Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
Hello, everyone! My name is Greg and I have been talking about real estate investing for the past 7 years. I spent tons of time reading articles and posts, setting goals for myself, and doing...well, I didn't really DO anything. Until recently, at least.
I am starting this journal to try to keep myself motivated. I hope to post everything that I do so those who are interested can follow along. Feel free to provide feedback or criticism...all comments are appreciated!
Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 852 votes
15y
Greg,
Do you think you are alone? If everyone that bought a course or read a book got started, there would be more investors than homeowners, LOL!!
I actually speak on this very topic, and am currently writing a book on it.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, you just lack direction. It is kinda like heading out on a trip without a map or plan. You will loose motivation quickly.
Unforutnatly, all books and tapes do is give you a bunch of info witout a spacific plan of action. You need to know what to do in a spacific order, kinda like bakin a cake!
Set a goal on what you want to accomplish, and see if what you are doin is workin toward that goal, or are you just doin busy work.
If you are interested, I will pull the first thing I give my coaching clients and post it on BP tomorrow. It is a great start to any journey! Keep you chin up, and good luck! :mrgreen:
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
What I've done so far...
Joined a real estate club - I joined the closest real estate club to my house, which is unfortunately about an hour and a half drive away. I chose this club because they have a monthly subgroup for my county.
Created an LLC - I know this wasn't an absolute necessity, but it gave my wife some peace of mind about my new venture.
Sent direct mail to preforeclosures - I sent a first batch of mailings on 8/13. This was a big step for me since I FINALLY took some action with something. I mailed 88 letters and received 5 calls in the days following.
I was scared to answer the phone, so I let them all go to voicemail. I did call them all back, and spoke to one person directly (unmotivated), and left a message detailing my services to the other callers. I didn't hear back from them and didn't follow up.
I haven't done anything since then since we had a guest staying with us for about 2 weeks. I plan to get started again within the next week. From now on, I know I need to start actually answering the phone. Otherwise, what's the point of even doing this.
This week...
I would like to send out another batch of mailings, probably preforeclosures again since that is the list that I have available. I will probably only send out 50 letters, in an attempt to start a routine where I send 50 out every week. I figure that is a manageable number where I can find time to print them out and put them together.
Next Tuesday, I plan to attend a Sheriff's sale to see if I can find and talk to some buyers.
Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 852 votes
15y
Greg,
Do you think you are alone? If everyone that bought a course or read a book got started, there would be more investors than homeowners, LOL!!
I actually speak on this very topic, and am currently writing a book on it.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, you just lack direction. It is kinda like heading out on a trip without a map or plan. You will loose motivation quickly.
Unforutnatly, all books and tapes do is give you a bunch of info witout a spacific plan of action. You need to know what to do in a spacific order, kinda like bakin a cake!
Set a goal on what you want to accomplish, and see if what you are doin is workin toward that goal, or are you just doin busy work.
If you are interested, I will pull the first thing I give my coaching clients and post it on BP tomorrow. It is a great start to any journey! Keep you chin up, and good luck! :mrgreen:
Virtual Assistant · Lehigh Acres , FL · Member since 2011 · 21 posts · 9 votes
15y
Hi Greg ,
Good luck on your venture and I plan on following you and learn all I can , I'm looking foward to what you have to say I am a newbie to this also and I want to learn as much as I can Keep up the good work and don't let anyone distract you from doing what you want.
Hi Greg,
I am in a similar boat here. As newbies we keep reading and researching, looking for the magic bullet that will make it just happen. But success in anything, whether it's real estate or starting a business, comes down to a process and not one event. Identify the key activities that will produce the results you're looking for and make it a daily practice, even it's only an hour, of doing those activities daily. You almost want to take your eyes off the big picture for a minute and ask yourself, what one activity you can do right now to move in the right direction.
Good Luck. I'm right there with you.
Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2011 · 36 posts · 9 votes
15y
Hi Greg!
Don't forget to call back those 5 people who responded to your fliers. It can take multiple contacts with people before they're willing to commit to something.
Maybe something as simple as leaving another message like "Hi, this is Greg calling you back. I had called you last week about buying your house, and haven't heard from you since. You can reach me at... " I find once I memorize the speech, it's easier to spout it at people.
