All Forum Posts by: Richard Gaston

@Christopher Hunter Thanks, there has been alot of work being done in Tacoma so I am not sure if the Spaghetti Factory is still there, but I can always check it out, my wife and I had ate there one time before but that was about 14 years ago lol. I got a message about a Meetup but its in Bellevue and for me that is a bit to far :) I never heard of the Poodle Dog but I will check it out. I have been looking around the area, like University Place for instance, I am looking at the prices and what is avaiable in any area, just getting a feel of the Land so to speak. I also have found a lot of boarded up properties here in Lakewood as well as Tacoma on 72nd Street, lots of boarded up houses just on the bus route alone so I am looking to see if I can find the owners to see if I can get at least some of those houses on contract to sell to Investors once I get the numbers, these houses I have seen really need some TLC, lots of it. But they look like good investment properties judging from the surrounding area.

@Michael Kevorkian Thank you in fact I am listening to a Podcast right now about Wholesaling: BP Podcast #058, all the Podcasts from either here or elsewhere I am listening and learning alot. I gave myself a time limit, I want to cut my hours back at my J.O.B. at 7-Eleven, the reason I am just cutting my hours back instead of quitting is the young man who owns the franchise is a very nice young man, I have been there almost 5 years and there has been a lot of people coming and going (employee wise), and I have seen their work, in fact there are a couple of others who should consider working somewhere else but oh well lol, its hard to find good help in any job, and one of the job requirements is to stock the cooler, I get 3 days off every other week (the schedule rotates, even though I work 4 days a week, I get the same days off every other week, one week I have M,T and Wensday off. Time goes in Thursday and starts all over again on Friday, so the next week I get Fri, Sat and Thursday off and it goes back and forth like that) so back to my point, when I come off my 3 days off in a row the cooler has a lot of empty spots of items that should've been stocked, the other guy just don't stock the cooler well enough. I already put my notice in letting the Manager know I will be cutting back my hours and I am hoping he lets me work the days where I can stock that dang cooler, can't buy an item if it ain't stocked lol, like Real Estate, can't sell a house if it ain't fixed up and ready to go, nothing is worse then having inventory that just sits there doing nothing. The idea of any business is making money and to make good money in any business wheather it be Real Estate or a Convience Store you have to have inventory and it needs to be ready to sell but thats MHO :)

@Tyrus Shivers Thanks for the info looks very valuable :-) I have already did some research mainly on the Laws here, like for instance as a Real Estate Investor that does fix and flips I need a General Contractors License, Insurance and be Bonded even if I don't do the work I still need it, no problem. My one main concern is getting operating capital to run the business, that is where Sydney recommended I do wholesaling which is new for me, ok so I need to learn, find my farm area, figure out how to advertise without oversaturating the market, get an Attorney, get a title company that does double closings, already downloaded some decent contracts but just in case I will check with an Attorney to make sure they are legal for this State. Now I have another question, I have seen about doing wholesaling on the internet (in other words in another State) How does one do that while being on the internet when you can not go to the closing table? I am sorry if I am asking a lot of questions here.

@Robert Macklyn Thank you for the insight, as I said in my title, this is basically a new endeavor for me. Now if its ok if I can give an insight to the other newbies? I have had a Real Estate License which yes I went to school for it, as well as a degree in Business Management and another degree in Accounting/Bookkeeping. I won't brag where I worked at as a RE Agent but one thing I do know, if you're doing wholesaling in any given area Do Not Over Saturate the Market. Like any Real Estate or Business venture if you Over Saturate, the seller (customer) will look elsewhere instead of your business, as I said earlier just in one area actually in one spot I saw about 15 Bandit Signs all with different phone numbers, all basically saying the same thing, We Buy Ugly Houses, We Buy Houses/Fast Close, We Buy Houses/Close in 30 days or less, We Buy Houses/Cash Close etc. Now me even if I had started doing this sooner I would not put any Bandit sign where there are a lot of signs, or even one sign. Granted Competition is good for any business but when you have almost the same sign with almost the same theme or saying it deters the potential seller to looking elsewhere. IMHO is all I am saying :-) Thank you for letting me post this. While I am learning how to do wholesale I am also thinking of another way to get my message out without over saturating the market or I should say get me in front of the prospective seller to put the contract out as well as get the right info to get to the prospective buyer (the Real Estate Investor) to purchase the product.

Now I would like to ask one question which I am sure was asked and answered elsewhere here, but (and I am sure I maybe asking it wrong but I hope everyone will understand, I work a graveyard shift and sometimes I get a bit brain dead) What keeps the Investor from just buying the property outright without going through a Wholesaler, in other words the Wholesaler finds the property, gets it under contract, finds an Investor to purchase the contract, the Investor goes to the property but instead of buying the contract (which is anywhere from $2000 to $10,000 over the negotiated price between the wholesaler and the seller) just buys the property outright without paying the contracted price but the orginal price between the seller and the wholesaler? In essence saving themselves money, and making a larger profit margin.

