All Forum Posts by: P.J. Bremner

@John Chapman, @John Thedford, @Jay Hinrichs

I've really enjoyed all of your comments and insights.  Taking everything said into consideration, here is my plan of action moving forward:

- Drive for dollars, direct mail, etc. to get lead flow going

- Contract with sellers ONLY IF one of the following is true:

1) I plan to purchase the property for my business and have the funding lined up already

2) I plan to partner with another investor to purchase the property and financing is already secured

3) I plan to sell the contract to another investor who has looked over the deal prior to contracting and ready to go

- The seller will be informed of each of these possibilities and each option is explored in depth so as to clear any confusion and answer and questions or doubts.  I think it is also important to weigh with the client the difference between listing with an agent (which I am and can do for them) and doing it off-market and allowing them to decide which is best for them.

- If an agreement is reached, I will put MY OWN MONEY as an earnest money deposit for the deal, knowing fully well that if the deal falls through then the loss is an acceptable business risk and the seller is compensated fairly for it

Please let me know if you think this would be an acceptable Wholesaling/Flipping business strategy moving forward.  My goal is not to make a few thousand dollars on random deals here and there.  My goal is to build a self-sustaining business that generates it's own leads.  I know very well how important reputation is (especially in such a small business like real estate where even in big cities, there are only a handful of big players).

@Simon Ghandil said it perfectly: "It may take years to build a good reputation, but only seconds to destroy it."

@Benjamin Barredo

I think what @John Thedford was trying to say is that he is sick of people making a mockery of this business.  I can certainly understand his frustration (I don't understand the wholesaling part, but in the industry I worked in it was very similar).  I was less trying to point someone out for being a bully and more trying to understand everyone's point of view.  I think we all can take away valuable lessons if we don't just point fingers and look at the reason why someone is complaining and learn from it.  C'AINT WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?! lol :)

@Shaq Jones

It is a fact that humans are incredible at recognizing patterns.  The fact is, most humans display specific patterns and to ignore those patterns would be foolish in my opinion.  That's not to say that a stereotype is definitive, but it does allow us to be prepared for what is MOST LIKELY to come next.  If you are in the business and see 90% of a select group act a certain way, then it would be unwise to approach them without that pretext.  That being said, what I was trying to figure out is WHAT EXACTLY is behind the stereotype of a wholesaler that screws everything up so that I can run my business successfully and NOT fall into the same trap.  Please don't get me wrong, not all stereotypes are a good thing nor are they fair.  But in the best interest of self-improvement, I think it's wise to identify and avoid the bad characteristics.  You actually reinforced one of my points that I was trying to make in my post, that not every wholesaler is bad.

@John Chapman

That is great feedback.  Can you link the post of the wholesale deal gone wrong please?  I am very interested in seeing those "worst case scenarios" and how to avoid them.

Also, what the wholesaler approaches the client differently?  For example, say I have 2 flips going and the leads keep coming in.  It would give me nightmares to throw those leads away! LOL but what if I were to approach the client from a different angle, saying that I currently cannot handle another project, but would still like to help out if possible and structure the deal from the start saying that you will try to find an end buyer through your network of investors?  I guess the biggest take-away I am starting to gleen from all of these experienced investors chiming in with negativity (I don't mean this in a bad way!!) is the anyone who wishes to step into the wholesaling arena needs to be 100% transparent about what they are TRYING to do.  Am I getting warmer? :)

@Jay Hinrichs

Okay, so if I understood you correctly, it's not wholesaling that you find disagreeable, but the vast majority of the people who partake?  So assuming someone is well funded or well connected and can actually move the deal along to help the seller out of a sticky situation, you are okay with that?  I ask because I am not new to sales or investing, but definitely not a veteran of the real estate sales side of things.  As an broker, I know that your knowledge of the industry is worth more than any of these retarded guru courses and I greatly appreciate you giving your two cents.

My last question is this: do you think there are situations where a retail sales deal may not make sense for the seller, but a wholesaler does? For example, someone inherits an uninhabitable house. They are too embarrassed to have viewings, post it on the MLS etc. so they go for an off-market deal. Would that qualify as a legit wholesale opportunity? Or do you have a scenario in mind that would work?

@Jay Hinrichs

That is a great point you bring up about people who "flame out".  As a real estate broker, I'm sure you see the exact same thing with real estate agents.  And loan officers.  And (insert any job title that takes sales skills).  I've got plenty of managerial experience to know that sales skill based jobs have an incredibly high turnover.  I  can only imagine that wholesalers are in the same boat (if not more-so, since they are often self-starters or misguided guru acolytes).

I would like to get your opinion on my idea of what my wholesaling career will look like:

- Find deals with margin in them to flip personally.

- If I have a lack in either funding or man-power to get the flip done, wholesale it.

- Turn a percentage of cash balance from flipping/wholesaling deals into long-term buy and hold.

Assuming a fair price for both the seller and investor can be reached, and assuming the deal doesn't take more than a couple weeks to put into escrow, are you opposed to wholesaling?  If so, what alternative to finding deals for flips can you recommend?

@John Thedford

I completely understand your frustrations about some people in this business that are after a quick buck at the expense of someone else.  It's all well and good to point out everything that is bad, i'm sure it helps those starting out know exactly what to avoid.  However, I didn't see you really address anything he asked about as far as offering solutions.  I have an interest in this "line of work" because I wish to find off-market deals to flip.  If I cannot handle all of the deals I get from my marketing, then the obvious choice would be to wholesale them.  I have plenty of cash to invest, a six-figure per year income from my rental portfolio AND have my real estate license.  While I agree it is smart to stereotype certain groups of people, I think it is unwise to label 100% of them and dismiss their concerns.  

My question back to you is this: do you have personal experience with someone who wasted your time for 90-days?  If not, then where does your disdain for this type of deal come from?  My purpose is to find out what your hot-bottons are and avoid them at all costs when I go to do my deals.  For example, if it takes 90 days or longer to close a deal, then perhaps the person trying to sell the deal didn't get the number right?  If you approach me with a home-run, I'm closing on it ASAP.  It wouldn't last 1 week on the open market.

Btw, I appreciate your open and candid responses!  Great discussion.

I've listened to nearly all of the podcasts (coming up on 200) and consistently there are people on there that wholesale.  Certainly there are plenty of noobies that try to wholesale and end up "playing games" but perhaps it's not always intentional.  @Benjamin Barredo is on here asking so that he can do it THE RIGHT WAY.  To come back with an answer of "don't wholesale, just buy and hold" would seem to dismiss a portion of the BP population who are legitimately interested in helping people that have no other alternative but to sell their home quickly to investors via a wholesaler.  While I agree with you, buy and hold is the way to go, you can't deny that wholesaling can be a means to FUND those buy and holds.  I am curious to get your thoughts on my reply @John Thedford?  

@Thomas Franklin

I agree, I have been to 2 or 3 pitch-fest meet ups and 2 legit ones.  I just stopped going for a while because I was working on another business and now they no longer meet up so figured I would get some BP opinions.  Seems to me that most people on here are well-intentioned :)

@Guy Olds

Great!  Thank you so much for the heads up on those two.  I will definitely attend both a few times at the least.

Can you clarify "no selling"?  If I come across a wholesale or flip deal, am I prohibited from trying to find a buyer for it?