Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
Hello my name is Alex and I just got my LLC to start wholesaling in San Diego, CA. I am going to start knocking on a few doors today using the lead sheet that I got from my local title company rep. However I am looking for some advice on how to best use my marketing budget to get new leads. Should I just send out hundreds of mailers? Focus on building a website ans driving traffic with a blog? Drive for dollars? Any other creative ways to let people know what we do? Any advice is greatly appreciated! I would love to hear what others have found successful in the past. I know it's not going to be easy and I'm okay with that. Nothing worth doing ever came easy! Thanks in advance - I look forward to connecting with more people here on BP.
Real Estate Agent · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2017 · 523 posts · 362 votes
8y
@Alex Bradley Welcome to BP brother and good on you for taking action! My advice would be since you are just starting out is to get involved and plugged in. Start going to every meet up in the area that you can and network with other investors, wholesalers, and cash buyers. Join the real estate groups on Facebook in and around your area and add everyone in the group to your friends list and message them. Just doing this alone will put you so much farther ahead than all the other people getting started. I'm assuming since you are just getting started that you don't have butt loads of money to spend on marketing. Assuming this I would say that Driving for Dollars is the best way to accomplish what you want. This not only will help you gain a better understanding of the neighborhoods and area, but it will also help you reach out to owners that aren't being marketed to because they aren't on some list. Knocking on doors sucks, and is super uncomfortable but I can promise you by doing this you will build confidence, learn how to deal with sellers, and find deals where you aren't competing with someone. My personal opinion is to go to these meet ups and do your best to find a mentor or person willing to help you. Continue to market, drive and knock on doors and bring them a deal and have them walk you through it. You will be providing them with value and proving you are serious, along with receiving guidance and wisdom and hopefully building a promising relationship. Good luck my friend and whatever you do don't give up!
@Alex Bradley I would stick with one way of marketing for now and again whatever it is you are good at. When you start getting more deals and trying to scale the business you can worry about all the different way to market. Also, this is a marathon not a sprint, I could take months to get your first deal. Stay with it.
Very good advice here. What's important is staying focus, instead of trying to do a few things at once, pick one strategy and continue to work and fine tune it. If you decide to do direct mailing, once you get your list or target area, send out the initial postcards/letters and follow up! You have your LLC, you're running a business. Advertising/Marketing is important. I can't remember the exact number but it takes a few interactions with a prospective seller before they turn to you for business. Be persistent!
Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
8y
@Tim Gordon I have a website but it's pretty basic and doesn't have a blog or any SEO built into it. Basically just a resource so that we look legit online. I plan on building on it but it's definitely not one of my strengths so it's on the back burner for now. As far as becoming a licensed realtor - I've read that it's not legal to wholesale if you're licensed, something about it being a conflict of interest or unethical? I'm not exactly sure. Have you done wholesaling while being a licensed realtor?
@Tim Gordon I have a website but it's pretty basic and doesn't have a blog or any SEO built into it. Basically just a resource so that we look legit online. I plan on building on it but it's definitely not one of my strengths so it's on the back burner for now. As far as becoming a licensed realtor - I've read that it's not legal to wholesale if you're licensed, something about it being a conflict of interest or unethical? I'm not exactly sure. Have you done wholesaling while being a licensed realtor?
When things got slow I took the state exam and passed it, but I have created other income sources that make listing homes (or wholesaling tight difficult deals) not a priority.
No one can get a clear answer on the legality of wholesaling, let alone if an agent can do it. You will find opinions here telling you wholesaling isn't legal, is that stopping you from pursuing that path?
Current market conditions mean most sellers you speak to will be best suited to list and sell their home. Focusing on the smaller piece of the pie could be a risky business move. Each marketing dollar and minute spent talking to a lead you cannot do anything with in my opinion is a poor business move. If income generation is the top priority right now, being a listing agent is the faster path to success than wholesaling. Its simple math. More people will choose to list their home than sell to a wholesaler in a sellers market where fixers can be listed and sold to retail buyers. Having your license and the ability to do either allows 10x the opportunity to earn income.
I am forever lost on why people believe wholesaling is the best place to start in real estate, sometimes it is. When market conditions are right. Sometimes is isn't, understanding the market and the numbers behind how many sellers you speak to who will eventually list their home versus the amount that will sell to a cash investor is critical.
Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
8y
@Tim Gordon What is the legality when comes to knocking on someone's door (as a real estate agent) and asking them if they're interested in selling? I think that's the area that I was discussing with someone else and it came up that it would be unethical/illegal to whole sale as an agent. With that being said, I'm definitely going to look further into getting licensed and seeing what kind of opportunity I can make out of that. Also, I read your bio and saw that you were doing sales full time while getting into real estate. I'm in the same position at the moment and Im interested hearing more about your experience so I'm going to send you a PM about that.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
I'm not a real estate attorney and do not know the legalities. I am aware of many real estate couples that operate with one individual licensed (the wife) and the other not. Allowing them to double dip in a sense and operate in some type of grey area.
I am aware of many agents who have wholesaled deals, some of the biggest wholesalers in this market are licensed agents, ethically it appears no different than double ending a transaction which is a very popular tactic used by agents to squeeze every cent out of a deal. It would be best to speak to brokers who you'd be hanging your license under about what rules and regulations they expect you to operate by. This forum would be my last choice as a source for real estate legal advice.
Real Estate Entrepreneur · Mid West, East Coast · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
@Alex Bradley when just getting started I would suggest digging into your county public record. It will cost you time, however if funds are limited, it will be a good way to start. The goal of mailers is to get motivated sellers on the phone. Skip that step and go directly to the seller. We started with tax delinquent leads from the county assessor site. once we identified someone was a year or two behind in taxes we skip traced their phone number(Just google skip tracing). Once you find the phone number or can drive to them, call or pay a visit and begin the dialogue. Cold calling is a great way to build confidence and get the kinks out of your delivery. Thus when you begin a mailing campaign and start receiving calls you know what to ask a motivated seller. Don't over think it man. All the best.
Wholesaler · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2013 · 413 posts · 72 votes
8y
Great ideas @Shawn Ackerman ! @Alex Bradley , I was exactly in the same position as you were a few years back. Today, we have virtual assistants running our business for us, most of the heavy lifting that is. They prequalify the leads for us so all we do is talk directly to the sellers and go to the appointments. There are a lot of strategies in real estate. Let me know if you need help
Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 92 posts · 45 votes
8y
@Alex Bradley I second @Riley Neilson's advice. Skip tracing lists of potentially motivated homeowners and then calling them has proven effective for me. I haven't done my first deal yet but that's because I haven't cranked out enough calls yet. My advice is to use a contractor to skip trace using Accurint or TLO. I found one on Upwork.com and I'm paying 25 cents per name. Use Accurint/TLO, don't even mess with the lower tier data providers.