A Beginner's Wholesaling Journey

Wholesaling
14yFollow

A Beginner's Wholesaling Journey

Greg S.
Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes

Hello everyone. I've been a BP member for a few months now, and I've previously been documenting my progress here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/67333-a-newbies-birddogging-journal

I decided to start a new thread for a few reasons. Number one, although I originally planned on bird-dogging, but after really diving in, it seemed foolish to leave so much money on the table. There was one deal I had been working on a month or two back that seemed semi-promising, and I felt like I was doing all of the work I would have to do for Wholesaling, but was only getting paid as a bird-dogger. That deal didn't pan out, but I learned a lot from it.

The second reason is that I have been slacking off a bit lately, and I felt I needed to change my routine to get myself back on track. I am planning to update this thread once a week with progress updates and weekly goals. I also would eventually like to link to some audio files of me talking to sellers (with important information edited out, of course), to get some feedback on how I can improve. I tend to get tripped up on the phone, and need to improve if I really want to be successful with this.

Hopefully, this thread will help lead to some consistency in my marketing and real estate research.

This morning, I mailed out 74 new probate mailings. I pulled the data last week from my county clerk's office, and am hoping that I start receiving calls tomorrow. I plan on going back to the clerk's office on Tuesday or Thursday to gather more leads.

Ideally, I'd like to be sending at least 50 letters per week between new and follow-up mailings. I have about 180 probate entries in my mailing list, and will be sending follow-up letters every 4 to 6 weeks. I estimate pulling an additional 150 per month will suit for now. Gathering the probate data is by far the worst part of the process, but fortunately I work very close to the county clerk's office.

Along with sending the mailings, I need to update my routine to include reading success stories and forum threads on a more regular basis. I tend to do this in bursts, where I read a ton of success stories, get super motivated, put a lot of effort into investing, and then end up slacking off. Reading about other peoples' successes on a weekly basis will help to keep my eye on the prize. Does anyone have any recommended blogs? I used to read Flipping Junkie, and was sorry to see that the site was taken down.

Goals for this week:
Gather 50+ more probate leads
Print the next batch of mailings
Read-up on some success stories
Build my buyer's list

1Reply
294 views

Most Popular Reply

Account Closed
Real Estate Investor · West Orange, NJ · Member since 2012 · 130 posts · 19 votes
13y

Greg I've also enjoyed reading your journey. All hard work brings a profit and in due time you will reap if you don't give up. Here's a tip about estimating repairs and negotiating with sellers that has helped me in my wholesaling business when meeting with homeowners. If you're meeting with someone they should be motivated. Never go see anyone you haven't qualified over the phone.

1. When you get there remember one thing, in the sellers mind all they know for repair pricing is retail, retail retail. They don't know what a rehabber is going to pay for repairs. So when you formulate your repairs list and you're going down the line you can ask them what they think all this costs? They know if they need a new kitchen, 2 new baths, roof work, plumbing, etc they're looking at a crazy number that in most cases they can't afford. A retail kitchen alone could be over 20k. So you add up everything and tell them a retail price, then come back with the statement "now I can do the work a little cheaper because I have my own team" then they know that from a retail standpoint there house needs $60,000 in work. Doesn't matter if you can do it all for $30,000, they can't. You now shock them into reality. Always estimate repairs higher, remember all they know is retail, so if it would cost them 60k when you're making your offer use 50k. You know in the back of your mind that you could probably get it done as a rehabber for the $30k but you leave yourself room to negotiate.

2. Make sure you mention to the optimistic seller that if they list the house for $150,000 that's not what goes into their pocket. No one in this market pays your asking price, they also are entitled to a sellers concession and you'll pay 6% to a realtor. Add to that they're going to hold the property for another 3-6 months best case scenario, in NJ our taxes aren't cheap, that could be another 3-4,000, plus utilities, ins, etc. so if the buyer of their home asks for a 10% discount, 3% sellers concession and they have to pay a realtor, what % of their asking price do they really end up with 81%. If you deduct their holding costs for the property even if there's no mortgage (probably common with probate) they're probably going to net 79% of their asking price, WOW. So much for that $150,000. Now for the big tip...