Investor · Murfreesboro, TN · Member since 2011 · 113 posts · 16 votes
15y
Greg,
Good for you! You got started and it didn't kill you. I will be keeping up with this thread for sure. You're giving me motivation to start. I've been wanting to get into real estate for years. I guess you could say I have analysis paralysis. I've taken classes, read books, gone to seminars, etc., etc. But have yet to do anything. I want to start bird-dogging or wholesaling since it's the "easist" (read cheapest and least likely to ruin you) to start out doing. I'm curious as to what you wrote in the letters you sent out? Where did you get your preforclosure list from? How difficult and expensive was it to start your LLC? Are you doing this part time or full time? Sorry for all the questions, but how else do you learn... am I right? :-)
Rob G.,
I too would be interested in what you give your coaching clients! What steps would you recommend to a beginner as to where to start out at besides what Greg has done? Would you have done anything different?
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
Jessica,
Thanks for the advice. What is typically a good time period to wait before follow-up calls? I would assume about a month?
Michael,
I plan on birddogging to start off, although I really need to put some effort into finding people to supply deals for. That's the plan for this weekend.
My letter text was "Dear X, I am interested in purchasing your house at Y. Please contact me at #." I created a font that looked like my handwriting and used mail merge to print the letters.
I made my own preforeclosure list using the public records webpage for my county. I wrote a script to pull data from the page, but it would almost be as easy to just copy and paste it manually.
I started the LLC online...I forget which company I used but I can look it up. I think it was around $200 and was pretty easy to form. The costs vary by state, however.
I am doing this part time. I am a high school math teacher as my full time job, although my degree is in computer engineering. I really enjoy my job, but it doesn't provide the financial security I would like. I figure real estate is the best way to supplement my income, so here I am. As a reference since I hadn't mentioned it in my intro, I am 29 years old.
George,
I don't have any particular reason as to why I'm targeting preforeclosures, aside from the fact that it was the easiest data to find. I was speaking with a few people at the last real estate meeting I attended, and they let me know that preforeclosures will most likely provide short sale leads, but not much equity. Hopefully I'll get lucky, and at least get some practice speaking to sellers.
What would you recommend mailing to? I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with probate, although I spent the last 7 years telling myself I wasn't ready to do anything.
Back to the text of my letter...It produced a decent response rate, but I'm not sure I should stick with it. Should I identify myself as an investor to try to weed out some of the unmotivated sellers, or keep it as is and try to get as many calls as possible?
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
I called a few "We Buy Houses" ads this week, but only spoke to one person. I will call more tomorrow.
For the person I did get in touch with, it went alright. The good news is that he is interested in working with me. The bad news is that he is a wholesaler who seems to only work with one buyer, and he is outside the area that I had planned on farming.
Since he was so open to working together, I'm contemplating expanding my area. If I did work with him, I would probably only send him information that I could get over the phone (no pictures since I doubt I would drive to see any of these houses). The other problem is that it seems a lot more difficult to find preforeclosure and probate data for the county he is in.
He sent me an e-mail saying he'd like to meet for lunch next week. In the meantime I am going to try to find a more local buyer.
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
Thanks Brian, I will definitely be in touch.
I called a few more "We Buy Houses" people today. Mostly they were buyers I had found on craigslist over the last couple months. I haven't really found anyone that buys in Ocean County, although one person said he had a partner who bought in the area and to give him a call if I found anything.
Trying to build a buyer's list has definitely increased my motivation. Hearing a local investor say "We buy from wholesalers all the time" gave me that 'It does work around here!' feeling. ...Not that I really doubted it, but still.
Hoping to have my next batch of mailings out by the weekend.
Real Estate Investor · Bellingham, WA · Member since 2008 · 407 posts · 90 votes
15y
Greg
As you can see you've come to the right place for advice. Plenty of it here. Good idea documenting what you are doing. Helps to know where you've to move ahead.
Real Estate Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2008 · 127 posts · 10 votes
15y
Greg,
Its a great way to hold yourself accountable by posting and keeping on track, so if you slack others can give you constructive critisim. its good to share goals like this with others/peers so you are kind of obligated to do what you have been telling everyone. keeps you more motivated as if you kept in to yourself.
