All Forum Posts by: Dev Horn

What's the point?  That people exaggerate and should all be punished accordingly?  Interesting pedestal to stand upon....

With your hours, I don't think you have time to do real estate.  You barely have time to eat and sleep.

In wholesaling, ALL you are doing is the relationship.  You can try to outsource that, but you're outsourcing the one value that wholesalers provide and that is generating leads & doing deals and those things involve talking to people the moment they are interested in talking to you, going as quickly as possible to see their house, and getting it under contract ASAP.  If you are not on top of all that, some other investor who is will get that deal.

Seriously, this is not an auto-pilot business.  This is a people business.  And you have to have time to communicate with them or maybe it's just not the right time for you to do this...

We use a flat rate listing service (via a local broker) for the listing side. $495. It's excellent - gives us the electronic (Supra) lockbox, the CSS service, everything we need to professionally market a home via the MLS (except an open house - which I don't need - and my listing broker does not work with buyers - which allows me to work directly with them. potentially saving the buy-side commission as well).

For buyers, most these days find their next agent via Zillow, Trulia, or Realtor.com.

FYI - this is my listing agent - not promoting him as he just does Texas anyway - just figured you might want to see what all he offers in the flat rate listing package:
CREEKVIEW REALTY WEBSITE

Too much?

The best is YellowLetters.com - from the variety of direct mail options, to their many years of expertise in it, to the fact that their CEO @Michael Quarles offers a direct mail service coupled with his expertise in this business, and he's another guy that has had a huge impact in the BP community.

There are many people who got their start in this business using bandit signs, and they still work today simply because signs still work when they have a clear message and are placed in high traffic areas.  Your calls from the signs will be all over the map because you didn't choose who saw your message - so you'll get people with mobile homes, and people who are upside down in their house, etc. etc.  But every now and then a gem can come thru.

The main concern with bandit signs is that most cities or counties now have ordinances against use of these types of signs.  Many people don't like seeing them in their neighborhoods.  Those people will take them.  Other investors will take them.  And the city will take them, perhaps fining you for every sign in the process.  So be aware of that and I recommend, do only "legal" stuff in your business.

Last, you won't generate enough calls to need a call center until you are spending thousands per month on advertising.  Focus on answering the calls yourself and developing the critical skills that will someday enable you to train people to do that kind of thing for you.

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” ~ Jerry Rice

We mail full color jumbo postcards (8x5) via Standard Bulk Presort - does not require First Class and doesn't cost 49 cents to mail.

I think there's something to be said for varying your piece - letter, postcard, zip letter.  However, I prefer postcards which cost us about 1/2 the cost of letters.  YellowLetters.com has some good postcards with copy that they know works.  Don't reinvent the wheel...

Get a business degree.  RE is just business - contracts, vendors, brokers, title companies.  All business stuff.  If you drop out you will find out that this is a business that takes most of the successful guys years to develop, and you could have been doing that WHILE attending college.  And what if you later decide real estate SUCKS (which is DOES during market downturns).  You don't want to have put all your eggs in one basket.

RE can be great.  But those who try to rush into it rarely actually end up doing it.  My 2 cents...

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." ~ Juma Ikangaa

I cannot make an offer on a property that either I or someone I trust as much as me (a long-time biz partner or family member knowledgeable about RE) has not personally inspected.  That's me.  So I cannot fathom "virtual" wholesaling.

However, I know a guy who does it with a well-established relationship with an inspector (contractor) that sends a standardized report with a full set of photos to him and he makes remote offers.  But it's in a city where he lived so he still knows the area very well.

That's my concern - you cannot buy real estate "blind".  If you aren't there, you need a super trustworthy, knowledgeable person who can "be you".

This is a great article and something every Realtor or other RE pro should be aware of.  But the list did miss one tip I'd offer:  

PACK HEAT!

I went to one of our properties last night and the garage door was open.  I grabbed my pistol from the car to give the house a quick check.  Turns out an agent showing the property had failed to close the door.  But I often see situations like this that seem not quite right, and sure makes me feel a lot better to know that I can defend myself.

"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!" ~ Clint Smith