3. Also emphasize that in this market, houses are not selling unless they're perfect. Wives want new kitchens and bathrooms, there is so much inventory, the houses sitting on the market for over 150 days are 1. Overpriced or 2. Not updated. Now they know if they don't bring that house to that condition it's not going to sell, when they think about it, it's $75,000 that they don't have. And the best part is if beautiful houses in the neighborhood are selling for $150k then that's your ARV, that's for a perfect house. If theyre really motivated then theyre not delusional trying to get top of the market, theyre probably trying to get closer to $100,000 if they listed it. So their number they hoped to get is $100,000, your ARV is $150,000. Here's how we bring this home, let them know they're only going to net $79,000 off that $100,000 sale. Your offer is based off of 65% of $150,000-$30,000 in repairs or $67,800. Write those 2 numbers next to each other then you say we're only $11,000 away from a deal. This is when you begin to look very good.

So to summarize, it's important that you do all these things and work them into every meeting with the seller. If you're just making offers at 60% of fair market value you might come off as a jerk, but if you do this,i guarantee you when you leave that house, if you don't buy it they will know they're going to have a heck of a time trying to sell it on their own and that's what you want. You want them saying to each other, "do we really want to go through all this for a few bucks more" that my friend is how you justify your offer. God bless you on your journey.

6Reply
See this reply in the discussion

82 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Quick update...I received two calls today from the letters I sent out yesterday. The first was for a mobile home, which isn't something I'm interested in pursuing so I thanked him for the call and wished him luck.

    The second was an angry call. I've gotten a few angry calls before, but this woman was the angriest I've had a response from. I'm going to try to upload it later in the week since it doesn't have any indentifying information in it. It was left as a voicemail, so I didn't actually speak to the person, and included all of the typical things such as "How DARE you!" and "if I receive anything like this from you ever again I am personally going to track you down!"

    I spent a lot of the evening genuinely bothered by it. I'm a very non-confrontational person, and I can understand where she was coming from since she just lost a loved one and her emotions are running high. It had me doubting that I was cut out for this. However, if real estate investing was easy, everyone would do it. I can be weak and quit when someone calls and yells at me, or I can just accept it as part of the process and keep trying.

    I have the woman's number from the call log, and was planning on calling her tomorrow to offer to take her off the mailing list. I'm hoping that she will be a bit calmer by then. How do you guys typically handle angry calls left as voicemails? Do you bother calling them back?

    2Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Regarding the angry call detailed above, I did call the number to offer to remove them from the mailing list. No answer, so I left a message. I have yet to hear back from them.

    I sent another batch of mailings this week, and received two more calls from people who were upset with me. Neither were angry like last week's caller, but they still expressed their displeasure. I knew that mailing probates would result in some calls like this, but what's especially frustrating is that they seem to be the only type of call that I'm receiving.

    I'm definitely going to need to change things up, because those calls are very demoralizing. I'm not sure if they are a result of my letter, the timeline that I'm mailing, or just probates in general. I can certainly understand their reaction to receiving a letter at such an emotional time.

    Here is what my mailing says:

    "Dear [NAME],
    My name is Greg and I am a real estate investor in NJ that pays cash for houses. I apologize for interrupting you with this letter. However, I wanted to let you know that I may be able to help with the estate of [NAME].
    I am certain that you and everyone involved would like to resolve this estate as quickly and easily as possible. If the estate has a house that it would like to sell, I would like to present an offer on it.
    I pay all cash and buy in "as-is" condition, so you won't have to worry about cleaning the home or paying for any repairs. In addition, I can close as soon as you'd like so that additional estate fees can be avoided, even if the probate case is not completed.
    I understand that this might not be a priority at the moment, but please keep this letter in the event that the estate does want to receive a cash offer as another option. Feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience."

    What would you change? Also, when do you send your first mailing? Mine are going out about a month after they are pulled from the probate listings, which is (in most cases) about 6 weeks after the date of death. Is that too soon?

    I was attracted to probates because I figured they would have more equity than preforeclosures, as well as less competition. It's becoming evident why there is less competition.

    I need to make a change because I feel like I am doing something wrong. I think I am going to change to postcards which don't mention the estate or probate at all, instead going for a typical "We Buy Houses" message. They would still be mailed to the executors. Hopefully that will avoid some of the stigma that is currently following me around.

