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All Forum Posts by: Duncan Hayes

Duncan Hayes has started 19 posts and replied 209 times.

Post: Make a deal without a birddog!

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

I do it all the time. In three years, I've walked one property. 

Post: Wholesaling Real Estate

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

How many calls you should make is a question that nobody can really answer for you. Anyone who gives you a number is giving you a rough estimate, emphasis on "rough." Why? Because, it's ultimately gonna depend on your market, the types of leads you're contacting, how targeted those leads are, etc. 

The ideal amount is however many it takes to have solid, quality conversations with sellers. 

As for my first deal, I found it fairly quickly. Took a little bit to close due to the landlord/tenant laws in CA, but as far as finding and assigning it took me two or three weeks. $7k and it felt like $1M.

Post: Real Estate Investing Question

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

@Charlie Morales step 1 is to learn everything you can. Won’t prevent you from making mistakes, but knowledge is definitely the first thing you should seek. You should sit down and figure out what sector of investing fits your goals, short and long term, then find out which avenue to take. Then go all in on learning. As soon as possible, take action.

Post: Wholesaling Real Estate

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

I’ve been wholesaling for 3 years now. I’ve learned a lot along the way. I see a lot of bashing towards wholesaling, and while I get it, not every wholesaler these buyers come in contact with is legit or knows what they’re talking about, but that’s not the case for all of us. There are good and bad apples everywhere in every industry. I say that to say this; dont let folks who dislike wholesaling/wholesalers discourage you. You can create and run this business the correct way. Here’s some mistakes I make and I hope me writing them out helps you prevent a bunch of headache.

1) Treating wholesaling like a hobby

Wholesaling requires your full attention. There’s 4 parts and if you don’t have capital to hire a team then you’ll be handling all 4 parts by yourself. I didn’t understand how to run a business, but I was consistent and that’s why I got my first deal so quickly.

2) Listening to too many people

This is a mistake EVERYONE makes when trying to learn new information or a new skill. This can actually cause analysis paralysis, which means you’re consuming a bunch of information but you’re not taking action. Find 1-2 people that are actually getting results that you can learn from directly and pay them to learn what they know.

3) Lack of skills

Wholesaling real estate is just a 4 step process that’s actually pretty simple but if you lack skills such as negotiation, sales, marketing, and just having good people skills then you will not make it as a property consultant.

4) Marketing to too many people

If you’re just starting out, you need to choose ONE market and one way to reach the market. People only sell stuff for a discount when they have a major pain, so remember that when you’re going through leads.

5) Growing too fast

This was a major problem for me because I was trying to follow wholesalers that were doing 50k+ per month and already had a massive operation. When you’re just starting out you have to run your own pace. I tried to hire virtual assistants too soon and paying for software that wasn’t needed. If you want to find a deal with little capital, all you need is a laptop and a phone to make calls.

6) Not knowing how to analyze a deal

This is probably the number one mistake all beginning investors make. This can also kill your credibility with investors, so you definitely want to make sure you have a coach or mentor that can help you analyze deals correctly.

If you can avoid the mistakes above then you’re already lightyears ahead of other investors that are starting out

6-9 Figure+ companies are built exactly like wholesaling operations. They run ads to bring in a massive amount of leads, have people sort through the leads to find the POTENTIAL deals, and then have a sales team close the deals to bring in cash flow.

Messaging, Lead generation, and Sales is the backbone of any business.

So how was I able to get my first deal in a couple weeks of starting??

Consistency!

I drove for dollars Monday- Thursday to build up my list. I went through FSBO leads on Zillow and FB marketplace. I had people sending me referrals. If necessary, I'd skip trace all night so I could be making phone calls the next day.

Wholesaling isn’t rocket science. I literally see people promoting all these systems and $5,000 courses, etc.

NONE OF THIS IS NEEDED TO CLOSE A DEAL

What’s needed is conversations. The more conversations you have the more opportunities

So what would I do differently knowing what I know now?

