@Raquel Pea,
There are always some motivated sellers, but as you know, West Oakland is not very large, and there is a lot of attention there. The physical boundaries and low density physically limit the number of dwellings in the neighborhood, and even a few people could blanket this area in mailers. The most successful have door knockers in the neighborhood, often of similar demographics, to fish out deals. This was a pretty good wholesale deal from West Oakland, although it's from a bit back:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3039-Chestnut-St-Oakland-CA-94608/24740050_zpid/
It came from another BP member who had someone knocking on doors. Harder to find now, but with some West Oakland properties selling at $400-500+ sq ft, the market has changed so fast that even paying last year's market price could net you something creeping close to 6 figures on a deal. But a lot of people have been creeping into North Oakland, Temescal, the hills, etc, because there is just so much more inventory to pick from (relatively speaking), and still hot markets..
I own in West Oakland & East Oakland and have furnished rentals by Lake Merritt and North Oakland just west of Temescal. So I love Oakland! And Oakland loves me! lol Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff...
Raquel, @Jake Knight, @Ofer Dallal, here's the link to @Juan Diaz' meetup in Oakland:
http://www.meetup.com/The-Foreclosure-investor-tour/
You should definitely check it out. He usually does them at one of his flips, and always has quite a few going at a time. He's doing excavations, building new construction, rehabbing, you name it. Someone who's definitely getting it done! Usually on Saturday mornings.
A whole bunch of us are getting together for a big Summit in late August in Oakland also, if you all want to come check it out. It's gonna be a blast! And you can come hear @Jay Hinrichs share about Oakland in person ;)
I think seeing what other people are doing and meeting other investors and getting ideas is invaluable. But specifically to your question about marketing to motivated sellers vs becoming an agent.. Let me give you my 2 cents about what happened to me..
I was going to become an agent during the downturn to build up some cash, but realized there were so many deals available at the time - that I should spend all my time analyzing, buying, fixing, and holding whatever I could - then go get my agent's license when I did not have this unique timing/opportunity to buy up deals. So that's what happened. I didn't get my agent's license, and glad I didn't. Because I might have missed out on those deals that now support my lifestyle.
A few weeks ago, I finally signed up for the class and ordered the books. Because I don't have a bunch of unique timing/opportunities and deals to do. This, at least, is how I weighed my time and timing when considering deals vs getting an agents' license. There is much more to it. But just one person's story.. What is the best use of your time at this part of the cycle, and how will it set you up for opportunity down the road..?