    0Reply
  • Gary Parker
    Real Estate Professional · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2010 · 608 posts · 163 votes
    14y

    I started mailing to probate last November and have one deal done and 2 I am negotiating on and two listings. I average about 60 letters a month in my County. I also mail to absentee owners.

    You just need to become thick skinned with angry callers. You will get them from any list or group you mail to. I usually stop mailing to them for a while then try again, but sometimes I just take them off the list.

    I get angry calls from each of the lists or groups I mail to; I get nice calls telling me they are not selling, and once in a while an opportunity comes along. Just part of the process. The key is to start small, stay consistent and never give up your mailings.

    I would make your letter as personalized as possible. Perhaps addressing to personal reps (PR) name in the letter and be more sympathetic with their situation before you talk about helping them.

    I mail a letter the same week I can get the PR information. I then follow up with a post card 30 days, 2nd post card 30 days, letter 60 days then my plan is every 3 months for a year.

    I have thought of testing a generic letter to the PR too. Please post your results if you try this.

    0Reply
  • Isaiah Kallen Diggs
    Wholesaler · Austin, TX · Member since 2012 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    14y
    Originally posted by Greg NJ:
    Regarding the angry call detailed above, I did call the number to offer to remove them from the mailing list. No answer, so I left a message. I have yet to hear back from them.

    MY SUGGESTION: Either remove them from your list or call them back in a month to give them a chance to cool off.

    I sent another batch of mailings this week, and received two more calls from people who were upset with me. Neither were angry like last week's caller, but they still expressed their displeasure. I knew that mailing probates would result in some calls like this, but what's especially frustrating is that they seem to be the only type of call that I'm receiving.

    MY THOUGHTS: That is something to be expected. Most people just need time to recover.

    I'm definitely going to need to change things up, because those calls are very demoralizing. I'm not sure if they are a result of my letter, the timeline that I'm mailing, or just probates in general. I can certainly understand their reaction to receiving a letter at such an emotional time.

    HERE ARE SOME CHANGES THAT I RECOMMEND:

    Here is what my mailing says:

    "Dear [NAME],
    My name is Greg and I am a real estate investor in NJ that pays cash for houses. I apologize for interrupting you with this letter. (Apologizing for interrupting will encourage a grieving person to anger). I heard about your loss and wanted to offer you my sincere thoughts and prayers to your family. (you may not know them but you can still act like you care....people appreciate that)

    I may be able to help with your estate. I am certain that you and everyone involved would like to resolve this estate as easily as possible. If the estate has a house that you would like to sell, I would like to present an offer on it.

    I pay all cash and buy in "as-is" condition, so you won't have to worry about cleaning the home or paying for any repairs. In addition, I can close as soon as you are ready so that additional estate fees can be avoided, even if the probate case is not completed.

    I understand that this might not be a priority at the moment, but please keep this letter in the event that the estate does want to receive a cash offer as another option. Feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience."

    What would you change? Also, when do you send your first mailing? Mine are going out about a month after they are pulled from the probate listings, which is (in most cases) about 6 weeks after the date of death. Is that too soon?

    I was attracted to probates because I figured they would have more equity than preforeclosures, as well as less competition. It's becoming evident why there is less competition.

    I need to make a change because I feel like I am doing something wrong. I think I am going to change to postcards which don't mention the estate or probate at all, instead going for a typical "We Buy Houses" message. They would still be mailed to the executors. Hopefully that will avoid some of the stigma that is currently following me around.

    0Reply
  • Scotty Hamill
    Real Estate Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2009 · 71 posts · 21 votes
    14y

    Hi, I have done probate marketing and it sounds to me like your sending out the letters to soon. I would go back 6 months and start from there. It gives the family time to deal with the passing of loved ones. Ron Mead has a great course on probate cheap. He also gives you a very nice letter to send. I used it almost word for word. The key to probate is marketing to the Personal Rep. In my state you can do this online. I sent about 200 letters and never had any complaints. I stopped because it was sooo time consuming. You want to give the family time to consider what they wanna do. There are deals there and I plan to do this more in the future. You want to market to the Personal Reps, very important. Hope this helps...

