All Forum Posts by: Jeff Rappaport

BP members, here is the chance to network with other investors in your area!  The group has been growing and relationships are being formed.  Looking for money, partners, mentors, deals, buyers or anything else this is where you want to be!  Join us this Thursday, April 7th at 6:30 pm at The Huddle (Ft union blvd. and 2400 E.) in Cottonwood Heights.  There is no fee and investors of all experience levels are welcome!  Nothing will be pitched!  This is all about the networking and relationships you can create!  Any questions please contact Jeff at 801-209-2945.  Look forward to seeing you there!

@Steve Judkins, pm me and I will send you the info on the meetup.  Otherwise, I will post on BP on Monday about the upcoming meeting next Thursday.  Hope to see you there!

@Jack Bananto, welcome to the wonderful world of real estate!  There are a ton of Reia meetings, luncheons and meetups for you to choose from.  We have been doing a BP meetup for the last several months.  It is the first TH of every month and I am also part of a Wholesale meetup that is the second TH of the month.  PM me with your email and I will send you a reminder for both of them.  Check out UTREIA and SLREIA as well.  Good luck with your endeavors!

@Danielle Lueck, there is a Meetup next Thursday (first Th of the month) for investors on BP.  It is strictly networking.  Has been very successful and I think you would like it.  There is also a Wholesale Meetup that I am part of on the second Th of the month.  Send me your email through PM and I will let you know about both meetings.  Hope to see you there!

@Ron Woods, like I said, you can negotiate on all aspects of the purchase when you dealing directly with the seller.  I very rarely have a seller question anything about earnest money.  Sometimes I offer more to make them feel comfortable.  Other times, I offer almost nothing.  The less motivated the seller typically the more you will have to offer in terms of earnest money.  Sure, please pm me with other questions you may have.  Wish you the best!

@Ron Woods, earnest money is very straightforward!  I put in the purchase agreement the title company I will be using and the earnest money will be deposited within 3 business days of a signed agreement.  I also spell out that there will be a due diligence phase (usually 2 weeks) that the earnest money is fully refundable.  Keep in mind when you are dealing directly with the seller you can negotiate anything you want.  I just did a deal where I put up $10 earnest money.  I told the seller I would not be the buyer and I was not willing to risk any of my own money on his property.  However, I have a large network of investors that I work with and was willing to see if I can pass the deal along to one of them.  The seller agreed and I went and found another investor that bought the house.   This works just fine when you are dealing directly with the seller.  If there is a realtor involved you will have to put up earnest money and usually at least $500-$1,000.  You may also have issues closing with the title company you prefer.  

@Ron Woods, you are overthinking this whole process!  As far as access to the property the seller will figure a way for you to see it.  It may be coordinating with the tenants or property manager.  It may be through a neighbor.  I have even had sellers overnight me a key.  It really won't be a problem.  I usually do everything over the phone and then email them an agreement.  I spell it all out with them and call them if necessary.  I set up a closing with a local title company.  I have the closing agent reach out to the seller and work through all the details.  Paperwork can be overnighted or delivered.  My job is to make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do.  I have bought a number of properties where I have never met the seller.  Much easier to do when it is a cash transaction.  Takes a little more work to get an owner financing deal accepted from a seller you never meet.  However, it can be done!  

@Zack Gurr, as I am sure you have already found out there is a tremendous amount to learn in terms of being a real estate investor.  I give the same advice to everyone that is just starting in this business - become good at one of these three areas:

1.  Finding good deals

2. Finding buyers

3.  Finding private money (may need a license do this one)

If you are good at any of these three you will make money in real estate.  Touch base with me and I will be happy to see what I can help you with!  Good luck!

@Emmalou Penrod, in my experience it should not be difficult to find rent to own buyers.  Obviously, there are some variables that make a difference.  The price point of the homes you are renting, the area, condition and the terms all make a difference.  You typically can get a premium for the property and the high end on rents.  You should also be able to secure an option deposit of somewhere between 3-5% of the purchase price.  I typically give the tenant buyer a two year option and sometimes the option to extend their option for a $1,000.  If you are dealing in the median price range and up in good areas with homes that are in good shape you should not have a problem finding tenant buyers.  

I typically only do two things:

1.  Advertise on KSL, Zillow and Craigslist.  Make sure your advertisement is going to get the phone to ring.  Phrases like "no bank qualifying" or "rent to own" usually work well.  

2.  Bandit signs all around the property.  This is the one that really works.  Put up 15-20 handwritten directional signs all around the property.  I know it sounds like a lot but it works!  Check the signs every few days and replace the ones that come up missing.  You should not have to do it for very long.  

3.  If you happen to come up with a house in the same vicinity as one you just did a rent to own on call or text everyone back that was prequalified for the previous property.  You should know what they were looking for and you already know that area was of interest to them.  Great way to fill a property quickly once you have buyers looking for rent to own.  

Hope that helps!  Let me know if I can provide any more assistance.  

@Craig Moore I think you need to be careful about your numbers.  Marketing is all about testing to see what is working.  It differs in every market.   I can tell you in my market the response rate is less than 1%.  Also keep in mind that the response rate includes angry homeowners who want to be taken off of your list.  Some may not even own the home anymore.  It really depends on your list and how good it is.  If everything was equal the person who spends the most on marketing will get the most deals.  However, everything is not equal!  What lists are you mailing to?  What message are you sending?  How often will you follow up?  Will you answer the phone live? Can you or someone else do a good job of prescreening the sellers?  Can you structure various offers to fit the homeowners needs?  All of this will come into play in terms of your conversion rate.  In my opinion, I would rather have 5 good calls out of a 1000 that I can convert to a deal than 30 calls that can't be converted.  Many investors think there marketing is not working because they did a mailing and did not get a deal.  There may have been a deal in one of those calls but you have to know what to do with them.  Always start out smaller testing different mailings until you start generating some income.  Then take some of that income (15%) and put it toward increasing your marketing.  Good luck and let us know how it goes!