All Forum Posts by: Joshua Martin

Hey gang,

  I've seen a lot of these posts where people aspire to document their progress on a campaign or flip or deal, and then all of a sudden they disappear off the site and leave you wondering what the hell happened. It is my goal to counter that tendency and document a somewhat small direct mail campaign for the next six months with updates as they seem warranted, whatever happens.

 After so many months of reading, studying, and flip flopping on where to start, I decided wholesaling would be my jumping off point just to build some capital in order to buy and hold and hopefully rehab properties. 

 And having listened to so many podcasts, read so many blogs, and having come to understand that almost all of the successful people (with a few exceptions) do their own marketing, this is where I decided to put my accumulated wealth of $3,500 (which took me about 4-5 months to save - I don't make a lot).

 So where's it going? Well, I have three lists, basically.

1.) 500 absentee owners 50% or more equity, last recording date six years or more, 1-4 family, in or out of state.

2.) 500 owner occupants, 50% or more equity, SFRs, last recording date six years or more, age 55+. (This is more or less the list @Michael Quarles is awesome, and got me to take the leap. Thanks BP. You guys are the best.

  Follow or comment if you like. Though there really aren't any direct questions, experienced marketing advice is always appreciated.

Best,

JTM

Hey Janet, 

 I know most wholesalers avoid 'conventional' buyers for two reasons: 1, the closing can take far too long if you have a property under contract for only 30 days, and 2, if the property is distressed, most lenders will not want to secure a loan against a distressed property. 

  That said, if they want to buy your property on day one of your contract, and it's not too distressed, you might be able to make it work. Just make sure you get a non-refundable earnest money deposit so that they're not wasting your time. My guess is that if they're using traditional financing they haven't been at this too long.

Hope that helps a bit, 

Best of luck,

JTM

@Cedric Moore

Congrats man! Way to go!

But if you don't mind me asking, what is your strategy for determining if they have equity? Most recent sale date on the assessor's website?

Thanks.

JTM

@Jason Robles

  Hey man,

I had to jump in just because I'm doing almost the same thing in Milwaukee -- so you are not hearing from an as yet successful direct mail marketer.

I'm mailing similar numbers, 500 absentee w/ equity, 500 owner occupied w/ equity, and also logging probates on my own and mailing those. Mine are in the mail presently. As I'm sure you've read, the goal is to see it through. Responses jump after the 4th, 5th, 6th, and maybe 7th mailing. It's all about touches and all about consistency. I believe that just based on everything I've also studied about marketing, and why I decided to use my small saving of $3,500 to take the plunge. If one deal falls out of it, we'll be fine.

 I wouldn't be surprised you're not getting calls yet. Think about it, a postcard. That'll go right in the trash. But if they see your logo on it every time, those that may become motivated will hopefully have you on their mind; or perhaps somebody is just putting them in a drawer. We just don't know, nobody does, but we're jumping in.

As far as Phoenix, I know it's crazy competitive, so you might defer to the other poster and change up strategy. But either way, you're learning what works and what doesn't. Just stay on it, and get the snowball rolling.

Best of luck,

 And please keep us updated on this thread, I want to see how this turns out for you!

JTM

@Jeff Copeland

 Just wanted to say thanks for the very thorough response, and I think for the present I'll just continue mailing my leads and hold off on the short sale bit. Just trying to find a first deal in a 'traditional' cash transaction. Mailing probate, absentee, and owners with equity. Down the road I feel like I'll be able to handle this more advanced stuff.

But thanks again for all the input, I really appreciate it.

Best,

JTM

Thanks for the guidance @Steve Vaughan.

  If I could just ask for one clarification: about checking the equity. I have heard others say they do this as well, but how exactly do you glean this information from the assessor's site alone? Is it an estimate based on date of conveyance and recording? Or are you buying an equity list and then scrubbing your pre-foreclosure list to determine who you're going to mail?

 Thanks again.

JTM

Hey gang,

  It seems that I post most threads under this forum, simply because I know who follows it and who's going to respond ;) Thanks in advance.

  So this question has two parts, or two angles. 

  The general picture is that I assume we are knocking on doors where the house is pending foreclosure? I think that's right, but I don't know if there are other types of properties (aside from the really distressed ones that might be worth inquiring about) where this strategy is used.

But, in researching this a bit, with the intention of wholesaling properties to build some cash, I find that there's a lot of debate over whether you can actually wholesale pre-foreclosures once the NOD has been issued, or the NOS. With respect to this, should I just call a title company and attorney for a little insight? Or does anyone have more particulars?

  Secondly, if you do approach these people and happen to find a motivated seller, and wholesaling is a problem, is transactional funding necessary? Meaning I have to buy the property outright before assigning/selling it to an investor? Even if only for a few hours?

  And lastly, as I've seen on several threads and been told in person, everyone says that more often than not these turn out to be short sales, so I'm wondering if that is one of the primary strategies when approaching these distressed sellers.

  The other 'general' part of the question relates to mailing pre-foreclosure lists. I assume you are mailing the exact same people, while for people with little money door knocking may be more efficient, but, again, is the strategy short sales or sub 2s?

  I hope that's clear enough to begin with. I'm motivated enough to do it, and think getting over the fear of doing it would be really worth while, I'm just not sure what strategy I should have going into these situations. As I've seen elsewhere, and some wholesale hater is likely to point out, I don't want to tie up the property the last month before foreclosure and give the seller no other options. 

  In any case, my study has still left these holes, so just looking for insight.

Thanks all,

JTM

Welcome to BP! Just dive into the site and you'll find answers. Or what I do: when I have a question, first google the question with 'bigger pockets' attached to it, there is tons and tons of information on here. Best of luck! JTM

I'd probably start with A Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing.

I would say it sounds like a bad idea, but I'll qualify that. 

In Milwaukee you have a world of difference between two blocks, sometimes even the very next street, and while you might be able to find a dirt cheap property on that run down street, it would not be fair to comp it with the others, because anyone considering purchasing a home in the area will know which are the better and worse streets to live on. Comp with as close of houses (in terms of proximity and housing stock) that you possibly can. 

That said, I'm sure there are investors that invest in war zones (although it's not clear to me that's the kind of area you're talking about), but I don't really know any here, and it's not a market I want to work. As they say, the deals in D areas are easy to find and hard to sell, and in A areas, hard to find and easy to sell. 

Hope that helped,

JTM