All Forum Posts by: Marcus Auerbach

@Shane Mcc you can certainly get lucky, but most guys will tell you they have to send out a lot of letters to get consistent results. For me its about 3000 letters for 30 warm leads to buy one house.

@Shane Mcc although expect 0.1% to call the cops, the better business buro or some other consumer protection organisation because they feel its a fraud or they feel stalked. Be friendly, remove from mailing list and go on.

@Whitney Rekowski I definitley agree with my fellow colleagues above - contract it out. I think I am in good company when I admit that I was looking for the cheapest contractors when I started out. Today I pay a bit more per hour in average, but my overall project costs have gone a little while (because we are much faster) my finish quality is much better. Also, much less headaches.

Like @Dawn Anastasi said finding good contractors is not easy, especially if you want good, cheap and fast. (By the way you never get all three) The way I look at it you have the fly by night guys on the low end and the subdivision guys on the top end. The first group is from hell and will cause you gery hair while the second group is excellent but will make you broke. What you need is the guys in the middle.

A good place to start is @J Scott's book about estimating rehab cost - he knows investor pricing (vs consumer pricing) and so you know what you should be paying and dont rely on the contractor telling you how much it will be. The funny thing is when you get three bids expect them to be wildly different. J's book gives you a good base line.

Finally dont make large down payments, materials delivered to your job at the most. If you have to make your first payment on the first day of work, when they are actually on your job, but never before. And then pay as the job progresses. The only time I got talked into 50% down (leaving for a business trip out of country and under pressure to hire) was when I got screwed royally.

Bottom line: contract it out and dont go with the cheapest guy either. What you pay is what you get.. Good luck!

@Logan Williamson just use those keywords and look for podcasts, blogs and forum posts - they are abundant and you will come across the same message again and again. Just like @Linval T. suggests..

I know its very tempting to start on this end, because it seems like you are building up for the day when you actually have a deal and it is less scary than talking to sellers. But actually all you need is a blank contract (from a competent, local source) and you are good to go. Find a good deal, get it under contract and the post on BP, CL and your local REIA. If the deal is good it will sell fast. Remember: the most important thing for most investors is sifting through potential deals and finding the next good one they can pull the trigger on.

People always think that wholesaling is the best way to start. I think it's one of the hardest things to do because you have to be good at multiple things: marking, spotting a deal, negotiating with a distressed seller, understanding ARV and estimating rehab cost correctly. Its very hard to do all that correctly without previous experience. It can be done, many have done it before you, I just dont think it is necessarily the best or easiest way to get started. How about a house hack to start out with?

@Logan Williamson don't waste your time looking for buyers, that's the easy part - have you found any sellers yet? 

@Matt Morgan sure let me know if have something. contacts in my profile. good luck!

@Anthony Way welcome to BP and congratulations to your graduation! You will find a lot of real world advice here and you can find answers to almost any RE question you will ever have. Buy and hold is definitley the way to go for passive income, but be aware that whole selling is a tough job and not necessarily the easiest route to get there. To become a good wholesaler you have to be a great marketer, understand ARV's very well and be an expert in rehab cost. And it's a lot of work! Don't let me talk you out of it, I just want you to have realistic expectations. I would definitley recommend to pursue a regular job as well - having a W2 income makes everything so much easier - like actually having a marketing budget. I could certainly not do it without a job. A good place to start is a house hack with a duplex for yourself. That will get you some much needed experience and as a nice side benefit - eliminate your housing cost. Just look for "house hacking" here on BP. And of course Brandon's famous BRRRR strategty ;-)

Good luck!   

Maybe a bit too much? Finally sold in September for 387k. 

@Edgar Avila it sounds cheesy, but it's true: the money will find the deal. If you find a great deal and you post it on BP or CL or your local REIA website your phone will start ringing quickly.

For some time I used to call every wholesaler that I came across in my farme area and asked to be put on their buyers list. They ask me all sorts of questions about what kind of house I am looking for and I tell them a 3/2/2 or 4/2/2 ranch - but I also tell them call me with just any deal, land, office, condo, whatever. And you may have guessed it, from most of them I never hear again.

So don't waste your time about a buyers list, just focus on geting a deal under contract.

@Linda Weygant I could not agree more with the complexity and the education required. Anything you don't do all day every day you are just an amateur. I had two really bad CPA's before as well who did not understand RE at all. 

However it wasn't for a lack of appreciation of professional services, for me it was not even so much about saving money as it was about control and being on top of things. From my day job I am used to manageing businesses by looking at their numbers and that's maybe why I put such a focus on them. The numbers always tell the story. 

In hindight I am not sure how I ever came up with the idea that I had to do the books in order to stay on top of my business. 30 minutes studing the monthly summary and YTD vs FC is much more valuable than spending days sifting through receipts. Only good thing is it tought me some basic QB skills and I can better understand what my book keeper needs from me.