All Forum Posts by: Jim Viens

Amen! Preach it! :) I actually came across a FSBO ad on Craigslist where the guy seriously thought his house was worth $79k because that's what the Zestimate was. It really wasn't worth $20k in the shape it was in and wouldn't have sold for more than $45-50k in the neighborhood in which it was located. He wouldn't even listen when I pointed him to that exact same information on the Zillow site. Ugh.

@David Krulac beat me to it, but yes...many places have minimum square footage requirements for a permanent residence. As far as @Jon Faulconer 's idea about using a trailer to "get around" the zoning regs, that may be fine for someone doing their own house but I personally would avoid "getting around" regulations as part of an investment model. Too many ways it could come back to bite you in the rear. Imagine having those 50 units and getting fined, say, $10k per unit AND having to demolish the units (which means refunding the purchase money or being sued for it.) Sounds extreme but with the government anything is possible...and I like to plan for all possibilities even if they seem extreme. So...long story short I'm guessing you'd be better off doing homes that meet the minimum square footage or maybe exploring the idea of a B&B-type thing like @Karen Margrave mentioned. On a side note, my wife and I just spent last weekend in Branson, MO at a B&B that was set up like that: 4 small 1br cabins. Very nice secluded setup in the woods. Quite relaxing!

Few questions. I see in your profile you've only really been at this a month or two. Have you used other kinds of marketing besides Adwords and bandit signs? If so, what? Have you tried direct mail? Door hangers? Is it possible to expand your market? Maybe do some marketing in Wilson? Or even stretch as far as Raleigh? (I know it's quite a drive but there's sure to be a good market there). Maybe hit up some of the good wholesalers here on BP and get some ideas from them. I know marketing is a long-term game. You have to expect some dry periods. Take those times to maybe change up your method and/or target market criteria. Just keep at it until something happens. You can do it!

It also helps to know what kind of systems you have in place to handle the leads that are generated. You don't want to be pulling in a hundred leads a day if you have no way of handling that amount of calls. I've currently got a marketing budget around $5k but I'm just starting out and plan on handling the leads on my own so I'm sending out 1000 direct mail pieces split up over several weeks. I should be able to handle the number of calls that generates on my own around my full-time day job. If I wanted to crank it up I would hire a VA (virtual assistant) to take the calls and qualify the leads for me. But I like the idea of screening the leads myself for now. Hope that helps and good luck!

Mostly experience, talking to other investors and/or talking to contractors. Maybe even get in good with a contractor or rehabber that's willing to walk through a few properties with you. Also...just got J Scott's book on estimating rehab costs. Has great info in it. 

Actually, after exhaustive research...Kansas is a closed state. There is a state law (Kansas Open Records: K.S.A. 45-230) that state, "No person shall knowingly sell, give or receive, for the purpose of selling or offering for sale, any property or service to persons listed therein, any list of names and addresses contained in or derived from public records … Any person subject to this section who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be liable for the payment of a civil penalty in an action brought by the attorney general or county or district attorney in a sum set by the court not to exceed $500 for each violation.") that makes it illegal to buy/sell information obtained from public records for marketing purposes. This being the case companies like Listsource, MelissaData, et al. avoid even offering this information in our state. What I'm doing is pulling the data manually from the county websites and compiling my own list (ok...I'm paying my 14-year-old daughter to do it.) Only basic information is available: Owner name, mailing address and date vested (when they bought it). If you pay a subscription site you can pull other docs (deed copies & mortgage copies) and run an amortization calculator to figure equity. Slow, painful process but it can be done.

I'm having a bit of a problem with my first direct-mail campaign. I'm in Kansas City, KS and am trying to get a mailing list together but it appears there is an issue due to a rather inconvenient Kansas law. My question is how are other wholesalers on the Kansas side marketing for motivated sellers? One other twist in this is that I work a full-time job so anything that involves going to the courthouse is not viable. I've also contacted the county codes office and they will not provide any code violation lists. All I've got so far is a list of about 100 properties I've accumulated through driving-for-dollars.

Your help is greatly appreciated, BP Nation!

Oh! And welcome to BiggerPockets @Account Closed ! :)

@Frankie Woods - That's exactly what I was thinking! :) 

I think part of the hang-up with the idea of "sales" is the stigma of the used-car salesman...someone pushy that seems to be forcing you into a decision you don't want to make. The kind of "salesmanship" that wholesaling requires involves active listening, picking up on verbal and non-verbal cues from the client and then helping them find a solution that works for them. The only personality you need is one that lets the client know you have their interests in mind and are looking out for them as well as yourself. And let that mindset carry through all your transactions from beginning to end. Yeah, you're going to make a profit off the deal, but you're also getting the monkey off the seller's back and providing value to the buyer. I heard someone say somewhere here on BP (may have been Dev Horn) that you're not a wholesaler...you're a "Real Estate Solution Provider". :)