All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Greene

@Billy Smith I know that whenever I get too comfortable with anyone, they are in turn way too comfortable with me, and either the prices somehow rise or their response time is longer. It makes no sense. We always have to have a backup at every position because all relationships in REI usually run their course if you are doing a lot of deals.

@Seth Mceleney My feelings? Ok, bro. You weren't simply saying anything, you were talking a big game without having any experience. I read that post and it's the quickest way to end your career or get in trouble with licensing or eventually get arrested. Not understanding the process of wholesaling is the biggest error in most people's business plan, including this one. Anyone who goes into a seller's house and says I have no money, but I can find you a buyer and for that I am going to get paid, is not using the correct value proposition to close and become a good wholesaler. A good wholesaler already has a buyer's list, knows who wants what types of properties, and has backing in case he needs to close the deal him or herself. If you do your first deal, tell them you have nothing and will find a buyer, and then don't, what's your reputation? Moreso, what is your value in the process?

If you read the OP and then the ridiculous statement that he hasn't started building a buyer's list because he wanted to get a property, it's amateur. If you and the OP want to learn (and not get in immediate hot water following ludicrous advice), you have to build a personal value proposition that is part of the pitch. If you have no money to close a deal, no rational seller wants to sign something with you in the hopes that you find a buyer and if you don't, it's cancelled. Just think about that. Why would they do that? If your answer is because they are desperate, you aren't looking to build a career in this, you are looking to take advantage.

Grow up, stop acting like a frat kid looking to crack jokes and get two high fives, read the real advice, and build a business plan around your business. And get backing. You can't be a good wholesaler if you can never close the deal yourself (with backing or a partner if you are broke). Your reputation will be done in a second.

@Matthew Barnett You definitely need a website these days, but don't think you need it just to start spamming people with ads and lead pages. Your website, especially when you are starting out, lends credibility. If you hand someone your card, what's the first they are going to do? Call you or look you up? You want them to be impressed with your website so I would not just toss one together. Wix is ok, but has very little functionality for the business, but you can create something for low cost that looks good. I created mine on Squarespace, but I wouldn't call it easy if you've never done it. You just want a hub for your business so that if people look you up, they get a point of verification.

When I have one property in any area, I always start with a trusted handyman. You want a person who can fix almost anything and can be available with little notice. If you tell them that your plan is to grow to more properties (if that really is the plan), there is an incentive that could scale up. We've had handymen move over to full-time property management and have never used a company to do PM.

@Seth Mceleney maybe you should take a peek at my profile. Wholesalers who do not ever have money to close a deal (or a verified backer who will) will never succeed. Sure, when you get started you have less money, but you can't go in as a value play talking about wholesaling. I'm not sure if you understand wholesaling since the pitch is that you are buying their house, however, you may offsell to a verified buyer because you have so many deals, you can't do them all.

If you go in as a wholesaler with the pitch to a seller that you just want to put it under contract to give to someone else and you don't have any money of your own, you will NEVER close a deal as a wholesaler. Grow up and learn about how it really works instead of trying to Bro down in the comments. You are embarrassing yourself.

Read my comments, which were of course never responded to, because they were too real. What is the pitch? What is the value add? Can't wait for you guys to get some lessons in the real world instead of playing armchair calculator quarterback.

It's very market dependent and based on comparable sales in your area that match the BR, BA, amenities, and general area as your target property. Other factors that play a role in how low you can or should offer are:

- days on market (the longer the property has been on the market, the more likely a lower offer will be considered)

- if it's a short sale or REO or a straight market listing. There will be less wiggle room in the beginning for short sales and REO properties as the final price comes from the bank.

- feedback from your agent after talking to the listing agent about how firm they are on price (the listing agent cannot make comments that run against the seller's best wishes, but often times your agent can get a general idea if they think they listed too high or if it's just right)

With that said, there really is not a too low offer as long as you have reasons to back it up. No buyer's agent wants to write up lowballs without reasoning and if that is all someone does, agents will catch on and not expect much.

Have your agent send you all relevant comparable sales in the past year with the same bedrooms and bathroom and general amentities within a half mile to a mile of the subject property and compare what they sold for and their condition with what you want to offer and see how it shakes out.

Why would anyone sell their house to you if you can't close on the deal if you don't find a third party? From your post, you have no money, no buyers, and no real-life REI experience so what is your value proposition in the letters to distressed homeowners?

There are several other issues with the structure, most that would be an issue for the brokerages involved. All commission and bonuses run through the brokerage and are subject to your split. The real question is why would someone do this? Any time you are trying to create scenarios to help yourself get property at a discount by using your license as a conduit, legal issues will arise. The mortgage company would never be on board with this and neither would the title company or the other brokerage.

@Matt Pine Your mobility is the key here because you can go anywhere and learn about the market. I would pick a place where you guys are interested in sticking around for a while and go there, learn the town dynamics, go to some local REI groups and meet some other investors, and then slowly find one property to work on and learn from. Too many new investors who have the capital go in too big to start on multiple properties or a big flip, but it doesn't usually go well because there are so many things that go wrong. Turnkey is an option, but it's low profit and no learning, soft passive income. If you want to learn to do REI, you are in a great spot to do it because you have a capital and mobility.

@Benjamin Greene you should definitely ask for a supervisor if they can't resolve it with your loan officer. It should not have gotten that far when you disclosed the car loan on the initial application. You want to try to force them to close the loan so you don't have to dump the car. Super frustrating.