I would stop using ancient old marketing techniques and start running Facebook ads to get motivated sellers contacting me while still driving for dollars and cold calling

When it comes to wholesaling there’s a lot of “monkey see, monkey do”

Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and do the uncommon

Wholesaling is just marketing and sales. Once you understand how to market EFFECTIVELY and put out the right message that resonates with your target market then you’ll never have trouble keeping leads flowing in

Once you get that part down you need to focus on your sales process because this is what’s going to put money in the bank

You have to be able to negotiate.

If someone is selling a home for a discount it’s because they have a major problem that needs to be solved.

Become the problem solver.

Every lead isn’t worth chasing because once again if they aren’t motivated then they’re not going to sell their home to your for a discount

Hope this helps and remember no matter how bad things are stay positive because your life can change from one deal!

3 years ago I was a full time truck driver, now I’m a full time investor

Now I’m on a mission to help other investors close their first deal and scale to doing multiple deals per month

Post: Wholesaling - Working with realtors

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

@Kaylan Haight i found my first deal because a realtor sent the lead. She was sending me leads pretty consistently, every day. She was new, hadn’t had a listing yet so the first $1,500 she made in real estate was from the first $7k i made.

Currently don’t really work with realtors though. My experience with them in the new market im in hasn’t been the best lol

Good luck!

Post: Most Fruitful Way to Connect With Sellers?

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

*Earn you bonus points, not warn; sorry lol

Post: Most Fruitful Way to Connect With Sellers?

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

@Joey Gorombey call them. Study and improve your communication skills. If you’re calling sellers that are on any kind of list, then you’re not the only person calling the seller. This means you have to stand out from the rest, so asking the key questions & getting the key answers WHILE having a regular conversation will warn you bonus points.

Good luck :)

Post: No money and no experience pay your bills wholesaling.

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

@Joe S.

I’m not a wholesaler either. At least, that’s not what I refer to myself as lol i feel like that is a limiting title. Overall I’m an investor, but wholesaling is something i do for cash accumulation.

I’m live in Cedar Park, a little suburb outside of Austin, but most of my deal flow this year has been in Houston, and one in San Diego, CA. I’m down to connect and assist any way I can!

Post: No money and no experience pay your bills wholesaling.

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

@Nick C.

Well I guess I'm a 1%er then. Ive literally put $0 on the table ever and I've wholesaled in multiple states across the country. Not JV's either.

Finding quality leads isn’t as hard as people think. It’s not easy. But, it is simple. I dont purchase leads. Ever.

The one thing people need to realize is they need sales skills. People skills. Communication skills. These skills can turn “bad” leads into perfect leads.

For example: I had a friend trying to lock up a deal. After so long he passed on the lead and it eventually came to me. I spoke to the woman, and recorded the call. Sent the call to my friend, he said it was a night and day difference from his call with her to mine. Not saying he doesn’t have people skills, but he wasn’t able to turn that conversation into a deal.

Of course the property and situation matters, but overall I’ve found that what really matters is the interaction you have with these distressed sellers.

Post: Want to start Wholesaling but I have no experience and no mentors

Duncan HayesPosted
  • Investor
  • Austin, TX
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 229

@Noah Dexter Leslie welcome to BP. Don’t let the forums discourage you from jumping in, some investors here are extremely against it. Some of those reasons being valid, others being nonsense; but that’s not the purpose of this response.

I’ve wholesaled all over the country over the previous three years. It’s simple. Not easy. A mentor isn’t necessary, but doesn’t hurt. Just make sure you pick one that will help you like they’re selling you they will. You also have to keep up your end of the bargain. Don’t go pay for a mentor, work for a week, disappear for two weeks, then run around saying they didn’t help you out. There’s tons of resources out there.

Working full time doesn’t have to stop you. I was a full time truck driver when I got my first deal. Was on the road 10-16 hours a day. That’s the beauty of wholesaling, it doesn’t require you to change your life up, if you approach it the correct way. Time management has to become your best friend.

Good luck!