    1Reply
  • Sam Sagor
    Residential Landlord · Kailua-Kona, HI · Member since 2012 · 111 posts · 15 votes
    14y

    How do you find the PR online ... how do I check if that's available in my state?

    People don't have to like you ... and that's OK. Why does it matter? Don't sweat it and don't make it overcomplicated. Take that one off your list by maybe cross running the number tough the internet phonebook of your choice or see if any of your records contain it. Match them indicate it on blacklist.

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Gary, Isaiah, and Scotty, thank you for the advice.

    Sam, in NJ, I can't access the PR online...I need to go to the County Surrogate's Office and look them up manually.

    I expected to have angry calls, it's just difficult when they are the only calls I'm getting. I've decided to change my mailing schedule and tweak my letters in an attempt to reduce them.

    My first mailing, which will be sent out about a month after the probate filing, will be a typical "We Buy Houses" postcard that doesn't mention probate at all. If they are looking to sell, they will at least have my number. I will follow up with a 2nd postcard a month following.

    For my third mailing, a month after the 2nd postcard, I will send a yellow letter similar to the one I posted above, with a few changes. Most notably, I will remove the deceased's name from the letter. Instead, I will say that I am interested in purchasing the property at [address].

    I feel that this doesn't change the content of my letter at all, but it might reduce some of the emotion by not seeing their loved one's name in print.

    One of the other benefits of this new schedule will be that it's a lot easier to send out postcards than it is to send out yellow letters. It will allow me to market more consistently and still be mailing something even if I didn't get a chance to assemble letters that week. My yellow letter response rate was kind of low (about 2%), so don't think I'll be sacrificing too much by switching to postcards.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Wholesaler · Chicago, IL · Member since 2011 · 219 posts · 38 votes
    14y

    Awesome job Greg! Keep it up. The only suggestion I would have for your letter would be to possibly make it shorter. According to some yellow letter companies, a short quick letter gets the most responses. Although a longer letter could be useful in getting more targeted replies.

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Thanks for the reply, Kevin. I was thinking the same thing. For the first yellow letter, I was thinking something very simple. For example...

    Dear [NAME],
    My name is Greg and I am a real estate investor in NJ that pays cash for houses. I am writing to you because I am interested in purchasing the house at [ADDRESS]
    If you are interested in selling, please contact me at ###-###-####.

    Thanks,
    Greg

    It will be personalized to the executor, and reference the property directly without mentioning the probate process. As I get into the later letters, I will consider referencing the estate more directly.

    0Reply
  • Brian P.
    Wholesaler · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 401 votes
    14y

    I think your letter needs some more help. Suggest you use two letters and send half to some and half to the others, then eliminate the lowest return letter. I don't suggest walking on egg shells.

    The first time I got an angry call I said I don't know why your so upset with me. I have suffered the loss of many loved ones over the years but one thing held true, the business affairs of the loved one just don't stop because there was a funeral, and many, many people have appreciated my help in wrapping up their loved ones estate.

    If you don't want the help then just throw my letter into the garbage or ask to be taken off my list. No one is trying to cause you more pain and this call tells me you are really suffering and you have my symphathy and my sincere hope that you can find some comfort soon. I'm sorry my letter upset you and I apologize.

    The point of this story was this person called months later and said what kind of help do you offer? And we did business but early I was wondering what her real motive was when she called. Of course to cut down on these calls I addressed the issue in the first letter and they would just call and I would take them off the list, for awhile anyway.

    3Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Brian,
    That is a great way to handle it. I'm going to steal that response. Thanks for your help!

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Well, I slacked off again, and have not done much of anything over the past 5 months. My experience in this business has been a series of ebbs and flows of motivation. I really need to focus on consistency, and getting some kind of routine down so I can better hold myself accountable.

    To begin, I'm going to try to identify where I veered off course. There are hundreds of excuses I could make, but it really boils down to a fear that I assume every aspiring wholesaler has, which is not being able to follow through on a promise to get a house sold. I was scared to death that I would get a house under contract by convincing the seller of my ability to close quickly and with cash, and then find out it wasn't a good enough bargain and I actually wouldn't be able to close it. I eventually came to the decision that, at least at first, any house I contract, I want to be willing to close on myself if necessary.

