All Forum Posts by: Adam Adams

@Linda Hastings

I love Madison. I ask for little tweaks, such as a call log report, and I get it. I ask for a statement for all the invoices when they do a draw or deposit on my account, I get it. They listen to me and adjust their business to my needs.

I just checked Podio and they still use the same system as before. Each deal has its own email address. To assign an email to a deal, you will have to forward that email to the deal specific email address. Multiply the number of deals you have and that is how many email addresses you will have to maintain. You'll be spending a lot of time looking up email addresses.

One answer. Email integration. Pipedrive has it and last I checked Podio does not. 

There are other CRMs and they have some great automations and other functions that Pipedrive doesn't. However, it is the ability to tie an email to a deal that was the deciding factor for me.

Same thing happened to me. Some have heard my story. My Pain in Painesville. I'm currently trying to donate the property to the land bank so I can get the county appraisal as a write-off.

I do not like using the services for collateral review. I know I have wasted hundreds at Richmond Monroe when I first started. I prefer using my attorneys to review the collateral. Why? Because they know the rules and laws and are looking at a little bit more than recording dates. The clerks at Richmond Monroe might make $15/hour and what do they know about Georgia laws vs Illinois laws. So if I am buying an Ohio mortgage, I am paying my Ohio attorney to make sure the file is good to go to foreclosure if I need to, before I buy. 

I do not like the custodians that I have encountered. They nickel and dime you to death and don't accomplish much.

Fireking fireproof filing cabinets. Mine is a 2 drawer and holds about 50 notes. Just about ready for a 2nd one. You can get a 3 or a 4 drawer cabinet. Check the weight. Mine weighs 300 pounds. I don't know if I could have put the 3 drawer in my basement.

I've gone before and will go this year. Eddie Speed always has something good to say and I usually go away with a new nugget. And I met my favorite insurance vendor at the last one as well and that has saved me a ton of money. And you'll meet more sellers and buyers and investors. Networking 101.

@Christopher Evans. I started the same way. I JV'd with a couple of people. One guy taught me a lot, one guy didn't teach me Jack, even though both said they'd show me the ropes. There are a lot of people out there that do notes and take on JVs that will "teach." There are a lot who don't want to bother. If you want educated, ask them how you will be taught and how much you will be involved. To be honest, it's easy to be involved in the beginning when you are purchasing the notes. There is all kinds of due diligence that one can get involved in. After the purchase, it's slow as molasses afterwards, so the hands on experience slows down.

I was busy last night when I answered, so let me clarify today. When you hire a national chain to get you a BPO, they are hiring out locals to go get the job done. So you might pay the national service $100 for a drive by BPO. They are contracting a local for $30-$50. My opinion is that the local that is happy with $30-$50 to drive around town isn't much of a realtor. When I get the seller's BPO, they come back with the worst comps out there. Half the time, they don't even do a drive-by. When I have paid for BPOs from nationals, I've gotten some real losers that won't get out of the car to check anything out.

Personally I take the time to build the relationships and build teams in the cities I invest in. I pay them top dollar to go out and check my properties to, so I make it worth their while. My teams get out of the car. They'll check out the back yard. They'll talk to neighbors. If the property is vacant, the'll get pictures through the windows, or if they can get in, they will. 

Building these teams slows down my progression to new towns, but I feel more confident in what I buy in the towns that I am in. 

If you just need an occupancy check and you don't have a team in place, I use First Rate REO. A big firm that caters to the small investor. They do door knocks, inspections and property preservation, but they do not do valuations.

Get a local realtor. I don't like the national services.