All Forum Posts by: Jerry Puckett

 Market Like a Wholesaler. My website and email are in my signature, but you're welcome to shoot me a PM.

Hello @Chandler Butler

@Chandler ButlerThere is an awesome, epic thread started here years ago by @Will Barnard called that should be considered necessary reading for anyone considering wholesaling. It is a long read, but the first two pages alone will give you all the information you need to avoid horror. Totally worth it!

I say that with confidence because that thread came out when I was a fairly green pip squeak wholesaler, and that information helped me transform and grow my business. I'm still here here 10 years later while I've seen hundreds of others crash and burn. Getting your license is a GOOD THING. It will serve you well and give you at least two bites at every single apple.

Hi @Steven Cobb

@Steven CobbI've had a number of clients use magnets in the past. There is some value to the "lumpy mail" technique, and maybe some residual "top of mind" benefit. In a cost benefit analysis, the expense usually outweighs the return. If it's something you're going to do, I'd suggest only doing it for one round of a multi letter campaign.

We're more than happy to do the stuffing along with custom crafting the letters and mailing them out for you. I'm somewhat local to you as I'm just across the metroplex in Fort Worth, so feel free to reach out.

Hello @Faruq Abdullah

I agree with @Kerry Noble Jr that in order to do this properly, you're going to need to find off market deals. My experience has taught me that the majority of Agents out there tend to deter buying retail properties for investment. It's not just the two markets mentioned, it's pretty much everywhere. Between competition and rising prices, once you bake in all the transactional costs, it's just difficult to be profitable.

But if you're interested in Indy, I'd suggest reaching out to @Ben G. (Ben Grise). He's very sharp and knows that market inside and out. The closest I can get you to Louisville is a few guys I've worked with who do not have Biggerpockets profiles, so I can't tag them. But if you PM me I can put you in contact with them. 

@Drew Berman

Keep doing what you're doing. You bought two buildings, and assuming you bought them right, that means you know how to find, negotiate and contract property. That's the hard part. @Nathan Gesner gave you some good advice about spreading out your net. More lead = more opportunities. If you negotiate the right price, and don't have the capital, there are other exits, including packaging to wholesale, hard money, etc.

Specifically you asked about seller financing. As you are widening the net looking for these opportunities, that simply needs to be worked into the conversation you're already having. 

Landlords are accustomed to making their money monthly. In exchange, they have many responsibilities and liability to deal with. When faced with an option to make money the same way the bank does every month without being obligated to 2 am phone complaints about a stopped up toilet or broken air conditioner, it's usually a pretty easy transition to seller financing. Include a seller finance option in the offers you are already making. Cherry pick the ones you want, wholesale the rest.

Reminds me of the old saying: "One man's trash is another man's treasure". I think that applies to both sides of the coin; sellers often have little regard for found or otherwise headache properties and lack the motivation to capitalize on it themselves. Buyers use methods some consider goofy which never the less have worked for time out of mind. Somewhere in between millions of dollars are made and folks win all around. 

@Ronnie Hall

Unfortunately, that damage is the sign of some corners being cut....probably literally. It's the result of bargain basement materials and the machining of mass quantities. The USPS can do it's own damage too, likely a result of rough edges from said materials.

We still produce in smaller batches, use quality materials and cut the parent sheets ourselves. Errors are noticed more easily in real time with a hands on approach. Being smaller, more boutique and custom (as opposed to a big box place like the ones mentioned), we have better quality control on what actually goes to the USPS. I've had zero complaints on damaged cards or letters in the last 8 years.

Shoot me a PM, give us a shot.

Hi @John DelRossi

Is your intention to produce your own mailings? You can get some ideas from the resources mentioned, but they're going to be a little difficult to use unless you commit your campaign to those companies to let them print and mail for you. If you're going to do that (outsource that element), I could just as easily recommend myself. Our approach is to custom write the copy suited to your goals, your market, your local speech patterns and your personality.

You can also do these things on your own with some time and persistence using something like Word or Publisher with Excel for the merging. Personalize it the way you like and insert the merge fields where they belong. Just remember to factor in your time as you do so as it takes quite a bit of it to produce an effective number of pieces. What market are you in? What are your goals? What asset class are you after?

Fill us in on who you are and what you want to do, and we could help you even more. Welcome to BP.

I do not favor Cold Calling, RTS, and mass texting for various reasons, including the systems of defense people put in place to avoid those things. Postcards are okay if you send LOTS of them. Direct mail has always given me the best bang for the buck, especially when I take some time to get in the seller's shoes, to figure out the things important to them.

On another note, looking at your profile, I see that this is the first post you've made in the just shy of a year that you've been here. Have you been a lurking member soaking up all of the good information here and just now deciding to dive in? 

Hello @Christopher Batista

I generally advise, and personally use the State's promulgated contract 90% of the time, even though it appears to be more complex (it isn't....almost all of the boxes are filled or checked in the same manner every deal, with relatively few unique entries required.).

Why? Because that's what Realtors, Agents, Brokers and JUDGES are expecting to see. It's the one in normal use and promulgated by the State. If you use one, you cut the chances of losing a conflict (should one arise) in half automatically. However, if you choose to use something different, well now the governing authority looks closer to see why you are above the State contract and what you might be trying to get away with as a non licensed person. (Licensees are generally required to use the State promulgated contract).

I generally reserve the use of a shorter (shorter...not simpler) for those times I am working with another investor who's like "it'll close when it closes"

That said, there is nothing wrong with using a custom contract so long is it lines up with State requirements. I would highly recommend you pass the contract by an actual attorney before using it. Your first step would be to get ahold of the actual State contract through either a Broker, Agent or Real Estate association.

Texas makes it easy, all of the State contracts and addendum are published in one place. I didn't dig deeply, but I found this at the NCRealtors.org site. Might be a good place to start reading through it....it looks pretty standard.

Hope that helps.

Hi @Christopher Owens

@Eliott Elias is correct. Now that you have verbal price and term agreement, the next step is to embody that in a contract. In Texas, you'll want to use the Trec one to four single family. If you are planning to finance through a lender, you'll also want the Third Party Financing Addendum

It might be a little intimidating, but just go through paragraph by paragraph filling it out. You can get the legal description of the property on the tax assessor's site.

Decide on your Earnest money, and/or option fee, date of closing etc. Give yourself time for inspection, ask for a survey, etc. Most of the paragraphs the simplest most intuitive answer is the one you're looking for.

Present the contract to the seller, execute, then drop off the contract earnest and option fee at a local title company you've agreed on. The title/escrow agent will take it from there, scheduling the closing, connecting the parties etc.

You make sure to abide by all of the terms laid out and agreed to so as not to default, and the seller needs to do the same. Pay attention to the times, dates and restrictions laid out in the contract which are very simple and straightforward.

Go to closing, sign the docs, leave with keys.

If you have any trouble with the Trec, message me and I'll walk you through it.

Hope that helps!