    Now, this is ultimately a lot more risk to take on, as I'd be rehabbing instead of wholesaling. However, there are some benefits to changing stategies. First off, this change forces me to severely narrow my target area. Instead of focusing on an entire county, I will be marketing to 3 towns that have entry level houses below $200,000 and are max 15 minutes away from me. I will be sticking to direct mail, primarily probates at first, but plan to send mail to preforeclosures and absentee owners as well. Second, by making the decision that I will be purchasing the house myself if I cant find a buyer, it requires that I be extra careful with my numbers and due diligence.

    Basically, if a property looked like a deal, I would treat it as my own rehab. I would bring in an inspector to make sure I didn't miss any massive problems. Next, I would create a basic scope of work and bring in General Contractors and/or subcontractors to give me quotes on prices. All this would be done within 7 to 10 days, at which point I should have a fairly reliable rehab estimate, and could chose to either market to other investors or pursue hard money lenders on my own. I'd be forced to risk some of my own money for the inspection and possibly getting GC's to give me an itemized price for the work, but if I lost that money I would consider it the price of an education.

    That's where I'm at right now. Goals for September:
    1.) Visit 20 open houses
    2.) Send out 400 postcards (100 per week to start out)
    3.) Visit 10 additional local banks (I already visited a few last week)
    4.) Find and speak to 3 hard money lenders

    0Reply
  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    14y
    Originally posted by Greg NJ:
    ...

    Basically, if a property looked like a deal, I would treat it as my own rehab. I would bring in an inspector to make sure I didn't miss any massive problems. Next, I would create a basic scope of work and bring in General Contractors and/or subcontractors to give me quotes on prices. All this would be done within 7 to 10 days, at which point I should have a fairly reliable rehab estimate, and could chose to either market to other investors or pursue hard money lenders on my own. I'd be forced to risk some of my own money for the inspection and possibly getting GC's to give me an itemized price for the work, but if I lost that money I would consider it the price of an education.

    That's where I'm at right now. Goals for September:
    1.) Visit 20 open houses
    2.) Send out 400 postcards (100 per week to start out)
    3.) Visit 10 additional local banks (I already visited a few last week)
    4.) Find and speak to 3 hard money lenders

    Paying for inspections on these might not be such a great idea, if you consider that the property might have title issues. You pay an inspector, but it can't close with the title issues (unless they can be resolved form the proceeds that the seller might be receiving). As long as you are aware of this risk ...

    1Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Thank you, Steve. I hadn't thought of that and it's definitely something to consider.

    0Reply
  • James Ormond
    Real Estate Investor · Greenville, NC · Member since 2012 · 17 posts · 2 votes
    14y

    Hi Greg,

    I just wanted to thank you for posting your process (and progress). I'll definitely be following along. I think you've already accomplished a ton, especially considering how you've modified your approach and strategy as you've learned. I'm in a very similar situation, starting out with certain investing goals that inevitably change and evolve depending on experience and education.
    You've definitely motivated me and I hope to offer the reassurance that we all need from time to time. Keep up the good work!

    James

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    Thanks, James! It's great to hear from other people who are going through the same things. Best of luck to you, and please keep me updated!

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    I had transitioned over to the "blog" within biggerpockets for my last few updates. I like posting in the thread better and plan on switching back to updating this thread. The next few posts will be my previous blog posts, copied and pasted, to keep everything continuous

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    9/3 update

    Well, my open house tour turned into a bit of a bust. I had plotted a route for 5 open houses listed on realtor.com. I visited the first one a little bit after noon. It was a pretty good candidate for rehab, since it was extremely outdated and had a terrible floor plan. However, the price - $149,900 (short sale) - was probably close to 3 times what I'd need to get it for. I spoke to the realtor for a while before heading on to the second house. I get to the address and...surprise, no open house. I go to the third house...surprise, no open house. I manage to get a tour of the fourth, which was a waterfront property in great shape, before heading on to the fifth which ALSO did not have an open house.

    When I got home, I found that 1 of the addresses actually has an open house scheduled for next week...my mistake...but the others were listed for today. I'm not sure what happened, there.

