All Forum Posts by: Jerry Puckett

I'm sure this thread will become a commercial before too long with all of the various vendors chiming in. However, no one system is going to automate deal finding and buying to a few clicks as many investors are wanting. Let's face it....if it were that easy, everyone would do it, right?

I'm not suggesting that you are looking to avoid work, I think you're looking for a way to work smarter which is an excellent goal. It's just that I talk to people every day that have been sold a bill of goods.....many from right here on BP....and been frustrated because expectations were not managed well amid all of the hype.

The best way I've found to go about conquering any market is to do a deep analysis of what is available, determining first who owns what you're looking to buy, and second who has the ability to sell it at a discount, and then to come up with an encompassing strategy to reach them all consistently and persistently until they are ready to sell.

You do that, then automate it the best you can and you will have created a pipeline that will consistently spit out deals on the other end. It's a process that takes time to set up, time to work, and time to reap the benefits from no matter which strategies you are employing.

@Sterling Fields, yes Sir, that's exactly what I was getting at....how could a licensed individual handle this legally if

1. He (or She) couldn't (or wouldn't) want to close on the house personally (as in whole-tailing)
2. His (or Her) Client, the Seller, did not have the time (or inclination) to wait through the listing process (maybe get an offer, having folks walking through the property, holding costs, etc)

The things that make a wholesale appealing to the seller, cash offer, close fast, no fixing or cleaning, in most cases no closing costs, etc.....I see so many posts out there that say "If you're going to wholesale, just get a license and be legal". And yet, it doesn't seem to me that this traditional system has a mechanism to handle the pain points that make a wholesale attractive.

With license in place, and being a perfectly legal Agent / Broker.....how do we address the need for speed and the other things mentioned. I was thinking a pocket listing would be the way to go, but I'm also fuzzy on the ethics or legality of such. 

Hi @Jay Hinrichs,

I'm just curious, and I know you've been around a lot and seen a great many things and you truly grasp all the ins and outs of Real Estate transactions. Wholesaling exists, in large part, because there is a certain segment of the population that cannot (or will not, or does not wish to) wait for a listing to do it's thing. They are, apparently, not best served by a retail listing.

In a situation like that, what is the proper and legal way to handle that need in Mississippi? If a licensed individual came in contact with that person needing (or wanting) to sell fast, and does not wish to (or can't) buy for himself.....what would the process look like for a quick sale to a qualified buyer?

Hi @Richard J Shannon,

Thank you so much for the update. You're doing the right things; be present, not intrusive, be sympathetic, not greedy. Understand that Probate is a process, many times with several decision makers, often with differing opinions. 

Very good decision to not allow yourself to sync into "one-itis". Along with shiny object syndrome and analysis paralysis, easily the biggest killers of business. 

The daily calls and letters they're getting will for more or less dry up at abut the 3 month mark. My observation is that most who try to work probate start too early and give up way too soon. The process often takes time. I generally wait to reach out for several months (after everyone else has moved on), and then I stay in touch longer, sometimes a year or more. The only other person I've seen do it this way is @Sharon Vornholt

When they do reach back out to you, make it as hassle free as possible; larger offers are not necessarily stronger or better. If there are tons of contingencies and pocket change for earnest money....we usually know what that means, right? Offer cash, with no inspection, and at least 5k earnest if you are serious and believe yourself to be correct on all your numbers. Offer to clean the house out, or solve whatever other issues they may have.

You'll do fine. Meanwhile, you're right, there are plenty of others out there. Get after them :-)....just sayin'.

Jerry

Hi @Richard J Shannon

You already know the basics of this, or any deal:

• Find and analyze the property
• Calculate your Max allowable offer
• Locate the decision maker
• Make the offer.

You have the information for the Daughter. The thing to determine is whether or not the daughter is the Executor, (or Personal Representative), maybe one of many heirs.....

When a property is in Probate, the executor of the estate is the one who has the legal authority to sell the property. Sometimes they are acting at the behest of a number of heirs, but the legal authority resides with the executor.

There are no magic words to use. These are just people. People who are hurt, grieving, and likely frustrated that there is such a mess to deal with. The most common pain point anyone in probate has is "what do I do with all of this stuff". Make that problem go away in addition to offering a fair amount of cash and that mercy you show will go much further than telling YOUR family story. They are much more concerned with their own issues to deal with your story, so be sympathetic to theirs.

