BEWARE...this post is EXTREMELY LONG! :)
Here I am, as promised. I’ve already mentioned the websites & bird dogs, etc part of his program enough, so I won’t be talking about that in this post. However, I do have to say that after much consideration I think the bird dogs could be a good tactic IF you have the money to pay them per lead that they bring just like Cameron says to do, plus the money for hosting your websites.
Okay, now onto the transaction. I am going to be very meticulous in explaining our experience, as I think it is fair for all that have been following this thread. I started this post over three years ago, and the reason that I did not use his transactional funding yet was because I got into rehabbing and landlording. Now we have gone back to wholesaling and found ourselves needing his transactional funding for this deal.
Like I stated in my previous post, you will need to be more hands on than what it seems. It’s not that you just ask for the funding, you also need to open communication not only with the two closing companies (if using two) but also with Cameron’s staff.
The Good:
We closed our deal. We were able to use part of our $1,000 retainer fee with no problem, the fee for this transaction was roughly $600 so we are still left with $400 of our retainer for the next deal. We were only charged 2% fee for a one day transaction. And………….Cameron himself called us ?
The Not-So-Good:
It took a lot of coordination, A LOT more than ever expected. We used two closing companies; one for our A-B transaction, the other for our B-C transaction, and this all had to be coordinated with the transactional funding disbursement. There were various emails going back and forth during the week and everything was set to close on Friday. We were told by Cameron’s staff that as long as there was confirmation of the B-C money being in escrow, then the transactional funds would be disbursed for closing of A-B. We were never told that the B-C documents needed to be signed before they could wire the funds, we were just told the B-C money needed to be in escrow.
To make things easier to understand, here is the timeline of the transactions:
Friday
9 AM: A-B documents signed.
10:46 AM: Cameron’s staff informs us that wire will be sent this morning
1:19 PM: We receive the Fund Disbursement Agreement signed by Cameron, which led us to believe the funds were sent as promised.
1:48 PM: Everyone (us & Cameron's staff) receive an email from the A-B closing company asking for wire transfer of money. Since this was a HUD property the money needed to be received the same day that the documents were signed, otherwise we would have to RE-CLOSE the transaction.
2:03 PM: Cameron’s staff informs us that the wire has been “prepped” but they missed their bank’s cutoff time for the wire transfer (2pm EST), therefore the money would not arrive until MONDAY.
2:08 PM: A-B Closing agent informed us and Cameron’s staff that since they didn’t received the wire, we will have to RE-CLOSE the transaction on Monday.
2:15 PM: We received a call from A-B title company repeating the email just sent, and telling us that hopefully HUD will approve the RE-CLOSE.
3:00 PM: We close the B-C transaction. Everything remains in escrow until verification of recorded deed from A-B.
4:14 PM: We informed Cameron’s staff that we dry closed the B-C transaction.
** Because of the wire not being sent on Friday morning as we were told would happen, the A-B transaction had to be RE-CLOSED on Monday. But first, we needed HUD's approval, so there was a risk that we would lose the deal. Luckily, HUD gave us their approval to re-close the transaction. On top of that, we had to pay an additional closing fee to the mobile closer to come back to re-close. **
Monday
11:16 AM: We are informed by Cameron’s stuff that the transactional funds have been sent to close A-B.
12:00 PM: We re-close A-B transaction. The closing company promises to overnight the deed that day for recording to take place the next day.
Tuesday
3:00 PM: We receive confirmation and digital copy of the deed being recorded. We inform our B-C closing agent she can wire Cameron the money back.
4:00 PM: Our B-C closing agent calls Cameron’s office to verify the amount that needs to be sent since it was only a 24 hour transaction and 2% fee and not 48 hours and 3.5% fee as we agreed to sign with Cameron (if the Deed wasn’t recorded the following day, then we will have to wait one more day in order to send the money back, and that would be a 2-day transaction and 3.5% fee). Their phone system was down. We were able to contact them through their online chat system and find out that we would be charged the 3.5% fee because it was past their 2 PM EST bank cutoff time and the money wouldn’t arrive until the next day (Wednesday) so it would be 48 hours. They then call the A-B title company to verify that they need to wire back a 3.5% fee.
4:25 PM: The B-C title agent informs Cameron’s staff and us that the money has been wired back.
Thursday
We received a couple of voicemails from Cameron on Wednesday and my partner finally has time to return his call. To summarize the 30 minute phone conversation, we come to find out that Cameron received the money back on Tuesday and that he would only be charging us the 2% fee. Cameron said he did not send the money on Friday because we had not closed the B-C paperwork (even though the B-C money was in escrow – which is the only thing we were told we needed for Cameron to send his funds to close A-B).
We found it very odd that he did received the money on Tuesday after we were told that they wouldn’t receive it until Wednesday because we sent it at 4 PM and the bank’s cutoff time was 2 PM, therefore they would charge us the 3.5% fee because their bank wouldn’t get it until the next day and it would be a 48 hour transaction.
We also found it very odd that the excuse that was given to us by Cameron’s staff for not sending the money on Friday was that they missed their bank’s cut off time. Cameron himself told us that it was their policy not to wire unless B-C docs are signed and money in escrow.
Things to think about:
After going through the experience of this transaction, it would have been helpful if Cameron and his staff had disclosed to us that their bank has a cutoff time of 2 PM (Eastern time that is – so that would be 11 AM for you West Coasters!) both for sending and receiving money. If they don’t get the money by 2 PM EST then they will receive it the next day, so you will be charged for an extra day.
It would also have been nice to know that they have a policy that they cannot disburse the funds until the B-C paperwork has been signed AND the money in escrow. We were never told this; we were just told the money had to be in escrow. And we did tell them, on more than one occasion, that the B-C closing would close at 3 PM. They could have told us that 3 PM was past their cut off time, so that if we wanted them to wire that same day, then we would have to close B-C earlier.
With this said, I would like to disclose, if you will be using Cameron’s transactional funding:
1. Make sure you dry close your B-C BEFORE your A-B
2. Make sure you close B-C way before 2 PM (Eastern Time) so that you beat his bank’s cutoff time and they are able to wire the money for the A-B.
3. Make sure you wire them the money back BEFORE 2 PM the next day so you won’t get charged for an extra day.
4. In order to accomplish all this, you should close both transactions really early in the morning.
5. All of the cut off time headache could be avoided by closing both transactions with the same Title Company, and if you really look, you might not even need to use Transactional Funds. If the B-C is cash, the Title Company can use those funds to close A-B. We know most title company won’t do this, but they are out there. Search and you will find.
With all this said, I have now given my full testimonial of Cameron’s program. He is real. His bird dog program is real. His proof of funds letters work. His transactional funding rates are the best out there, if you are successful in returning his funds in 24 hours. He does not charge any additional processing fees, and you will get your $1,000 retainer back.
Now, it’s not as easy as it seems, it never is. Make sure you are involved in the details of the transactions. If it wasn’t because my partner asked the questions, we would have never found out all the details of it. We have closed many different types of deals. We know what to look for in transactions and we know how to read the paperwork and what questions to ask. However, this is not the case for a lot of newbie wholesalers/investors. Learn, educate yourself on the transactions and ask the questions. If you are new to this, befriend a title company, or better yet, a seasoned investor, so you have someone who will guide you through the process.
And finally, keep in mind that in this real estate business you must be persistent and consistent in order for things to work. They don’t come easy, they take work, and usually more work than what we think.
Hope I’ve been helpful in my review.
To your success!
