All Forum Posts by: Brendan D.

check with your local REIA for some full time "in the trenches" investors who are familiar with your area. there's a listing on this site of real estate investor clubs.

i mainly use USPS.COM the printing and mailing comes to around .30 per postcard. i upload my list and the postcard, set the date i want it to go out and PRESTO. off it goes.............

i iknow of a couple investors who are members of those sites. i thought about it, but didn't when they couldn't tell me how many leads came in per month on avg.

i like being in control of my own marketing and once u have it going consistently the phone will ring. the other leads are icing on the cake

starting out i used an answering service called ding-a-ling. LOL, seriously, that's their name for real. they provided me with a toll free number, however i got my own in case i wanted to move to another service. they're 24.7 and while with them they were good. i used to test them periodically to see how long it took them to pick up, how courteous they were, and if they followed the script. my bill would avg. 50-75/mo depending on minutes used.
there are tons of answering services out there, it's just a matter of finding one that fits your preferences.

i've gotten calls with business cards. i use either yellow and black or orange and black and there's copy all over them. it's a benefit rich card with my toll free number on it and the type of properties i'm looking for, the fact i can move quickly and with a call to action. i drop them at gas stations, pawn shops, bookstores, home depot, pretty much wherever I find myself at any given moment in time. it's a low cost way to get deals.

my other favorite way bandit signs. in my area i don't do light poles i use the wooden stakes and place them in high traffic areas. i put up multiple signs in an intersection that way it makes it easier to remember the number and i also put them at the next intersection following the direction of traffic so they see the sign multiple times.
check with the statutes in your area to be sure you don't run afoul of the law.

first i'd say focus. pick one thing and learn it. either fix and flip or foreclosures, whichever one, pick that technique, get comfortable with it, then move to the next deal. once you're well versed in that, pick up another technique to control property.

with that being said, the most important skill you can have starting out is getting motivated sellers to call you. all the money and credit lines in the world do know good without a steady stream of leads coming in.

at 21 i definitely wouldn't be looking for rentals, i'd find a way to make money right where i am. do u know of any local REIA groups? go there and see what other investors are buying and locate deals for them.....
doing your first deal out of state so far away can be tricky without a good team in place. it's not impossible though. cris chico buys out of state all the time. do u know anyone in texas that u trust to give u accurate values and a good assessment of the market?

oh well LOL!
in alot of cases banks lent too much on the houses anyway. the market wasn't there to support the value, it was all emotions (at least in my area)

as an investor i'm not going to bail the bank out of their bad deal by paying too much for it either. IMO their best bet is to cut their losses and move on............
but that's too much like right. either way they'll learn when the new buyer either can't close or it's sat so long that buyers have other choices due to the excess inventory out there. i have no sympathy for banks nowadays.

he comes across to me as a grumpy old man. ive read his reviews and while some are dead on accurate, others are way off base. some of the people he's panned are actually legitimately good investors.

I get all my signs from supercheapsigns. I've been ordering from them for 3 years and have been pleased.