All Forum Posts by: Dev Horn

Hey Omar!  I'm a marketing guy as well, and I've been playing in this real estate game since 2007 or so.

The thing that frustrates me is that something the works in one market will fall flat in another - the exact some strategy (direct mail, AdWords, etc.).  There are so many factors - such as the cost & availability of housing, the number of competitors, etc. - that this is more art than science, and that frustrates me.  =)

I often think we investors miss the mark when it comes to those signs.   Rather than say "we do" this or "I buy" that, why not think of it from the seller's point of view - i.e., what's in it for THEM?  Perhaps messages like this:

GET CASH FOR YOUR HOUSE TODAY

SELL YOUR HOUSE AS-IS FOR CASH ~ TODAY!

WANT TO SELL YOUR HOUSE?  Get a CASH OFFER today!

SELL YOUR HOUSE FAST FOR CASH!

If you want to hit pre-foreclosures, you want to do that by acquiring a LIST of people in "pre-foreclosure", which generally means they have received a Notice of Default.  To market to a list, you'll use direct mail of course.

Putting out signs or door hangers are inefficient means to reach that prospect group.

All that said, I am not a huge fan of marketing to NOD's unless I can filter out those who do not have equity. It does you no good to get a homeowner who is headed into foreclosure with no equity; you'll just waste time and not be able to do anything for them (as a wholesaler).

P.S. In CA, you might consider ReboGateway for these specialty lists like NOD/Notice of Trustee Sale. (I am not affiliated with them, we just used their data in CA!)

I also have never heard of this.  For most of us, I think our "consultant" is our GC.

For some, a consultant might be an inspector or appraiser.  For new investors, paying an inspector $300 when evaluating investment properties (those they are seriously considering for purchase) could help them to avoid costly mistakes.  This is why real estate contracts (usually) have inspection clauses.

Start with educating yourself.  Send me a colleague request, include your email address, and I'll send you a free 3-video "Wholesale Accelerator" course on wholesaling (I give it to my colleagues here on BP).  It's not a sales thing, pure education.  Here's the first video if you want to check it out.

Next, you need a team in place. Until you are an agent, you need one on your team. Offer to give them leads (people that want full price) if they will give you CMAs ("comps") on properties you find. You MUST use recent sold comps to determine your ARV. You'll also want to find a title company that has worked with other wholesalers in your area, so you are not having to "train" a title company on an assignment (tho you shouldn't, I hear all the time about title companies that don't understand these transactions).

Last, you will need to create a marketing "engine" - website, phone number(s), email - the basic stuff, so you can go do marketing and have a process to collect and respond to the incoming leads.

Wholesaling is ALL ABOUT MARKETING.  You are a deal FINDER.  Become as smart as you can about (1) real estate, of course, and (2) marketing (paid advertising, online and off).

"Dreams are only foolish to those who lack them." ~ Peter Reese

We don't do much with bandit signs due to the regulations in most of the markets in which our licensees operate.  But they are used in some markets - here are our current economics:

For 24"x18", yellow 4mm coroplast, printed with black ink one side - $2 ea, in qty of 100
For 18"x12", same specs - $1.25 ea in qty 100

In small markets where this strategy is allowed, our guys get 100 at a time.  In larger markets, we've had them order 500 at a time, price a bit cheaper, but not as much as I expected.

We buy the signs only from the vendor and advise our guys to get the stakes locally at Lowes or Home Depot (you don't want to pay to SHIP wire frames or wooden stakes - that blows the economics of your signs...).

 Good to hear what you found - I'd probably charge $795 per deal up-front too just to keep out the junk deals with terrible numbers.

I saw an episode of American Greed this weekend, regarding a company called Remington Financial Group that charged an up-front fee to entrepreneurs in exchange for helping them find funding for their ventures.  Unfortunately, they only found funding for less than 2% of them and just pocketed the fees from the other 98%.  Here's the story on NY Times.

I AM NOT SAYING THAT'S WHAT THESE GUYS ARE DOING.  Just thought it was interesting to hear about a financial scam that was based on up-front fees....

I know them (their CEO and other execs) and they are definitely a legit company, but I cannot speak to your particular situation.

I gotta say that I'm impressed that Ashley popped in here with a brand new account to address your concerns.  They are certainly on top of things.  I hate the hear about the problems that you encountered with the property and hope they are able to assist you with your situation.

I started SuperPages.com back in the day, and I know YEXT well.

There is some benefit to their services for some businesses. For what we do, you do not need them.  Certainly, you do not need to pay them.

The online marketing thing that actually WORKS is Google AdWords.  If you're going to pay anyone to be found online, pay THEM.  Google search KILLED SuperPages.com and every other local directory provider.  They are like the Mafia, shaking you down for cash, and there's nothing we can do but hand it over because they are large and in charge.  =)