All Forum Posts by: Mark Sewell

Thanks guys.  I just don't have the contacts down there.  And I think having typed that, I've decided I should just stay clear and stick to areas I know.

@Brian Alfaro thanks for this -- I've heard this but wasn't sure.

You gotta meet the BP members in your area. These are the people that are actually out doing deals, and not just trying to raise money from you or sell you a course. I actually get a lot out of BP, just it happens at the local micro level and not really so much on the forums themselves.

Yes, you should have the cash needed to reinstate, plus reserves. Be fair to the seller, and be in a position to hold on to that house for a few months. I have some shrapnel sitting around in my SD IRA, earning nothing, and I keep telling myself I need to do something with it. This would be perfect. Let me know if you find something. There are 3-4 guys here on BP that I have met in real life that do these deals, and my advice would be to partner with somebody like them that has the team in place, and knows the process.

@Patrick LaGanke theoretically yes. But they don’t. And here is why:

You need to really make a ton of offers and turn over a lot of rocks, in this market especially, to find anything that might turn into a deal. The realtor knows this. And they also know that 95% of us just give up and quit eventually.

Now what they will do is include you in pocket listings. It won’t be right away. But sure, if they see you doing deals, or in my case, just not giving up, then they will send some your way. And this lady has done that.

So do you get prequalified somehow for the vendee program?  Or do you just go make an offer and see what happens?

Really just need to work on fixing credit and keep looking/talking to lenders.

Does anybody have any useful links/references when it comes to costing out a tear down?  I was thinking of buying some old 1930 house in a historic part of Brownsville and just having a demolition contractor pull permits, and remove the mess.  Then I could either build something new or sell to a builder/developer (assuming there are any).

My advice to anybody new is to find somebody doing what it is that you are wanting to do and get to know them.  So I guess I am wanting to reach to some somebody in TX, really anywhere in TX, that has any experience at all doing tear-downs.

@Jay Hinrichs please chime in and tell me 3-4 reasons why this might be a really bad idea. 

I am interested, but we all understand that organic leads for free are going to provide better leads for less money.  If that is the goal of the conversation, I will concede the point willingly.  I would just ask that you move that discussion to a fresh thread and I will support you there, you know that.

Now if you are going to figure out an effective way to target an audiences or create sequences for motivated sellers on FB, then I am listening with both ears.  Not too many people have gotten good at that, from what I am able to gather.

For anybody that is interested, please go look up John Martinez, find his YT channel, and look for a video called "Invisible Funnel".  It's all a function of taking a cold audience, showing them video, and gradually warming them up.  You essentially go wide, and narrow them down with each consecutive video you should them.  The guy essentially gives you a perfect how-to lesson for free.  

But you need to offer value, or nobody watches your stuff.  It is still going to require good content.

Originally posted by @Khang Pham:

@Brian Alfaro

Thank you for your suggestions. I did attend a few before. At these events I tend to feel very timid when it comes to speaking to individuals that are much older than I am. Part of me is afraid that I would say something stupid. However, I will get comfortable with it with more exposure.

I am absolutely going to be getting a realtor to help me on my first deal. Do you think it is uncommon for realtors to agree on signing a noncompete for only the deals that you see together and not by a 3-6 months term period?

Oh buddy, please - you cannot possibly say anything more stupid than me or the rest of us... we are all just learning.  Sure some investors are further ahead on the journey than you and than me, they just started reading the book earlier.  We cannot compare ourselves still reading chapter 2 to them reading chapter 33.  

Your attitude is good.  This will require doing some scary or at least uncomfortable things.  I did that one flip, it did NOT go well, and it was scary as hell.  Felt like it was trying to put my parachute on after I already had jumped out of the plane.  But still I managed, with some help.  And you will, too, I am sure.