when i can. Keep it up!

    Chris

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Thanks, Chris and Brian. I'm glad you both found it. (and thanks for posting on this thread...doesn't look so good when a thread contains nothing but messages from me) Thanks again.

  • clifton, NJ · Member since 2011 · 6 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Thanks..

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Seventeenth week now posted. 22 leads this week. Nothing put under contract but did get chewed out twice. Not bad for one week.

    My wife also did a post on staging one of our houses. She did a fabulous job.

    In case you didn't see it, I also did a post on the bigger pockets blog about why you should not be lazy when it comes to going and making offers. You can read that here if you want to:
    http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/07/09/buy-houses-make-offers-unmotivated-sellers/

  • Wholesaler · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 294 posts · 152 votes
    15y

    The house looks great and your wife did an excellent job staging.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Thanks, Stinson.

    Here we are at the eighteenth week.

    Got 16 leads this week and made $50,000 on the historic house wholesale flip!!! :)

    All I did to the house was had a ton of shock dumped into the pool to keep it from turning into a swamp. Oh how I wish we could get these more often.

  • Wholesaler · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 294 posts · 152 votes
    15y

    Wow, $50K flipping a contract is a great deal! My biggest wholesale deal was $31K and I thought that was a homerun. I'm with you; I wish I could find more deals like that.

    Did you sell the property to someone you had worked with before? You mention that he was another wholesaler; have you ever bought from him?

    Again, great blog and thanks for your efforts.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Stinson,

    I closed on the deal first and then contracted to sell with this wholesaler. I had never done a deal with him before, buying or selling. I'm glad everything worked out. :)

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Just got back from vacation. We went to AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and then stayed downtown Chicago for several nights. It was a great trip and the whole family really enjoyed it.

    I did post last week and then today. That would be the Nineteenth and Twentieth weeks. We started work on two new rehabs and sold the Hidden Iron house. My wife staged the Def Leppard house and it made a remarkable difference.

    Thanks a lot for following along.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    The Twenty First week is now posted. I can't believe it has already been that long!

    Got some good stuff for you this week.

    The numbers for the Hidden Iron House flip are now posted for your viewing enjoyment. Take a look at the real numbers involved in selling a house in this market.

    Oh, a raccoon fell out of the ceiling at a house! The weird things that you come across in this business keep it interesting. Check out the note that was on the door where the raccoon ran after falling out of the ceiling. Priceless!

    I also had another entry for the biggerpockets blog. This one is about the importance of your significant other being on board with you. You can read it here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/08/08/is-your-significant-other-on-board-with-your-hair-brained-house-flipping-scheme/

  • Contractor · Timberville, VA · Member since 2011 · 7 posts · 2 votes
    15y

    "the importance of your significant other being on board with you"

    Amen to that my brother.

  • Palm Coast, FL · Member since 2011 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Danny,

    Thank you so much for your blog and "the importance of your significant other being on board with you"! I had my wife read it as soon as I got done. Your don't know it, but you can add excellent marriage counselor too your resume!

    Thanks so much!

    Steve

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Thanks, Ned and Stephen!

    Stephen, I'm glad to have helped. It really is an amazing journey with your better half is as involved with it as you are. Congrats.

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Thanks, Ned and Stephen!

    Stephen, I'm glad to have helped. It really is an amazing journey when your better half is as involved with it as you are. Congrats.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Austin, TX · Member since 2009 · 405 posts · 168 votes
    15y

    Danny,

    I've spent ALL MORNING reading your entire blog. What a commitment to documenting all your actions! Good work!

    I still have a few more posts to read to get caught up. I've blogged about my learnings in real estate but you've got me beat!

    Keep it up and I hope you sell a lot of shirts.

    Jean Norton

  • Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2010 · 328 posts · 182 votes
    15y

    Thanks, Jean!

    It's awesome to hear when someone reads the whole thing, or at least has a desire to do so. I'm glad you find it interesting.

    Oh, and the shirts are really just a funny side thing my wife and I thought up. I think we only get about $1 or something per shirt, so I think we will stick with flipping houses as the true money maker! :)

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