    Anyway, while I was out I saw a "For Rent" sign and a FSBO, both of which I plan on calling. I also dropped 90 postcards into the mail. In addition, the hard money lender returned my e-mail, which I'll detail in a later post.

    Goals to accomplish by Wednesday:
    E-mail 2 more hard money lenders
    Print an additional 10 postcards to hit my goal of 100.
    Contact my realtor to let her know what I'm doing and get her input

    These are light goals since school starts tomorrow and there is lots of work in order to get my classroom ready.

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    [b][u]9/9 Update
    Goal reflection from last week:[/b][/u]
    Send out 100 mailers - FAILED, only sent out 90
    Visit 5 open houses - PASSED, but only if I include the houses I visited today. Last week, I attempted to visit 5, but 3 of the houses on my list turned out not to have open houses. I went to 5 more today, for a total of 7
    E-mail 3 hard money lenders - PASSED, I e-mailed 5 and have so far heard back from 3 of them.

    Progress this week:

    I didn't make as much progress this week as I would have liked. I got a bit caught up with the beginning of the year duties for school, and I didn't set aside enough time for my business. I did manage to contact the realtor I know just to let her know my plans and get her input. In addition, I contacted 5 HML's in the area, and have heard back from 3 so far. Two of them responded to the e-mail, and one of them left me a voicemail and I have yet to return his call. I need to get better at responding to people the same day they get in touch with me.

    So far, my best option for hard money is 4% Processing Fee, $400 Atty Fee, $30 wire fee, $250 inspection fee, and 14%-15% interest for a 1 year loan with an automatic 2nd year redemption option at an additional 3%. The lender can offer a committment in 24 hours and provide funds in 5-7 days.

    Goals for this week:
    Visit another 5 open houses
    Return the call from the HML
    Mail out 110 postcards to make up for last week's missing 10
    Put an ad on craigslist offering to sell probate leads to help fund my marketing
    Contact the mortgage specialist my realtor referred me to

    This is another busy week (Back to School Night is Wednesday, which COMPLETELY drains me for the rest of the week). Once that is passed, I can hopefully get into a bit more of a routine. At that point, I'd like to start visiting some banks and pulling more probate leads from the county surrogate.

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    [b][u]9/17 Update
    Goal reflection from last week:[/u][/b]
    Visit another 5 open houses - PASSED...made it to 6 for a total of 13 so far
    Return the call from the HML - PASSED...the guy was a bit rude and did not seem like he was interested in working with a new investor.
    Mail out 110 postcards to make up for last week's missing 10 - PASSED...mailed out 120 since the labels are in sheets of 30.
    Put an ad on craigslist offering to sell probate leads to help fund my marketing - PASSED...I haven't gotten any responses
    Contact the mortgage specialist my realtor referred me to - FAILED...I sent the person an e-mail but it came back undelivered. Looks like I will have to pick up the phone for this one.

    Progress this week
    To be honest, pretty much everything I accomplished this week happened yesterday. I procrastinated everything until the end of the week, but I managed to get it done. If I hadn't set those goals last week, I definitely would not have followed through.

    I've seen a total of 13 open houses so far and already feel like I'm starting to get an understanding of the market. I'm also building relationships with some of the realtors that I've met.

    Goals for next week
    Contact the mortgage specialist
    Mail out 90 post cards (3 sheets of labels)
    Go to the probate office to pull at least 100 probate leads
    Visit 5 open houses
    Repost my craigslist ads offering probate leads for sale

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    [b][u]9/23 Update
    Goals reflection from last week: [/u][/b]
    Contact the mortgage specialist - DONE
    Mail out 90 post cards (3 sheets of labels) - DONE (going in the mail tomorrow)
    Go to the probate office to pull at least 100 probate leads - FAILED. I went to the probate office and tried a new method. I'm attempting to automate the process and brought home a few printed documents. I am going to try to write a program to pull the name of the decedent, executor(s), and adresses.
    Visit 5 open houses - DONE, I went to 6, putting me at 19 total houses.
    Repost my craigslist ads offering probate leads for sale - DONE

    This past week's progress:
    My open house goal for September was 20 homes. Assuming I make it out next Sunday, it looks like I will meet that goal easily. October is going to be a busier month, so I think a goal of 15 homes is more likely.

