All Forum Posts by: Matt Morgan

If you're only looking to use your license for your personal use, I would recommend going with a "100%" commission broker. The split commission brokers offer "training" or "mentorship" which is why they take more of your money. Doesn't sound like you really need that.

As far as associations go, if you want to be a Realtor, you would join a local real estate association. Again, not necessary. 

I'm sure you were pitched by at least a few "100%" brokers during your classes, but a few I know are: WestUSA, HomeSmart, Myhomegroup, etc.

 Nice job man. Make sure to spread your mailers out on a weekly basis so you're not overwhelmed with phone calls. Also, mail consistently for at least 6 months and stay on top of your follow up. 

I was referred to Michael Plum from Mehran and also had good results with him.

You need to find a different lender if they're not calculating the property's potential rental income into your DTI calculations. Most portfolio lenders will do this and I know for a fact www.aimloan.com (A national lender) will do this for you.

If the house is worth buying, the potential rental income (@ 75%)  should at the very least cover the mortgage payment.. In most cases, it will lower it. 

As far as other methods to lower your DTI, I've had success taking my insurance/taxes out of the escrow account to lower my monthly payments. Some lenders will accept this, other won't.

When searching for a mortgage, it's best to present your situation to a mortgage banker over the phone and see if they think it's feasible. Any loan officer worth his or her salt will be able say within a certain degree of certainty whether or not it will work. This prevents you from having to fill out multiple applications and have your credit pulled unnecessarily. 

Yesterday I went to view a property I found through direct mail and there were 2 other wholesalers looking by the time I got there. 

Sellers are smart and call every piece of direct mail they receive to see what the best offer than can get is.

As far as the OP's question goes: Rapport is definitely big. Present yourself as a serious, honest investor and if the seller likes and trusts you, price may become less of an issue. Find out what the other offers are and if they're higher than you can pay, make a point to address the other investors and inform the seller than although someone may be offering more, there is a good probability that they will waste your time and not be able to close. Follow up with your track record and your ability to close in 10 business days or less.

Also, having a good number of cash buyer's who you know will pay top dollar will allow you to pay more for a property when price IS the only issue.

I will echo what some others are saying regarding your letter looking fairly typical. I think that whether or not you will see results with that mail piece is largely dependent upon your market.

I've been mailing 1000 letters a month for the last 5 months to Phoenix and Milwaukee. Both are similar yellow letters to what you're using. In Phoenix, my response rate is between .5 - 1% and in Milwaukee it's above 3%. 

The sellers I'm mailing to in Phoenix are getting bombarded with multiple letters per DAY. In Milwaukee, I'm typically the only one mailing to my addresses. 

I think there's a better chance than not that your market is much more saturated than you think. Wholesaling is a fad and everyone is doing it. If your sellers are receiving multiple letters in any given month, I've come to the conclusion that it's very important to not only send unique mailers, but also to brand yourself. Sellers in Phoenix are savvy and suspicious so being able to convey a sense of seriousness and experience behind your message is KEY. If you're sending the same generic letter as every other Joe Schmoe, it's not going to be taken seriously and it's going to get tossed. 

I say do some split testing right off the bat. Pick a few different mailers/messages/envelopes. Come up with a logo. Brand some, not others. Track your resonse rates from each and then you should be able to pin down how sellers in your area response to marketing.

Good luck!

Welcome to the site man. I currently wholesale in Milwaukee so feel free to reach out if you need any help.

Welcome to the site man. How's the market up there?

Hey @Bill Karwacki, these properties are all currently under contract. I'll let you know if something changes, thanks

If you're investing for cashflow, I would recommend sticking to the northwest part of Milwaukee. The numbers work out much better there - lower taxes, higher rents, lower purchase prices. (As a general rule of thumb)