Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
Hello BP Nation. I have a qucik question for ALL of you and even newbies with just one or two deals can answer.
How do you count your deals?
I have run into a few investors who claim to have done X amount of deals, but when asking a few questions, I determined that they count them, different than I do. That stated, I wanted to know which way the consensus falls on.
Example: If you own 10 rentals, then that is an easy number to count. You have done 10 deals.
But what about flippers. If you buy a property, then fix it and sell it, have you done one deal or two? You closed on the buy side, then you closed on the sell side. That is two transactions, but the same property. In such an example, how do you all count it?
For rehabs, IMHO, it would be incorrect to consider a fix and flip as two deals. Objective of a fix and flip is to purchase a property, fix it, and then resell it to an end buyer.
If I purchase a rehab property and I count it as a deal, then it's incorrect because I haven't finished what I intended to do with that property, which is to sell it.
If I buy 10 rehab properties, fix them all but never sell them, I can say I have done 10 deals, but I have ZERO money to show for those deals. For rehabs, until the property is sold, the deal is in progress.
It's late and I am a little tired, so I hope it makes sense.
waste of time that thread Will, are you looking to get yourself some extra BP points?
Are you looking to pick a fight or just a poor joke teller? If you are referring to this thread, my votes in it are very minor, and not my focus. The thread was created because I was tired of seeing some investors double count deals to make themselves look better and wanted to hear if others had the same thoughts and experiences as me.
i agree with samuel..i don't think people are going to come on here and admit to counting a loan approval as one deal, under contract as a deal, buying as a deal, selling as a deal, etc. now, maybe this is your way of saying (without saying direclty) that you know what's goin on to some people..in that case, preach on...i dont think most people concentrate on the number of deals done though...it's like influence..there are some point whores on this board who will do anything to boost their influence...does that mean they're an expert in RE? absolutely not, just like the newbie with hardly any influence can still probably teach me and all of us a ton of great info...it's best to just not judge by these numbers, and instead reach out to find out what's behind the numbers and avatar...i've had some great email and phone conversatinos with BP veterans and newbies alike....almost always, i learn from them, and hopefully they can take something away from me :)
Never thought about it Will, like you. I thought people would count a deal as taking care of one address throgh the entire process that yield the total profit. That means I have to buy it and rent it. Or buy it and sell it, or conduct the entire strategy for my profit, from the time I see it come to the time I see it go.
Geez, if some are counting getting a loan as a deal, getting a tennant as a deal and every function along the way, I can see how some of the newer folks claim they have done a ton of deals.
I agree Bill, but as for Bryan's post, I think it was a bit exagerated. I have not heard of anyone couting a loan approval as a deal, then placing a tenant in same property as a deal and so on like he stated.
My recent experience with a few uncovered that they would count the purchase, then the flip as two deals. Another investor here mentioned that one guru counted a deal for every deal a student completed. That is not a deal for them, only for the student,
At any rate, I like most count eachj profit as one deal or each hold as one deal. So, I don't think (as smuel and Bryan think) that this thread was a waste of time, or did I do it to be a point whore. People can think what they want about ones experience/knowledge/total deals, the ultimate proof is in the pudding.
hey will, my computer has been down for a few days....i could read your response from my phone but sadly couldn't respond..what a tease, huh??? anyways, i don't remember callingyou specifically a 'point whore'...just saying the number of deals done is a bad metric to assess someone's ability, just like the influence points is a bad metric due to points whores, or people that have knowledge but are too busy to post, etc. ...and yes, of course i was exaggeating lol...i hope nobody counts a loan approval or getting a tenant as a deal...sheesh you guys hahah
No harm done Bryan, I do think that a number of deals completed is one of the BETTER metrics to qualify an investor so I would definately disagree with you on that. Influence points is just one of many metrics for BP users to measure another.
In the world outside of BP, and even in it, someone who has completed 20 deals is obviosuly seasoned enough to warrant the attention of others wanting to do business with him (I just picked the number 20 out of the air, it is not meant to be the minimum "experienced" level)
If you are a lender and an investor aksed you for a loan, would you not feel better loaning to him had he shown proof of 10 compleetd deals over anoter who could only show 1? I sure would.
If you wanted to learn from another and pay them for it, would you want to learn from someone who did not or could not produce evidence they had done the deals in which they were going to teach you about (remind you of gurus!).
Point to this is number of deals is the best qualifier in my book so the fact that some exagerate by double counting is relevant to talk about so that others are aware it happens.
Perhaps BP members can be the deal counting police and shoot down those who try and count every transaction as a deal.
Majority states deal = Paycheck or property held long-term as rental.