All Forum Posts by: Max Yuan

@Jerryll Noorden we are fundamentally addressing different types of the sales motion with different supporting infrastructure/technology. We can absolutely agree to disagree on certain aspects of the business because end of the day, there are many ways to create value and help others achieve there goals.

I actually create a post in the technology section called AI in Real Estate - What's Hype? What's Real. Definitely take a look. But the TLDR is that AI is a tool, not a miracle worker. If a task can't be done manually, AI likely won't solve it either. AI's strength lies in automating defined, albeit tedious, processes.

If you don't believe in lead generation, no amount of AI will help make it better. But if you have a existing process involving VAs and scrapers that works for you, the process can suddenly become a lot easier and cheaper. Just like for building page ranking, instead of writing articles from scratch, all of a sudden you can create content a lot faster.

Innovations in AI is not just happening in RE, it is in every other vertical marketing, sales and I'm glad you also recognize the value. Definitely open to hearing your thoughts on how you think AI tools can be used to super charge your process.

@Jerryll Noorden I've came across your very strong opinion multiples times. Realistically people have built successful businesses around lead generation just like people have built successful businesses around SEO, bill boards or driving for dollars.

Your focus is on inbound, probably fewer leads but clearly motivated. Others focus on outbound, a lot more (albeit) weaker leads with inferred motivation. That is how correlation works. There is nothing wrong with closing 1 deal every 3000 leads, there are tools meant to speed up that process. I know guy that go through 800 a day, and honestly closing a deal every 4 days doesn't sound bad to me.

I've been delving into Real Estate focused AI tools, drawing from my experience in Machine Learning research at UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Apple, and I thought it'd be helpful to share some insights.

Understanding AI-Generated Text - Technologies like Chat GPT generate human-like text by predicting the next word in a sequence. However, this process can create convincing yet factually incorrect information due to its probabilistic nature. This unpredictability, while fostering diverse ideas, demands careful management.

Some applications in Real Estate - 1) Lead Qualification: AI can manage initial text-based interactions with potential leads, streamlining the qualification process. 2) Data Processing and Analysis: AI enhances data-heavy tasks like lead generation. 3) Deal Evaluation and Underwriting: AI aids in analyzing financial statements for preliminary assessments.

AI: A Tool, Not a Cure-all - It's crucial to understand that AI is a tool, not a miracle worker. If a task can't be done manually, AI likely won't solve it either. AI's strength lies in automating defined, albeit tedious, processes. For instance, when processing owner names in tax delinquencies, I use AI to automatically segregate names into distinct fields, such as in "HERBERT W. & ESTHER F. GORDEN", identifying first, middle, and last names for each owner.

AI in Daily Life - The auto-suggest on smartphones, a basic form of AI, is so integrated into our routine that its AI nature often goes unnoticed. The term 'AI-powered' has become a buzzword, signifying enhanced performance or additional features. Understanding AI's true capabilities allows for informed decisions, leveraging its benefits while staying realistic about its applications.

Ultimately, AI tools are emerging across all industries, not just real estate. Those who effectively utilize AI will undoubtedly gain a significant edge. It all boils down to discerning the genuine value amidst the hype. Are you using any AI tools today? If so, how do they enhance your workflow, or if not, what's holding you back?

Although wholesaling is always a numbers game, there are things you can do to improve your chances. Sharing the same data source as everyone else means the lead is more likely to be saturated already.

Finding unique data sources or just being on top of publicly available information could do wonders.

@Joe Homs @Chris Seveney @Matthew Morrow, I'm the founder of GoliathData, a platform that uses AI for lead generation so I feel uniquely qualified to give my $0.02. - The benefit of AI comes down to the ability to automate proven processes.

For example, everyone is targeting the same probate / preforeclosure leads, so how do you get an advantage? You can have a tool that monitors the same data sources as you do today, but use the newest techniques in engineering to automatically extract names, addresses and cross reference that information with county databases before streaming that information to your CRM. Likely finishing the process before anyone else has the chance to even see the original data source, giving your the first mover advantage.

There is a lot of hype around AI and I have seen my fair share of BS. But AI powered tools is a mega-trend and those who use it to their advantage and knows its limitations will have a huge leg up on everyone else. End of the day, RE is a relationship game, the tools are just there to help you focus on building relationships more efficiently.

Like the title says. You have to invest to get results, but how much is that investment for you? And how are the results?

@Don Konipol I think you bring a really good point. End of the day closing deals is what matters. My expertise really is in data pipelines and I'm trying to apply it in field of RE.

I think we can agree finding good quality off-market leads is not easy. Even with PropStream and PropertyRadar, I'm usually not the first to reach out upon seeing the lead. As a result, I actually created my own frankenstein of an automation pipeline combining public notices, county data and skip tracing so I can get the leads directly from the source and act on them as soon as they are available. Now I am realizing there are too many of them for me to personally execute on, but I also hate the idea of wasted opportunities.

How does an experienced investors actually scale their operations besides just hiring VAs? Does anyone have any experience partnering with different RE teams local to the lead? How are those deals / incentives usually structured?

Thanks in advance!

@Kerry Noble Jr what does your workflow look like? Do you use VAs to get the leads from the notices / code violations or do you manually put it into CRMs or some other tool? 

Oh totally that makes a lot of sense