All Forum Posts by: Julie Clark

@Joel Colvos  Welcome to BP!  You are in the right place for sure.  Do you need contractor advice or property management advice for your current snags?

@Drew Clements A great resource to follow if you use Podio is to join the Facebook group:    Real Estate Podio Automation HQ

I may not have answered your question, but check it out.  You can ask questions or review the threads in there.  You can also buy Joe McCall's podio set up (I think). 

Good luck!  Podio is the BEST.  I would not be in business without it.

@Ben Roberts  I love your question. It's a good one.  I am a full-time wholesaler in Seattle, WA.  The #1 key to success is volume of leads and your ability to convert them to deals, or none of the other stuff even matters.  Spend some of your up front education time learning how to effectively speak to sellers rather than focus all on the real estate part. Also focus on just getting a deal (lead) and the rest will fall into place.  If you get a good deal, everyone will be here to help & guide you on the next steps.  If you get nervous when you speak to a seller just do the best you can and say you will review with "your investment team" and get back in touch within 24 hours with an offer.  Then throw out your questions to the BP universe and to your local investment club network and you will get answers/help on how to proceed.  Here's what I would do with $1000.

• Create a Property Radar account so you can pull lists for direct mail ($50)
• Buy some Post It notes / drive for dollars and door knock or leave a post it note, also track those addresses to send direct mail  ($50)
• Create a Podio account to manage your leads and do follow up - Free basic acct?
• Get a phone number to use off Vumber or elsewhere / don't use personal # (cheap)
• Buy some bandit signs ($100) - time block and put them out
• Buy some direct mail supplies: paper, envelopes, stamps $150
• Spend the rest on direct mail postcards (go for volume)  Check out yellowletters.com or other services to do it for you.  Get it done efficiently and out the door.
• Spend the monthly cash flow you can afford on more direct mail that you pay someone else to send out.  Don't over think this, just do it consistently
• Spend your free time door knocking, putting out bandits and sending out direct mail letters your write and mail out yourself
• Pick 2 or 3 local investment club meet ups and go to them consistently. 
• Find a successful lease option investor in your local market and network with them so they can teach you that investment strategy as well.

Other Tips:

• Be yourself.  If you are a nice, genuine person, just speak that way to others and be patient with Sellers.  Don't just scratch the surface in finding out what the Seller's wants & needs & hold backs are.  Go deeper if you can as this will be your road map on how to make an offer they will accept and how to compete against other offers.
• Hand write and mail out direct mail letters to the driving for dollars or balance of names on your list that you pulled 
• Learn creative financing strategies from guru's like Joe McCall so you can identify different deal structures and have a solution for every lead type that contacts you.
• Don't set your expectations low on your wholesaling fees to start.  Find out what the top wholesalers in your market are getting and set your expectations at no less.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for a successful 2016!

Welcome Mate!  Nice to have another fellow Seattle area investor.

Welcome @Cameron Brooks!  You are going to LOVE wholesaling.  I am super excited for you.  I am a full-time wholesaler with a 5 person team.  One tip, start networking and find people you connect with personally that you want to work with.  As you scale your wholesaling business you will need a team.  There is no way to handle it on your own....if you are doing things right and generating tons of leads.  The most important things you can be doing right now are time blocking for 1) education - learn as much as you can, but time block it each day so it leaves time for you to 2) focus/practice on finding deals, doing direct marketing, bandit signs (inexpensive), try to talk to 5 - 10 new leads a day  3) networking weekly...forever.  The best education aside from the local meetups, BP and stuff like that is just to start TALKING to Sellers, get comfortable, practice.  Don't worry about a cool website or anything else like that right now.  Get your marketing plans down, get marketing done everyday and just call me or someone else in the group if you get a motivated seller on the hook.  We'll talk you through the rest!  

As a wholesaler you will need to get real good as knowing how to comp (ARV) properties and have a solid understanding of repair costs, be good at running numbers. Contact me any time & have fun!

@Brian Fouts  Thanks Brian!  Where should I send your check...?  Haaa! Seriously, thanks for the nice comment.  Back at ya!  

Hi John,

Some inexpensive idea to get you kick started...

1) Door knocking - commit to knocking as many doors per day as you can handle

2) Bandit signs - bring them with you when you go door knocking...put them out

3) Put as much money as you can towards direct mail 

4) Tell everyone in your world what you do, that you are looking or homes to buy = network

Once you get a deal, beef up your direct mail.  Track you metrics closely & NEVER GIVE UP!  You got this...Have fun!

@Alex Chin  I REALLY appreciate the referrals and will make those connections for sure, thank you!.  I know Brian Fouts really well, he's one of my peeps!  Actually Brian just presented the topic at the Nov Seattle Investors Club meeting and crushed it on Seller Financing & Lease Options.  I also listed his last flip for him and he crushed it there too.

I look forward to meeting you in person at the next BP meet up and will get your buying criteria to see if I can find a sweet rental deal for you.  Happy Post Turkey Day!

@Min Qiu Cool (and thanks)!  I look forward to seeing you guys soon.  Feel free to call me anytime if I can help you with anything.  

Hi Jessica,

I also just joined BP and received a fantastic welcome, so WELCOME!  One idea that you can try that won't cost you any money to generate duplex leads (other than your time = money) is to call on rental ads where one of the units is vacant and being advertised.  Ask the landlord if they would consider selling.  Just make a habit of doing it, keep their contact info, property address and rental amount they were asking in a database and call them every 4 to 6 months to let them know you are still interested.  You can also pull the landlords mailing address off the property tax records and send them a letter on a follow up schedule.  Follow up on leads after the first touch is key to success in real estate investing.  Be sure to ask them when the other unit lease is expiring as that might be a great time to call that landlord again - 30 to 45 days before that other lease expires.

I'm in Seattle too.  If you need help after getting a "yes", feel free to contact me and I am happy to look over the deal with you for a second opinion or whatever you need!