All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Thanks @Curt Davis , @Brian P. and @Josh R. . I appreciate your input!

@Jeffrey Rust I use, as well as many others here on BP, Podio to manage my leads  It does not send out follow up emails though. But it does keep you organized and you can input tasks and follow ups and it will notify you of them. For email autoresponders, you can try aweber or icontact. They have intake forms for your website and there is even a way to integrate aweber to podio such that leads get automatically loaded to your podio account from the aweber intake form. Podio is free. You might want to search for the term Podio here on BP.

For websites, I like and use Leadpropeller which is put out by Danny Johnson. (he did a BP podcast while back by the way).  As far as I know though, it does not integrate with autoresponders like aweber. But the intake form on it does text and email you when a lead comes in. I like the that it texts me so that I can follow up immediately.

In the past, I have used both Realflow and Freedomsoft. I liked Freedomsoft more.. That said, I don't use either anymore. A good website, Podio and good autoresponder like aweber (if you want to use a full blown autoresponder in your business) is all you need in my opinion. 

@Account Closed As a wholesaler, I once put a contract on a property site un-seen and then wholesale it to a fix n flip investor with-in a week or so. And that property was in the same town I live in. I new a contractor whom I paid (after I had already negotiated the deal and put it under contract with the owner) to go inspect the ppty and take pics of the inside and outside of the property for me. I work full time and wholesale part time. In that one instance, I could not get off to go inspect or take the pics. It worked out well. 

For your anniversary - Get a babysitter.. Take your wife out to dinner at a nice place.. Spend some time just the two of you. Maybe a movie latter.. The anniversary is to celebrate your marriage - the bond you two have. Celebrate the commitment you made together. Surprise her with flowers that day. Tell her you love her dearly. 

With respect to your family as a whole.. I wholeheartedly agree with everything @Mary B. said!

That's wild.. 4 inch long orange fish sound like gold fish to me. Perhaps some transients were/are living there and put them there?

A meth lab in New Mexico.. Sounds like a Breaking Bad location/scenario.. ;-)

I needs some BP help on how to adjust my ARV based on location issues. I often come across motivated sellers who's house is located:

1) On a corner lot in neighborhood. Meaning there is an inner subdivision street on one of the properties sides *and* the front of their property.

2) Backs up to a busy street.. Most neighborhoods here are bordered on at least one side by a busy street. Thus, they have houses on the perimeter of the subdivision and their back fence faces a busy street. So, there can be some noise issues from the traffic, especially during rush hour, for instance.

3) Actually located on a busy street. They can look out the front window and see the traffic!

When pulling comps with-in the given subdivision or with-in 0.5mi of the subject property, most of the time I can't find 2-3 similar properties with the *same* location issue noted. I can find similar homes in all other respects, just not with the same location issue as #1-3 above.

As a wholesaler, I know most investors won't even touch #3.. so I pass on the. But for #1 and #2, how much should I discount the property from the comps I find without that location issue? 

I appreciate your inputs in advance!

@Hasan Hamdan The best (fastest, most profitable) deals I've wholesaled, I dealt with my buyer personally, not via an email blast to my entire buyer list. I send them a personal email and followed up with either a personal text or phone call to them (or both) letting the know I sent them a deal via email and to take a look at it. They know if they don't reply soon, I will move on to the next buyer I have on my list. Based on history, they know I lock up good deals so they need to take a look at it quicly. I know the kind of properties he/she needs. When I have one I know they'd like, I do as noted. I usually included the basic details like address, #beds, #baths, sqft, age and occupancy, ARV, estimated repairs and my wholesale price. I include a link to a picasa link where I loaded 20-30 pics of the property I took. I also include a few comparable solds justifying my ARV. Occasionally, the first buyer I contact passes for some reason.. So I go to the next buyer and do likewise. If for some reason none of my *key* buyers (those who have performed in the past and bought deals from me) take the deal then I start looking for a buyer via email blast to my entire list. I also start calling agents who have sold to cash buyers nearby my property to see if their cash buyer might be interested. By these later methods, I have found new *key* buyers who buy different kind of properties and in different areas. For me, that's generally how it goes down. Key is to know what your buyers need and to build and keep relationships with those who perform and treat them well.

@Ben Cochran First I am not a lawyer and am not giving you legal advice. I am just sharing what I have learned and been taught on this subject. I have a self direct IRA myself and do private lending with it. Actually, I set up an LLC in my self direct IRA and am considered the manger of this LLC. However, 100% of the LLC is owned by my IRA, not me. As I understand it, any RE purchases you make using self directed IRA money are not in your name they are in the name of the IRA or your LLC within the IRA. All of the profits made using IRA money stay within the IRA account. You *cannot* commingle money inside your IRA with you or your money outside your IRA. If you were to purchase a fix n flip say with your IRA, you personally can not lift a hammer or work on it yourself - at all! You would have to hire people to do that. Essentially, that asset belongs to your IRA and not to you personally. Mess with the Government rules of using IRA money for these purposes and the Government could consider it like you took all the money out for your own use prematurely and will tax the entire account and penalize you for early withdrawal. If you do self direct your IRA for these purposes, be sure to check these things out with the custodian of the IRA first. I think companies like Entrust do such things and provide training as well for RE investors.

@Dick Rosen I tried using a VA to take the first intake call. I used a VA in Philippines. I first screened 3 or 4 and picked the one that seemed to speak the best English. I then set them up with a skype phone # had them take the initial calls from people who responded to my direct mail. I had one person complain that they could not understand my VA very well (accent issues). I had some tell my VA they wanted to speak to me, not my VA about the property. BTW, I have also had the same input from using Patlive live attendants to intake calls for me (ie. they wanted to speak to me, not my "assistant"). I now use neither to take my calls. I think most sellers want to speak to the main person who they will be dealing with on the property. And I also think it's best to start building the rapport and setting expectations right off the bat personally with the seller. IMHO, whomever takes the calls should also be the one on the second and third follow up calls and actually negotiates and puts the property under contract. Anyways, that's my experience to date and my two cents. Perhaps others have had better success using a VA for this purpose.

@Michael Quarles Are you advocating NOT putting a return address at all on direct mail, such as Yellow Letters?  How about PC or Zip?