Lender · Tyngsboro, MA · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
15y
Kudos to you, Greg, for putting yourself out there online. It's great idea to hold yourself accountable, get constructive feedback, and increase your buyers list. You never know when someone on BP might want to buy your wholesale deal.
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
I had a very successful day yesterday.
Earlier in the week I had been calling a number of "We Buy Houses" ads attempting to find buyers in my area. Most of the people I talked to were purchasing properties in the northern part of NJ. I do not plan on marketing in that area, so they wouldn't be of much help to me at this point. Also, I was surprised to find that almost all of my calls went to voicemail. I think just answering my phone when it rings will give me a leg up.
Anyway, yesterday I decided to attend a Sheriff's sale at my county courthouse. I don't plan on purchasing anything at sheriff's sales, but figured it could be cool to see, and would also give me a chance to network. I ended up getting the names and contact information from 5 different buyers. I figure these are great people to know, since they obviously have cash on hand if they are buying properties at Sheriff's sales.
If you're new and trying to build a buyers list, I would definitely recommend attending a sale. Everyone was waiting outside the courtroom before they opened the doors, so I just went up to them one at a time and asked if they were investors. By the end, people noticed what I was doing and they were approaching me to give me their info.
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
Also, I'm debating what I want to do for my next batch of mailings. I have compiled a list for preforeclosures, but a lot of people (including some yesterday) have recommended that I focus on probates instead. It makes sense, but I'm nervous about dealing with people who just lost a family member.
What does everyone think? How are your success rates with preforeclosure mailings versus probate mailings?
Investor · Diamond Bar, CA · Member since 2009 · 446 posts · 233 votes
15y
Originally posted by Greg NJ:
and would also give me a chance to network. I ended up getting the names and contact information from 5 different buyers. I figure these are great people to know, since they obviously have cash on hand if they are buying properties at Sheriff's sales.
Congrats on this - these guys can be ruthless and sometimes only buy super bargains, but still, you now are connected with no doubt multiple millions in cash should you come across a super sweet deal.
Not the first group to sell to (they are far from retail buyers) but it all depends on which ones you have met - I know in my area some of the courthouse steps guys are willing to operate on lower margins than other traditional investors because they are working on volume.
Little Rock, AR · Member since 2011 · 16 posts · 2 votes
15y
Hi Greg, my name is Alan
I am following your journy,
my question is how did you approach the invetors at the sheriff sale? Did you just go up and say, Hi, I am Greg and I am interested in helping you find investment property?
(sounds like I am asking a silly question, now I am reading it but I am curiouse to know your approach)
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
Thanks, Jason.
Alan,
The ones in suits I figured were the lawyers or other legal professionals. A number of the people were in shorts and tshirts, which is probably what I would wear if I were a full time real estate investor. I went up and said "Excuse me, are you an investor by any chance?" A couple of them didn't really want to answer the question at first, probably since they didn't know what I was going to say next. I immediately went into my script about how I was interesting in becoming a property locator, and was marketing to distressed sellers and looking for investors to contact if I came across something that looked like a deal. From there I asked them questions about what areas they preferred, what types of property, price range, etc.
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
15y
Thanks, Brian. Have you had success finding equity in marketing to preforeclosures, or are you focusing on short sales?
It's funny you mention a realtor, because I actually just sent out an e-mail to one a few minutes ago. My wife and I purchased our house about a year ago, and our realtor was excellent. We've kept in touch with her, so I think this presents a pretty good opportunity to make some extra money.
My wife has her real estate referral license. I contacted our previous realtor asking if she'd be interested in me passing along leads from the houses that aren't willing or able to sell at wholesale prices. Of course, most of my calls will be from people with properties that fit that criteria, so I'd probably cherry pick the ones to forward. If they list with her and the property sells, we get a referral check so it's a win for everyone.
One question though...does anyone know if I have to disclose that my wife has a referral license when speaking to buyers?
Little Rock, AR · Member since 2011 · 16 posts · 2 votes
15y
Did a quick google on referral license, I couldn't find a definite definition, but reading, it sounds like you are employed bird-dog for a broker? Is this close?