All Forum Posts by: Dustin P.

@Jorge Garcia Different skiptrace sites usually have possible related people on there as well as possible e-mails, business names, etc. You have to call and track until you get ahold of the right people

Hopefully this post doesn't give any offense, but I think ultimately you have to decide what you want to do. I think everyone in this thread has laid out great arguments and ways to go about speaking to your future wife. However, at the end of the day, if she's still not on board, you have to decide what YOU want.

Obviously you know the benefits of real estate and and what that could bring you, early retirement, financial freedom, security for your family, etc. Are you going to give that up just because someone else doesn't agree?

Personally I would never let someone else dictate what I can and can't do. Compromise yes, that's one thing. Maybe buying a fixer upper for your first home that you can add value to eventually rent out, or buying a duplex and renting out the other side. But I wouldn't allow someone to tell me no.

Typically the people that want all the nice things now (Nice fancy ring, nice "cute" expensive house, nails done 24/7, nice jewelry, Starbucks 5x a week, etc) are not going to wind up very successful long term. I don't agree with the phrase "Happy wife, happy life" personally

Wow, that should be $1500 in labor max. Material cost shouldn't be more than $2/square feet for about 77 square feet of file, $150, and then the tub $150 ish for the tub

Did you get any other bids? I know labor costs here in Arizona are going to be a little less but not that much less

How much have you paid him? Besides just the fact that he 100% ripped you off in pricing, that job quality is no where near acceptable

I would get with your lender and find out about that, that sounds really fishy. Ultimately though an entire week went by with no one finding out any answers and just letting COE lapse? That's on you and your agent IMO

The seller may have rights to your EMD to be honest. Contingencies are in place in case the appraisal doesn't come in at value and the lender won't loan, but not for just waiting around and expecting things to correct themselves and missing key dates.

Sorry to hear about the situation, seems crappy overall

If I had 1M liquid and no previous REI experience I would pick syndication. If I had 1M liquid I must have some very high level skills already that I use to make a lot of money, and my time would be more well spent doing that then learning a completely new skill set that would be required to be an successful SFH investor

I'm not going to touch on the legal vs. illegal debate, I'd advise to contact a local real estate lawyer for that, but I can give my opinion on the rest

Is wholesaling lucrative?

It can but, no different than any other real estate strategy. 20% of the people will make 80% of the money.

Creating leads

Pick a different methods and hammer those methods. Yellow letters, SEO, click marketing, driving for dollars, agent pocket listings, probate/estates, etc. they all work. Track your leads and follow up regularly.

Buyer's list

Meet-ups, dumpster diving and cold calling investors who have purchased in the area.

Are earnest money deposits necessary?

Yes, 100%. You should be putting substantial earnest money down. In my market it's common to put down at least 1%. 

As far as do's and don'ts

Do

Do as much as much as you can to learn your market

Learn to accurately comp properties to determine realistic value

Learn to accurately estimate repairs costs. Call plumbers and ask them how much they would charge an investor to fully redo plumbing. Call electricians and ask how much they would charge to re-wire a house and/or replace an electrical panel with a 200A panel. Call tile workers and ask how much do they charge per square foot to install wood look tile, and how much to remove old tile. Etc.

Be professional and courteous

Think of your business long term. Think about establishing long term relationships with buyers and establish trust. A buyer that buys 10 properties a year from you and who makes money will take less convincing the deal will sell itself

Ask for help when you need it

Don't
Don't pull comps that are too far away or that are not comparable to the subject property

Don't try to hide anything. Disclose anything you know. Encourage the buyer to investigate if you aren't sure and they aren't sure

Don't hard sell or try to put a buyer in a property that you don't think they will be successful with

Don't get upset with people, even if they are yelling at you. You'll get calls from yellow letters where you'll get cussed out and yelled at for leaving that letter. Kill them with kindness, a simple "Yes sir/ma'am, I apologize, I will remove your address from my mailing list. Have a great day" will do

Don't create a blast list of anyone and everyone. Ask for proof of funds. Make sure that person is ok with what you're doing. If you plan on taking a non-refundable deposit, and that person isn't comfortable with doing business that way, that's ok. No need to send that person properties. The smaller and more precise the list is, the better IMO

Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and network

Good luck!

@Casey Powers Fully agree with you. Legal? Sure. Right or fair? No, I don't think so either.

@Bill F.

Typo, intent AND ability to close. Sorry if that wasn't clear by reading the rest of my post

Find a cash partner. Speed, market knowledge and offer terms are going to help you. Network with agents and let them know what you're looking for, see if they will send you their pocket listings. It's tough to compete with someone like that but it can be done.

@Bill F.

I'll take a stab at that one. I would define wholesaling as securing a property and then reselling that property to someone else without doing anything to it.

So if you buy it with cash and then immediately resell it within a week, that's wholesaling IMO

If you have it under contract (With full intent to close) and then decide to assign it to someone else for a fee, that's wholesaling IMO

I think you need intent or ability to close

So the people that go around and get properties under contract with no ability to close, put down $10 earnest money, and then just string the seller along for 30 days, I would not consider those people wholesalers.

The ones that get a wholesale deal and then tack on $5k and try to "daisy chain" the property, I wouldn't consider that wholesaling either IMO