All Forum Posts by: Christopher Salazar

Absolutely. I try to spend a couple hours a week doing this to get a better feel for a specific area. It's especially good if you aren't too familiar with the area just yet. 

Congrats on taking action. It takes courage to make the move, and a lot of people simply don't have it. Good luck and stay persistent!

When I used to do it all myself (now I outsource it to a guy here on BP) I did a couple test pages until everything was lined up, playing around with the margins and what not. But I could never get it quite exact. I'm not sure how other people do it. But, for all of the campaigns I sent out, I got about a 8-10% response rate on average. So it couldn't have been that much of an issue with sellers. 

It doesn't really matter the status of vacancy of the property. I have never done a double close, but I would say it's much easier to do an assignment of contract. People use a double close many times when they don't want the seller seeing how much they make on the deal. I would stick with an assignment of contract. 

Since you probably want to get back to them asap, be completely honest with them and the situation. You are in the business of solving problems, but you have to make money or else there would be no business. 

The next time you're pulling your leads, I would focus on potential sellers with a high equity % and older age folks that may be more motivated. This will give you more qualified leads that are easier to work with. 

Another thing you could do is build a relationship with an investor-friendly realtor. You can refer them if the seller wants retail value and in return for those leads, they may able to give you some cash buyers or work out something else. This way you can help your seller and build credibility for your business. Give in order to get. Good luck!

Whatever it takes! Make an offer everyday. Once I realized that I needed to make a hell of a lot more offers, I had a lot more success. Successful wholesalers (and I'm not claiming to be one) don't take no for an answer. Work on your negotiation skills and learn how to field any objection the seller may throw at you. 

Be persistent with your offers and keep sharpening your negotiation skills. When you learn how to solve a problem for a distressed seller, you will close a lot more deals. Go out there and be confident. Good luck!

Awesome inspiration - always up for a battle. Thanks, Ben!

It's awesome that you want to start so young. I was the same way and people told me to slow down and take everything in. I just kept moving forward and took action on my passion for real estate. 

Spend a good amount of time reading everything you can here on the site - podcasts, forums, blogs, everything. Be eager to learn everything you can. Get after it and good luck!

I use Listsource and it's great. It takes about 5 minutes to build a targeted list and they have the price after you customize it. You do have to spend a minimum of $50 per purchase. If you're concerned with expenses adding up, your best bet might be driving for dollars, looking for vacant properties. 

I set my goals unrealistically high. It encourages me to take a lot more action than I would if I set average, realistic goals. I have an obsession with doing as much as possible to hit these super high goals. By doing that, I'm always happy with were I'm at in the end. 

In my opinion, setting realistic goals puts a limit to what you can achieve. Realistic thinking is based on what others think is possible. If my ultimate goal is to bring tremendous value to the marketplace and completely dominate my sector, setting realistic goals would hold me back.