All Forum Posts by: Rob Pene

dang missed another one

March 1st, I actually indirectly committed to taking massive action on this investing thing.

I've procrastinated a lot, visited the BP site off and on, listened to a lot of the BP podcasts, got all motivated, but would fold under the pressure of life (work, business, family, school, etc)

I've learned a lot from BP, a host of other free podcasts and youtube videos (Sean Terry, Cris Chico, Cody Sperber, etc) and a live event in Anaheim, CA with Ginger Macias (on March 1st).

It's already 11 days since the live event and here's where I stand in my progress:

- found 2 realtors to partner with in locating properties on the MLS

- got my website up (almost complete) and i WILL RANK for all the major keywords so i'll be pulling leads like crazy

- started my buyers list and have a good 6, I can text if I have questions on a potential property that might fit their buying criteria

- made around 10 calls to for sale by owner ads on craigslist (to get over the fear of not knowing what to say)

- connected online the live event group and made some live calls with a couple of them listening, then evaluating the call with feedback after each call

- got my phone number and voicemail set up

- ordered and sent out my first mail piece to a targeted list

- have compiled a Vacant and Ugly House list of 55 addresses by driving around my neighborhood when running errands for the family :) lol

- informally put together a team of 5 bird dogs who have all sent me vacant properties they came across

- putting together my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th list to mail to this month (I've mailing to high equity non-owner occupied properties in cities close to me) and because I've got my postcard designed already, all I need to do is pull the list, upload it, and bam it goes out :)

- I'm going to (1) record a video of how I pull the list (2) how I clean up the export (3) upload the export to the mailing site (click2mail) and upload the postcard jpeg (4) so I can make this task a duty for my VA

- I've also ordered a set of Sticky Notes to give to my bird dogs so they can simply stick and go (I'll be able to stick and go as well when I see something)

- started working with another wholesaler/investor on co-wholesaling and doing deals together...we've analyzed 1 deal together unfortunately the owner (who went directly to him) wasn't super motivated and was a savvy homeowner himself

....

I think that's it so far :)

I know these are great strides and things to be proud of BUT my focus is on getting those first 3 deals THIS MONTH...I'm grateful to the small wins and can't wait to see it all come together to a big victory!!!!

BP is awesome!

hey @Todd Morin I'm not that far from you as I'm in the South Bay too...what tech are you offering? sounds like its might be a cool product

hey Ben, we're not that far from each other...I'm in the South Bay as well :)

BP is an amazing spot to learn and connect with anything Real Estate lol

lets connect bro

I'm curious if anyone knows how or what kinds of ways I can find Eviction notices OR the actual public court information for the Eviction hearings in the LA/OC area?

the part that many people overlook and often don't consider is keyword research. I would say if you were to choose the first thing to focus on, it would be the KW research...you can have the coolest site but if no traffic is going to it, thats NO traffic to a cool site lol

With the right keyword research you can easily work the proper on-page seo and start pulling long tail traffic by merits of great content, direct on-page with pertinent keywords

I'd say to concentrate on low hanging fruit type of keywords with competition below 1000 in the google keyword planner and do multiple kw's that way you can pull from a variety of kws

I see this a lot in the various businesses that I work with, especially with many of the real estate investors and realtor just getting in to the industry, once their website is up the general thought is that the leads start piling up.

:(

Without website traffic, a solid lead generation feature, massive value, and relevant information addressing your target markets problems, your website isn't really working for you.

Here are some basic things I recommend you keep in mind when putting your website together you're real estate site, so that it can be optimized properly and the search engines can love your site:

(Assuming you're using the Wordpress platform)

1. 1. Proper On-Page SEO (either of these work great)

• I recommend the All In One SEO Pack Plugin
• I also recommend Wordpress SEO Plugin (by Yoast)

2. Proper Keyword Research (focus on your "city" or surrounding "cities")

• Use the Google Keyword Planner (you'll need a Google Adwords account) BUT don't worry too much about the search volume because with proper on-page seo and good content, you'll be able to pull traffic from your long tail keywords EVEN IF they show in the KP as having 0 traffic
• Consider the "city" + "real estate" + "service" search string (i.e.: chicago real estate wholesaler)

3. Proper Link Building Strategy

• Relevant Links and Authoritative Links are the best long term strategy you can bank on
• Often times they can be very inexpensive or even FREE
• "Brand" links are just as good as Anchor text links for long term success (i.e.: a "biggerpockets.com" links is just as good as a "real estate investing" link)

4. Proper Content Strategy

• Add content to your site BLOG, BLOG, BLOG
• Have a plan for your content and ensure its On-Page SEO is on point

5. Proper Social Media sharing features (that also have active accounts)

• Google has been very vocal about "social signals" which mean, the amount of times your stuff is shared across social media (like tweets, FB shares, Pins, etc)
• Ensure the social media profiles that you have on your website isn't just an account you set up for your site…make sure you're active a little and building with people because in order for your stuff to get shared you'll need to engage other in their material as well

Hopefully this is helpful

With a site full of value and activity, your rankings will organically increase and thus increasing your chances of pulling those leads because your site is now sitting on Page One for relevant terms that you've targeted and also provided value to.

Having a website created will only give you a digital business card lol but having a website with proper planning and execution will give you a digital asset that works for you :)

@Karin Crompton that's exactly what he said...wow, i totally thought you guys might have talked because both points you mentioned are almost the exact words he used...

Can you explain the "principal" aspect to me? Does a napkin contract that says the seller is selling me their house for "x" amount legally make me a principal to the home? and does that contract then give me equitable interest even if I'm not on title or have a lien?

Sorry if I sound pedestrian but my realtor friend said that I can't sell a contract to a buyer because I'm not legally and officially on title to the home...I would need something like a Quick Claim deed (or something like that lol) to legally sell the property...

as you can tell I'm a confused newbie

Thanks for the info...what is the actual contract being used? Is it the standard state selling/listing contract?

I was talking to a realtor who has cash buyer clients and he was telling me how wholesaling isn't an officially recognized real estate practice in the "real estate" industry.

It could be considered an illegal practice because it's doing real estate without a license.

Can someone help me understand this?