All Forum Posts by: Barry Pekin

@Brandon Dorsey,

Skip tracing is the process of finding people or their contact information, which is what you need.  The question is, do you pay someone else to do it, or do you do it yourself.  If you're trying to get hundreds or thousands of people skip traced, unless you want to spend a LOT of time doing it, you should pay someone.  If you're doing only a few, you can do it yourself.  I like TruePeopleSearch.com for this, but sometimes I also rely on my old friend Google and maybe Facebook.  In these cases, your trading your time and effort for what you would have paid someone else to do.  Oh, and also, the professionals often have access to resources that you and I would not.

@Jesse Davis,

For skip tracing, I do it manually at TruePeopleSearch.com.  It's pretty reliable, and also gives you access to family members and other acquaintances.  I've found it's pretty accurate.

For something purchased so recently, there may be very little equity in it. I like to use PropStream for research. It will tell you the purchase price, what the mortgage was for, and an estimate for how much equity is in there. It also gives you a pretty good estimate for ARV which you can compare against sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. If there's little equity, you may need to look for other creative solutions like Subject To.

@David Reo,

I haven't read that, but I really should.  I've heard a lot of good things about it.

@David Reo,

Sounds like you're doing great!

As I work on building a business, I constantly look at three things.  Where am I spending most of my time?  What am I doing that I really don't like doing?  What isn't getting done that needs to get done?  This is where I look to outsource (or hire) and automate.  I do this on a regular basis.  As for what tools I use, it depends on what I'm trying to automate.  Sometimes I develop them myself (not the best use of my time, of course), or I do some research to see what the best solution is.

@Jesse Davis,

I'm guessing there's some damage to this house, huh?  Nice find!

I am pretty certain that this wonderful father and husband are going to be prevented from taking action on the house just yet.  Your best bet is to track down the wife and start building some rapport with her.  Come at this from a point of service and find out what her intentions are.  But seriously, be sensitive.  I'm guessing this was a pretty traumatic event for her and her son.  She may need some time. 

This is going to be complicated.  Definitely keep us posted.

@Lydia R.?

@David Reo,

Have you started?  The first step in growing your business is taking the first step and getting up to speed.  The above comments are good, but get some good experience under your belt, and then use that momentum to grow your business.

@John Christadore,

I have to agree with @Rickey Miller Jr in recommending, "If you can't wholesale after this... I've got nothing for you."  It's a very good explanation of the whole process and it's a pretty easy read.  I listened to it on Audible, and then got the print book so I could easily refer back to it.

You can, and should, also listen to some good podcasts, watch YouTube videos, and research here on BP.  In doing that, you can learn a lot of details spread out all over the process.  But I still feel you need a good start-to-finish roadmap to follow.

@Mike Mannello,

I believe the best ways to find deals are those ways that work best for YOU.  Every method takes some combination of time, effort, and money.  Not to mention, some may be more attractive to you than others.  So, to answer that question, what works best for you.  What are you willing to do?  Are you willing to pay for marketing, or do you prefer more work than money?

Pretty much no matter what you do, you need to be persistent and keep at it.  If something's working, keep doing it.  At that point, if you want to add something into the mix, make sure you're not overextending yourself and that you don't start to neglect what's working.

Hi @Gayle E.,

You should really search the question on here.  It's been asked and advice given over and over again.  I'm not saying, "Do your research before asking questions," but rather since this has been asked so many times you will get a LOT more than just what's posted in this thread.