All Forum Posts by: Collin Goodwin

Quentin, sounds like you've had some success. I recently moved from Panama City and think that there is some great opportunity there.

Dig through the Bay county public record (http://www.baypa.net/search.html), there is a ton of information on there.

Public record, newspaper, and a little leg work has provided me with plently of leads, without spending a dime. If your looking for something more immediate, check out one of the paid sites such as listsource or agentpro247.

Find deals first, and then advertise them to cash buyers. Work with a local agent to find cash purchases within the last 6 months. Also, public records from the county are often very helpful.

Joshua, the answer really is add value and put in work anywhere you can. Use this site to connect with investors in your area, attend meet ups and local events. If you show fortitude and willingness to work, people will be willing to help you. One tip starting out... don't get hung up if you have to work for "free", as at this point in the game you will likely have to accept the gift of knowledge as your pay.

What are your concerns? Opinions vary greatly, but IMO I think it comes down to strong contract language, proper screening, and a good relationship between landlord and tenant. If you have someone on the hook that you think you may need to boot in a month, they might be worth reconsidering. The benefits of a month-to-month would be that you have a little more control and do not have to renew the lease (with proper notice), yet at  the same time your tenant can pack up and leave, leavening you searching for a new tenant. Also, be sure to check you local laws about the 2x security deposit. SD only allows 1x monthly rent by law.

Tina, you are in the right place. First piece of advice: keep reading these forums and posts. Second piece of advice: interact in the discussions as you will get very quick feedback. Third piece: check out Brandon Turner's new book, Investing with no and low money down, sold on this site. In time, these resources will definitely point you in the right direction.

Thanks, Eric. IMO, getting a lot of "no's" set you up for success as they give you some good practice for when that "yes" finally rolls in. Good Luck

Welcome, Marvin! 70% is a good rule of thumb, but is not set on stone. With a complete renovation as you are referencing, you will really help yourself by getting a professional bid to complete the work. In order to do this though, you are correct, you will need a starting figure to get it under contract. Take a look at comparable properties with a Realtor, check out what vacation homes are renting for, and try to determine a solid ARV of the home... based not only on resale value, but also consider rental income since it sounds like you might be holding on to this property. Make sure you put an Inspection contingency into the contract as you will be able to evaluate the property with a professional while it is in escrow, and potentially re-negotiate if the figures do not work out as you had planned.

William, it is hard to expect to land deals on the first wave of letters. In my experience, after the first mailing, you'll get a lot of "tire-kickers" and "make me an offer, no" kind of people. The key is consistency. As a result, I'd definitely plan on finding a way to send those 500 letters 8-10 times over the course of your 6 month window, which may take some adjusting to your strategy based on your budget. Sounds like you have the right idea! Since your looking for wholesale & owner financing, I have found if you offer the lower cash number first, and they say no, you can follow up with a higher owner financing offer that Is often more appealing. But if they say no to your cash offer (considering it is a reasonable and fair offer), they may not me very motivated either or have a need to sell so keep looking.

Michael, I have tried a few paid sources and they've not been much help. The best luck I've had is pulling up the county GIS and changing the layer settings to show sales w/in the last year. You can compare from public record and get a pretty good idea of ARV. I do this initially, hunt for deals, and once it gets serious contact an agent at that point to pull comps. No need to do it all up front.

Brooks, this never is easy. My biggest tip to you is to speak slow, tell sellers what you do and how you came across they're number, and just let them know you are purchasing homes in their area and essentially introduce yourself. I find that this gets the initial cold call jitters, on both ends of the phone, out of the way and usually leads to call backs. Chances are pretty small that someone is ready to sell right then and there on the phone, it takes a couple of days, weeks, months to think about. BUT, they'll know who to call. Check out the book "Pitch Anything", it helped me with thought process when speaking to strangers out of the blue, it gives you a few "frames" of reference and directions to take conversations.