All Forum Posts by: Don Konipol

Hello BiggerPockets Community,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Logan Stamps, and I am new to the world of real estate investing, specifically virtual wholesaling. I've been immersing myself in various resources to understand the fundamentals and best practices.

One area where I find myself seeking guidance is in building a network remotely. Establishing connections with motivated sellers, reliable buyers, and industry professionals is crucial for success in this field. Given that I'm operating from Bend, OR, I would greatly appreciate any advice or strategies you might have on identifying and connecting with motivated sellers in target markets, building a list of cash buyers interested in virtual wholesale deals, utilizing digital tools and platforms to facilitate virtual transactions, and navigating legal considerations and ensuring compliance across different states.

Additionally, if there are any common pitfalls that beginners should be aware of, I would be grateful for your insights.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I look forward to learning from your experiences and becoming an active member of this community.

Best regards,

Logan S. Stamps

Hey everyone,

I'm currently exploring note loan investments and looking to take a deeper dive into simulating different scenarios with variables like origination fees, interest rates, and exit fees. What I'm hoping for is an Excel or spreadsheet template that allows me to play around with these variables and, most importantly, calculates the IRR and TIR for each scenario.

Does anyone have a board or Excel sheet they use for this kind of investment simulation? I'd love to share and compare ideas, and possibly improve on my calculations.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Hi I have been helping my parents with communicating to their tenant about renewing a lease with a rent increase. My parents asked for a modest increase. I emailed the tenants and they negotiated an agreeable price with my parents. Both parties said they "can do this amount". No lease has been sent or signed yet for renewal. After some research on my own I found out my parents are very below market rent. Is it too late to change the rent amount? Should I just keep it the same? 

Hello BP,

I currently own and self-manage two long-term rental properties in different states. Recently, I’ve been seriously considering acquiring a property for short-term rental (MTR) purposes in the Kansas City Metro area. Given my background with managing out-of-state properties, I’m confident that I can apply my skills to the MTR space, but I wanted to reach out to the forums to gather insights from anyone who manages an MTR property out of state.

While I don’t foresee significant hurdles with managing an MTR remotely—provided I have the right local connections and a solid team in place (which I do)—I’m always open to learning more from others who have navigated this path.

If you’re an out-of-state MTR investor or have experience with remote property management, I would love to hear about any tips, strategies, or lessons learned that you can share. Whether it’s about streamlining operations, managing guest communication, or local regulations, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your time and insights.

Hello Everyone,

My name is Dana Fuller, and I’m excited to connect with this incredible community of real estate professionals. I’m a real estate investor specializing in diverse strategies, including fix and flips, wholesaling, buy-and-hold rentals, vacation homes, Airbnb’s, and specialized housing such as nurses' residences and college housing. While I’m currently retired, my focus is on reigniting my investment journey with dedication, resilience, and a clear vision.

My short-term goal is to secure my first deal in the coming months, and I’m working towards joining the Subto organization to expand my knowledge and build long-term success. In the future, my aspirations include owning facilities that provide shelter and education for homeless young women with children—a cause I’m deeply passionate about.

I’m especially interested in partnerships and opportunities in cities like Savannah, North Carolina, Texas, Hawaii, Florida, and areas across Virginia and Maryland. Savannah, Florida, and Hawaii are my key focus for vacation homes, while Texas and North Carolina present exciting wholesaling opportunities. I’m eager to explore deals and contribute meaningfully to collaborations that drive mutual success.

I’m also looking to learn more about working with social service organizations and impact investors to integrate community service into my real estate ventures. If you’re experienced in these areas or open to partnerships, I’d love to connect and explore how we can support one another.

Thank you for welcoming me to this forum. I’m looking forward to engaging with you, learning from your insights, and hopefully building some amazing partnerships along the way.

Warm regards, 

Dana Fuller

Finding Deals/Building a Buyers List:

What are the best strategies for finding off-market properties?

How do you identify motivated sellers?

How do you build and maintain a strong buyers list?

What are effective ways to network with cash buyers?

I’m an investor agent in Bryan-College Station Texas, and I want to start sourcing off-market deals to provide exclusive opportunities for my top investor clients. Sellers would have three options: sell to my clients, sell to me, or list on the market. I’m NOT planning to wholesale—just creating more deal flow for my agent business.

Back in 2020, I sent 500 postcards/month via DealMachine for about a year and a half this resulted in 2 off-market deals that I purchased. Now, with a $1,000–$2,000/month budget, I want to restart but am open to different marketing strategies.

• What’s working best for you at this budget?
• Should I stick with mailers or explore cold calling, PPC, SMS, etc.?
• What lists have been most effective for motivated sellers?
• Any lessons learned from your experience?

I’d love to hear your insights—thanks in advance!

I am trying to expand my list of strategies to find deals.

I did some research and narrowed down my search, spoke to a few quality realtors and nothing came to fruition. Even after trying to pick the better ones.

Now I know I can search online, I can use a realtor, I can send out a mail campaign, I can cold call, I can go to auctions.

Are there any other strategies you would recommend to find deals?

Also I am going to be looking in northwest Indiana, Chicagoland illinois, and Racine area Wisconsin.

Quote from @Ken M.:

I'm not making this up. WSJ is.  

I started out buying pre-foreclosures and have made a lot of money buying them. But, now it requires training to stay out of trouble.

"Why do housing prices keep climbing despite higher interest rates? The federal government has allowed borrowers to take out bigger mortgages than they can afford. To prevent foreclosures, it’s bailing them out when they miss payments. Behold another subprime housing bubble.

The problems began when the Obama administration eased underwriting standards by enabling more home buyers whose debt payments exceed 43% of income to qualify for government-backed loans. Such borrowers are risky because they might not be able to make payments if their income drops or expenses rise."

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"As home prices climbed, the Federal Housing Administration insured more loans to financially stretched borrowers with as little as 3.5% down. No skin off lenders' backs if borrowers later defaulted, since the mortgages were backed by the government.

In 2007, 35% of new FHA borrowers had debt-to-income ratios above 43%. By 2020, 54% did. As housing prices and inflation surged, borrowers became more stretched. The FHA kept insuring mortgages to borrowers who were increasingly leveraged. About 64% of FHA borrowers last year exceeded the 43% threshold.

The FHA loan portfolio is far riskier than it was before the 2008 housing crisis.

Institute's Ed Pinto and Tobias Peter estimate that 79% of FHA first-time borrowers have a month or less in financial reserves—not enough to make mortgage payments if their household expenses rise"

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Oh, did anybody mention we are experiencing inflation? These people are going to start getting foreclosure notices.

We just acquired $5M of defaulted loans that will be REO's. I always tell investors they should bea note investors best friend for off market deals - of course the ones that do reach out to us are wholesalers trying to lowball the hell out of the deal thinking we are idiots but we are typically very sophisticated and no the numbers very well including the ARV, what it will take to get it repaired as well as rental rates.