@Christopher Hunter I know amigo, that is why I am asking for a walker lol (old man joke here, I am 55 wife says I need a walker lmao) That basically is why I was asking for assistance, to be steered in the right direction. Seeing I have basically done this in the late 90's and everything has changed since then I basically need to unlearn everything I knew then and relearn everything now (2014), different game, different rules. And thanks for the info about the podcasts, already downloaded the e-book from here. Waiting on REIA meetings that are more closer to home, I don't have a car (yet) and hopefully they are early enough I can take a bus to them and come home. The buses here shut down at certain hours and I sure hate missing the last bus home and being to far to walk lol....

Ok, as a REInvestor I have dealt with wholesalers in the past (mid to late 90's)when I have done this before, but have never actually done wholesaling myself. Sydney Chase highly recommended it for me to get back into Real Estate Investments and build up my cash flow, which I think is a very good idea seeing what I make at 7-Eleven (10 cents above minimum wage) is not enough to even save to buy a small parcel of land let alone a house (or a Mobile Home). When I did this before I actually had a Real Estate License and know how to generate my comps to get a close to accurate price of what a house is worth. As far as repairs that needs to be done I have a General Contractor who can help me with that, all I can do is Gyp, Hang Drywall, Deck and Paint, all the other stuff is an altogether another beast for me. So basically what I need to know is how does one learn how to Wholesale and sell the contracts to other investors when everyone here (I have looked at all the other posts including the sticky, to see the negativity about wholesalers) has had bad dealings with wholesalers? I do not wish to be on the bad side of anyone including all you wonderful people here who have helped out lots of newbies :-) ,I have seen topics about using Bandit Signs and as I have told Sydney, Bandit signs I am uncomfortable with especially since I was in one area (and this is just one area alone)I have counted 15 different Bandit Signs in one spot all with different phone numbers which tells me that a lot of wholesalers are vieing for one area, and there is another wholesaler who really play the numbers and that one has more money because he/they are actually using Billboards to advertise "We Buy Ugly Houses.com" which costs way more then Bandit Signs (and those won't get taken down lol by the Bandit Sign Police lol). So How do I learn how to Wholesale, what books do I need to read or download (Free is better if I can get it) Podcasts to listen to, etc. Please steer me in the right direction. Thank you, and Thank you @Sydney Chase for your valuable time to talk to me.

@Michele

@Michele Fischer Thanks I was just thinking the same thing, when I did this before I, or I should say, we had to be creative in order for me to get 100% Financing and that was with a mortgage broker helping as well as the other investor(s). Now to pick another persons brain, hmmm, I can always Skype lol and I do have a webcam which makes it a little easier. But about transportation I think I may have a solution if it works out, I rather do that as a last resort if I have to but after just walking from the grocery store with a backpack full of groceries makes me rethink that ;)

I have been downloading podcasts, read the forums, read the e-books you guys so wonderfully gave for free, here is my problem. I need a mentor to actually sit down and show me how to do all of this, I am ready to rock and roll. I just talk to a guy who said that there is no such thing as a No Money Down/Bad Credit type deal, ok? Only problem is I know there is, I have done it before and can do it again, he even told me I need at least $2,000.00 in my bank account and a good credit rating even if I work with a Hard Money Lender. Ok, I know I need operating cash for my expenses, even though I never did Wholesaling I may need to learn that, that is why I said I need a mentor, someone who can actually sit down and show me how its done, and help me do it until I am ready to go on my own. I am giving myself 3-4 months to get this started and going AND I need to get it done. I am in the Lakewood, Washington area and the next REIA meeting is to far for me to walk to, lol or even take a bus. I know I am asking a lot of here but I am going on faith here. I need to get my wife and son out of this Apartment complex and get them in a nice home soonest. And the only way I can do that is either pray and hope for a miracle or get back into Real Estate Investments. You guys rock here and have wonderful insights as well as wonderful teachings, I am enjoying it here and learning a lot more then what I learned in the 90's. As I said, you guys rock. :-)

@Jordan Thibodeau Thanks for the tip. I have already contacted an Investor in my area, or should say he contacted me lol. He was doing an open house BBQ at one of the houses that he finished today (no he didn't finish the house today, the BBQ was today lol) and he invited me to it, but I don't have any transportation so I took a rain check, but I was suppose to have called him, gawd I hate working Graveyard Shifts, I was a bit to tired today wound up sleeping all day, that and my allergies are acting up again.

@Brant Richardson Thanks, as soon as I get the comps and the figures I will post it. At the time when he first told me the RE Market had crashed and I was a bit dubious about even considering the deal or even suggesting to anyone about it. But he still has it and he offered it to me again so I may consider it, sounds like a good deal, but as I said I am going to look at it with my GC to see what kind of work it needs to be done and how much it will cost me. Do a rental comp also to see what the fair rent rate is for that area, hopefully high enough to where I can actually make the mortgage payments or at least the majority of it where I can cover the rest without sweating the bills lol....