Flipper/Rehabber · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
We have all heard the expression; The less I do the more I make. Well, I have been applying that expression to buying houses and who should make the offer.
I have found that I am still buying houses even though I am not making a single offer. All I am doing is accepting offers. Role reversal at its finest.
I decided to only buy houses where the seller made me an offer that I can and want to accept. It has become so much easier.
Is this an in-house receptionist or answering service? I have been contemplating an answering service recently because I have been getting lots of missed calls with no voicemails lately. What are the 5 questions? How many calls do you get per day typically?
What we see in our system is a very high abandon rate when the caller hits VOICEMAIL. Not only that, in our case the licensee has sent out postcards or other advertising that has the "We Buy Houses" branding on it and if the voicemail does not mention the name (Thank you for caling We Buy Houses...etc) we see an even higher abandon rate, we assume because the person is not sure if they called the right number.
So, I'm a big time proponent of ANSWER THE CALLS - you or someone you hire. Voicemail is death to leads. Sure, some will leave a message, but is it worth losing the people who won't? (no, it isn't.)
Michael's approach is interesting - an example of what you can do by putting a system in place...
Verner, Ontario · Member since 2013 · 2 posts · 0 votes
12y
I'm looking to purchase my first home....I'm scared of a live and flip cause I don't have much experience in construction ....and to be honest real estate seems high in my area....I was thinking of bujying cheap condo in the garneau area and search for a rental property elsewhere.... Maybe Regina..your thoughts???:)
Thanks for all your responses and candor above. I have been lurking for weeks trying to read everything and develop my own strategy on how to buy cheap. This idea was spurred by something that happened a few weeks ago -- I bought a house from a seller whom I believe made irrational economic decisions. I thought, well, if she took a low price, maybe there are others out there I should try to find.
One thing I had already decided is NOT to wholesale. I understand why others do it, but I won't. I was fascinated by your comment, though, that you do not even rehab! Very interesting and counter-intuitive, but I can see how that might make sense when stretched across many markets.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your hard fought wisdom.
Maybe I'm missing something, but if you buy at "as-is" and resell at "as-is" value, how are you making money/profit?
@Michael Quarles will likely respond, but in response to your question Kim, I think that when he speaks to these people, it may be the timing, and they are desperate to get out from their home, and will state an amount he is willing to pay, thus likely getting that property at a lower price, and then turning around and selling it "as-is."
Sometimes people are moving and leaving the country and just need to sell quickly, or a whole bunch of other reasons, and if they receive his mailing at the right time and they make a deal with him, then he wins, and can buy that property and sell it to someone for more. His strategy sounds pretty good, because the people are calling him; he knows the max he's willing to pay, so he's not wasting any time with those that are out of his range, and if he expends a nominal amount of time, and even makes just $1000, it's still profit, with minimal energy expended. Just my .02 on how I viewed it when I first read this thread.
Inland Empire, CA · Member since 2012 · 63 posts · 12 votes
12y
@Chanté Owens thank you for the clarification. That's an awesome strategy....I thought about doing that too ;-) of course, I'm no expert like@Michael Quarles here.