All Forum Posts by: Jill DeWit

@Michael Watkins

First of all, you do not need a license to be a real estate investor. Why? Because you are not representing anyone. You are buying property for yourself.

Having said that I think more education is always a good thing. I looked online and it appears you can find real estate agent classes in Georgia for about $400. If you are on the fence, why not attend all the classes, learn as much as you can, and then decide at the end if you want to follow through with getting your license. 

Having a licence solely for the purpose of obtaining access to the MLS is not necessary anymore. You want to reach sellers BEFORE their property hits the MLS anyway.

Hope that helps! Jill

@Thea Linkfield

SUPER easy - like flipping a house with no renovations needed. Or even think of it this way: Like a car dealer buying a good car from an auction. Super reduced price. No one wanted the car. Then the dealer drives it to his lot. Marks it up $500. And sells it as is. Same process. 

I actually worked for some developers in Southern California years ago and watched them buy land, build strip malls, and lease out the space. Office buildings from ground up also. And hold. 

I've always loved this biz. I restarted and became an owner when joined up with partner in 2009. He's had this company since 1999. Just buying and selling land for ourselves. All cash. Never borrowed. Some residential/multi/commercial flips on the side - so familiar with other types. But nothing beats this. 

I can buy/sell/flip land SUPER easy all over the country. And I will double or triple my $ every time. How? We know how to find sellers and buy it right. 

@Thea Linkfield

Hey - I happen to own a real estate investment company. How can I help?

Sounds like you are in a good place and can hang out with your "day job" until you are ready to do this full time. I am a fan of keeping your day job until it no longer makes sense and you are losing $ by not doing this full-time. I have seen it happen in months, when done right.

Best way to start in my opinion? Investing in vacant land and growing from there. You can buy properties for as little as $150-500 and quickly flip for $1000-1500+ and go from there. I have properties purchase for $500 that sold for over $3,000.

You can be your own boss and learn to buy, market, and sell yourself.

You might find this is your thing and grow to buying larger acreage, sub-dividing properties, or something like that. Or you might just use this to learn the business and build your funds to buy rental properties. 

Once you start your niche usually finds you.

Happy to help! Jill

@Brian Stone

Sure Brian! Start out with an easy transaction, like vacant land, and pay cash. You can find properties for as little as $150-500 (for a full acre or more!) with access, in established areas, and pay cash. 

You will get to practice finding the property, buying, transferring ownership, marketing, selling, working with counties, etc. Get a few of those under your belt and grow to more or bigger properties. 

You do not need a license. It's like the old FSBO way. (For Sale By Owner) Since you paid cash, you can take your time learning and marketing.

Start with a $500 property. Easy to resell for double or triple - then repeat. 

Hope that helps! Jill

@Jason Rowlett

I believe that your niche will find you. I am a land investor/wholesaler and super comfortable buying and selling acreage all over the country, sight unseen. Thanks to things like internet and google earth it is easy and even my buyers don't visit before much of the time.

Starting with land is a great way to learn about real estate, transferring properties, building a portfolio, buyer's lists, etc. I now have other types of real estate in my portfolio but nothing beats the low start up costs and ease of completing these transactions. 

I pay cash and don't represent anyone so no license is needed. And since properties are paid for, no mortgages to sweat about if takes a few weeks to sell.

Hope that helps! Jill

@Steve Haight

Yes - we do have the BEST business model! 

I like what @Kenneth Sokshared. 

I too have been wholesaling properties for years and never had an issue. Most of the time I am purchasing the properties (cash) and then later re-selling to other investors or end-users. Great business model, don't need or want a RE license, and everyone is happy. 

Sure, there are more details to it, but not hard and not crazy. 

And if you have limited funds, start small with unimproved/vacant land that costs less than a $1,000 - market and sell for double or more, and build up your funds from there. 

Hope that helps! Jill

There is one NEW place to get the best data & cheapest mailer, period. 

Imagine this: being able to download a list of the precise properties, specify loan limits, improvements, and more - AND have the list in an easy to understand spreadsheet. It gets BETTER: You can reach them all via direct mail for less than the price of a stamp. 

Feel free to reach out to me for more info!

Jill

Direct mail is ABSOLUTELY the best way for realtors! That is the best way to get your phone ringing. Why drive around searching when you can reach thousands in a matter of hours? There are some great resources to help you get the acquire & scrub the data and get in the mail very inexpensively. 

And @Claire Trammellyou are 100% correct about being more personal (and you want to make your mailer very personal for best results). I have had folks hang on to my letters for YEARS before finally being ready to sell and then contacting me.

@Jeanette Dennis

Best way is through a direct mail campaign, targeting the exact type of properties that meet your criteria, and let the "ready" sellers reach out to you!

Have you narrowed down a county and property type yet? Once that is done you can get a list of the parties that own those properties and send them a specific letter with offers and they will call you. 

Great time of year to be doing this. There is more to it, but that is the overall idea.

Holler if I can help!

Jill