All Forum Posts by: Jim Ludes

I've used handwritten bandit signs to sell my wholesale properties and retail homes. For me they work 10x better than the fancy pre-printed signs.

They look less threatening and intimidating to prospective buyers, especially first-time home buyers and newbie investors.

I've also used the pre-printed "Rent-To-Own" bandit signs that come in a "freehand font", they seem to work just as well.

Hey Victor, welcome to BP!

You should be able to get some killer deals right now in the IE. Don't jump into anything to quickly though, that's how I got burned when first starting out.

Be sure to do your due-diligence and crunch those numbers a few times before taking the plunge. Let me know if I can help with anything?

Good luck!
Jim

Hey Terry,

I'll typically get between 3-6 return calls for every 100 numbers I shoot out. And out of those 3-6 return calls, I'll talk to 1-3 homeowners and usually get 1 lease-option deal.

It takes my assistant about an hour to copy & paste 100 numbers from online newspaper sites, classified sites, landlord sites, and FSBO sites.

Oh yeah, for each successful call that goes through I pay 12 cents. So if all 100 numbers go through, I only pay $12.

Hey Mike,

I've been using Voiceshot.com for several years and have no complaints.

Hey Erick,

Here's something you can use on your yellow letter to find investor/buyers. It should help you get started. You can switch it up as needed.

Hi, my name is _______. I wholesale houses in __________. I have a property that I need to get rid of near the one that you own at _________. This property is priced way below market value so you could either keep it as rentals or fix it up and sell it for a profit. I’m looking for an investor/buyer who can pay all cash and can close quickly. You can see it and others I have available by visiting my website at www.yourdomain.com or by calling me at 555-123-4567.

Thanks,
Name

P.S. My wholesale properties usually sell within 72 hours, so if you’re seriously interested, please get back to me ASAP!

Hey Erick,

I have family in Davis. Cool town! I use to invest all over Yolo and Sacramento counties before the market crashed.

Just curious… have you considered using a squeeze page to build your investor/buyer’s list? You'll be able to build it a lot faster and cheaper.

Don’t let the so called “BIG BOYS†stop you from taking action. They can’t be everywhere at once. Realtyman is right. Do a little research to find out what market they are going after (owners in foreclosures, free and clear properties, over leveraged homes, junkers, out-of-town owners, etc.), the type of media they are using (TV, radio, postcards, flyers, letters, door hangers, bandit signs, internet, etc.) and the message they are using. Then do what they are not doing.

I’ve never known any real estate investor, small or large, to use every marketing method to every type of property owner at once. Besides, you only need one good deal to make it all worth it. If you’re low on funds use free online classified ad sites like Craigslist to find motivated sellers. Email or call the FSBO’s and landlords on these sites and ask them the W.O.W.W. questions to see if you can buy their property.

W) What is it worth?
O) What do you owe?
W) What are you asking?
W) Why are you selling?

If you have a few bucks to spend, then I would suggest having the yellow letter printed up and passed out to entire neighborhoods. Be sure not to put them inside envelopes. You can pass them out yourself if you have time, hire some kids for cheap, or get a flyer service to do it for you. Here's a little trick I discovered that increased my response x10. Fold them in fours (printed side facing in) and stick them under the corners of doormats, in door jams, and in screen doors. When the owners get home, they will think a friend left them a personal note and open it. To make it look really intriguing, put a big smiley face on the outside in red ink.

I’ve had great response from both of these methods and I guarantee the “BIG BOYS†aren’t doing them. So like Terry Royce says… “Get out there and make it happen, and the results will come.â€

I became a member of the BP family a few days ago and like Larry, I'm pretty new to social networking. I can see how a newbie could get stuck in "Lurk Mode" for quite some time with all this new information to digest.

I think the best way to get more people involved, especially the newbies and lurkers, is to just ask them to join in. If we know they're sitting on the sidelines reading the posts, then why not encourage them to participate in the discussion by asking what they think or if they have a related question they’d like answered.

This is my first post outside of the “New Member Introduction Forum†and I’d like to tell all the lurkers out there that it feels great to get my feet wet! I plan to participate in as many discussions as I can… because I have a lot to learn and a lot to share.

Hey Randy,

I've got a lot of great marketing knowledge (both on-line and off-line) and real estate investing experience to share. You should see me popping up in the BP forums soon. I hope I can help!

Hi Charles,

There's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears behind that experience. I think that goes for a lot of newbie investors though. I'd love to share my ideas and strategies with you.