    I failed on my goal to get 100 new probate leads, but I did spend about half the week sick. A few weeknights were wasted where I couldn't accomplish much of anything.

    So far, I've been unhappy with the call rate I've been getting on my postcards. I've mailed out 210 postcards this month, and have only received 1 call. Unfortunately, I ordered these postcards in bulk earlier in the year. I still have over 1000 left. Hopefully the call rate will go up once I start some repeat mailings. Once the cards are gone, I am planning to switch over to click2mail.com. I also may mail some yellow letters along with the post cards.

    Goals for this week:
    Continue to repost my craiglist ads offering probate leads for sale
    Visit 5 more open houses
    Get 100 additional probate leads
    Mail out 120 postcards
    Call the FSBO's and For Rent's that I have numbers for

    0Reply
  • Greg S.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Forked River, NJ · Member since 2011 · 96 posts · 10 votes
    14y

    And that gets everything caught up to now...

    Goals reflection from last week:
    Continue to repost my craiglist ads offering probate leads for sale - PASSED. I received three responses this week of people who seem interested. It was funny because I had actually come to the decision that I would stop posting the ads. My wife is a referral agent for a local brokerage, and I had been contemplating getting more aggressive in searching out properties where the executors are looking to list. However, if I can get some quick cash by selling the leads, I'll give it a try to see how it works out.
    Visit 5 more open houses - FAILED. I only went to one, which was really just to make sure I hit my monthly goal of 20 open houses. My parents and sister-in-law were visiting today, so I didn't have much time to spare.
    Get 100 additional probate leads - FAILED. I managed to get 33, which was enough to send out my next batch of mailings, but not enough to hit my goal.
    Mail out 120 postcards - FAILED. I only put together 90, which are going into the mail tomorrow.
    Call the FSBO's and For Rent's that I have numbers for - FAILED.

    Thoughts from this week:
    I slacked off a bit this week, and am hoping to get back into my routine for this coming week. I did manage to hit my September goal of 20 open houses. My goal for October is to visit an additional 15 houses. I have a lot of events on weekends this month, and will probably have to skip 1 or 2 Sundays. I feel 15 open houses is achievable, and hopefully I will be able to get to 20.

    My postcards last week resulted in zero calls. I'm up to around 300 postcards this month, with only 1 return call. I'm going to have to alter my marketing. It's a shame since I still have over 1000 of these cards, but it's a waste of money to buy stamps for something that is providing zero results. I think I may use the cards solely for repeat mailings, and transition to click2mail.com or yellow letters for all of my new leads.

    Goals for this week:
    Visit 5 open houses
    Complete last week's goal to get 100 additional probate leads
    Figure out a new marketing plan
    Send out a new batch of mailings
    Call the FSBO's and For Rent's that I have numbers for

    Goals for this month:
    Visit 15 open houses
    Capture all of the probate leads between July and September
    Mail to 250 new leads
    Continue tracking all of my actions using biggerpockets
    Visit 5 more local banks to discuss funding for my first rehab purchase
    Develop new marketing material

    0Reply
  • Henry M.
    Specialist · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2012 · 462 posts · 294 votes
    13y

    Greg,

    Work smarter not harder.

    Stick with Foreclosures... And I don't mean try and buy them at the courthouse steps.

    Keep it up, stay positive.

    Big Henry

    0Reply
  • Nathan Paisley
    Flipper/Rehabber · Atlantic County, NJ · Member since 2012 · 514 posts · 209 votes
    13y

    I agree with Henry... Smarter not harder. My advice, don't try to re-invent the wheel. IMO you need to send out minimum 1000 letters/postcards a month for any type descent response.

    Don't worry about not finding a buyer JUST GET THE HOUSE SO CHEAP NOBODY CAN RESIST! There are thousands of people that will laugh or hang up on your offers. Don't worry the more offers the better the chance to contract.

    Good luck

    0Reply
  • Vikki Waln
    Wholesaler · Denver, CO · Member since 2012 · 23 posts · 3 votes
    13y

    What is your exit strategy for the open houses? Are you expecting people who have listed on the MLS to come down below market value to a wholesale price? I'm not sure what your incentive is there. Are these 'any' listed props, or have you checked if they have already been on the market for quite some time?

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free