I work with some folks who are very good at estate sales. I get them involved to help them deal reverently with the important things left behind (the things folks feel guilty about getting rid of, even though they don't really want them), and for what ever is left over, I roll out trucks from the Fort Worth Hope Center who will literally clean the house out and recycle or give to the needy anything left over after the estate sale.

That leaves the seller with a check from the estate sale, a tax credit from a charitable organization, AND a check from me. Problems solved.

Even if you do not go to that length, offering to get the house cleaned out so that they don't have to worry about it will go a long way towards helping and is worth the extra equity they will give up because of it.

1. Call the daughter
2. Find out who the decision makers are
3. Tell them how you can help
4. Make your offer. (If your Max offer is somewhere near 60k, start at 55 and leave yourself room to come up. Offer no inspection and a healthy amount of Earnest money if you want your offer to seem strong even if not the highest).

Now, stop lurking and go do it!

Hope that helps.

Well said. I can respect your experience, and appreciate you speaking from it. It certainly gives weight to your views.

What you have described here is behavior that I've seen repeated in many contractors be it tile setting or drywall, criminal history or no...(who in RE has not know contractor drama?). But I wouldn't let that keep me from leasing to contractors.

This is in fact behavior that I think many if not most Land Lords experience and is not unique to felons. 

Have you had any similar experiences with non felons? 

You're right. It is hard for some folks to change bad habits of any kind, including stereotyping. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in Prison, and I don't think anyone could accuse him of not getting "basic stuff" due to his long incarceration. 

Reward folks trying to do right? You bet.....who are the other applicants? I have yet to hear if there are others to even choose between. 

And just to be crystal clear....my intention here is not to advocate for anything other than evaluating every opportunity on a case by case basis. There are some very astute people like@Jay Hinrichs who have weighed in here with a true entrepreneurial view. 

Just sayin'.....(Hey!! please come up with your own tag line :-)

Curious.... what if no one else applies in this area? OP has already stated C class with other former offenders near by.

 Is a vacancy better? Easier? Seems a little short sighted if not misguided. 

Again......who here who has chimed in has had problem tenants that were NON felons?

Who here has actually leased to felons and had problems that are not common to landlording?

I'm thinking that if folks have NOT leased to felons before, the opinion expressed is simply that. I see more fear based than fact based. Just sayin'

@Sarah B.

Is there a lot of demand for this property? Are you trying to choose between multiple applications? My experience renting to felons is that they are particularly grateful, loyal, and respectful of me and my property.

I've had NON felons paint my hard wood floors, and similar horror stories every other landlord has. 

My former felon tenants on the other hand don't want any trouble, don't attract any attention, and pay their rent on time KNOWING they'll have a very difficult time finding someplace else to live.

So......who here who has chimed in has had problem tenants that were NON felons?

Who here has actually leased to felons and had problems that are not common to landlording?

@Jackson I.

I believe what @May Emery is getting at is that she herself is a List broker and would like you to use her services. I saw nothing in her profile to indicate that she herself actually targets, mails and makes deals on her own, but you never know. She's brand new to the site and perhaps has not fleshed out her profile much.

May, I have to respectfully disagree with your assessment. Seniors with long term ownership, with or without low financial stability are just as popular as absentees, and get just as much mail.

When it comes right down to brass tacks, if you're looking to buy at a discount, equity is the only criteria that counts. No equity = no discount barring some creative financing. And I guarantee you that every single house with equity is getting mail from someone, no matter which niche.

 There is no such thing as an uber focussed laser targeted motivated only sell right now list. That's not the way it works. Everyone would prefer it be that way, but it's a unicorn. If it were that easy, I'd be a brazillionaire. Actually.....no, I wouldn't. If it were that easy, everyone would do it.

Hi @Karla Kahmeyer,

Yup, that's a tough row to hoe. As far as Kansas goes, here's some information covering the governing law: (Kansas Open Records: K.S.A. 45-230. A good FAQ page on this law: http://ag.ks.gov/open-govt/kora-faq)

KORA states:

From the KORA FAQ:

There are other list providers that use infobase type databases. You can get the basics there just not all of the bells and whistles that Corelogic products offer. They are also more expensive. Most of these other services are simply white lable authorized resellers, so they mark up the price in addition to the data charge.

Click2Mail uses such a database, but the interface is pretty confusing. Make sure that you use the "site zip" when searching for absentee property. If you run into a jam, their customer service reps are really friendly. Tell them wht you're looking for and they can build the list out for you.

I used a similar service for two very successful campaign in Witchita 

Hope that helps!