All Forum Posts by: Stephen Barton

Well deserved @Joshua Dorkin! Looks like the fruits of your labor for all of these years is starting to really show. That is just amazing Josh! We are all very proud to be members of a website of this caliber. 

Nice organization @Justin Hackney. You are doing it! My best advice that someone told me was to find a mentor. Not someone who you pay an outrageous fortune to "learn" from. Someone in your area who is willing to take you along with them and show you what to look for. 

My mentor and I have become friends. He has really spent some time showing me how to look for deals and we started out just splitting everything we do down the middle. Sure, if you can do your own deal-more power to you (and more money!). But, if you were like me then you would rather learn how to spend the right amount of money in the right areas. 

The knowledge gained has really taken me to the point where I am actually closing on my own deals now! With my own cash and not using a bank! Oh yeah! It is all about re-investing in your business. My wife and I do not keep the money, but we just keep putting it right back into our business. 

Good luck to you! It is amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it!

Personally, if it was me- I would not give anyone an excuse to talk me down anymore than what you are already listing it for. This will be a negotiation tactic a buyer's agent will use against you. I am more of a wholesaler and full disclosure I have only done one flip to day, but I would do anything that would keep a buyer from complaining. 

When a buyer sees one item then they will start to really pick things apart looking for more flaws. My two cents @Spencer Rossie  : just get it fixed and any other little item that is an easy fix that is easily noticeable. 

First impressions as they say last a lifetime. You cannot take things back, you can only do damage control once problems come to the surface. Your best bet is to correct the issues and get it looking good. In fact, a good agent will inform you that they can pull the listing-let you make the needed repairs and then put it back on the market. Good luck!

First off, @Marlena Cooperjust relax and breathe! Just know that if you have been here on biggerpockets then you already may be more prepared than most of the sellers you will be talking to. Here are some simple steps you should take:

1. 1. Find a mentor in your area or someone who is willing to take you under their wing on your first deal or two. I found someone who we are still working together even after a year. 
2. 2. Who cares about age? Look at baby face @Brandon Turner. He never let his age get in his way. You should not either. As people used to say to me, "Fake it, till you make it". 
3. 3. You need to pay an investor friendly attorney to write you up a 1 page purchase agreement that is legal in your state.
4. 4. Find a title company or closing attorney (depending on your state) who will be able to accept a purchase agreement and earnest money. 
5. 5. Reach out to someone who is doing deals. You can always ask me and I will help you for free. Contracts are scary at first but I assure you that once you have one explained to you then you will think it is silly that you were ever afraid of them.

You are more capable of doing great things than what you will ever know. You just need to know there are people here on BP who love to help others. Just reach out to the right person and you will be on your way. The important thing is never let a seller have the idea that you do not know what you are doing. Just be honest and make sure you understand the process of a real estate sale in general. Read, talk, and network to find your way. It is starting to work for me, and this will work for you! You can do this!

I believe your question to your post has to do with finding motivated sellers @Nat C.? Honestly, 99% of my deals come from direct mail. That is it! Nothing fancy, but I do what works. This is the old fashioned way and has a lot of competition, but I find that it is harder to do than picking up a newspaper. You see, it is my opinion that the harder you look to find deals- the less competition you will find trying to get the same deals. 

You may also think about expired listings? This is something my mentor and managing broker does to find deals. I actually bought an expired listing by shear luck just 4 months ago. It just so happened that the seller tried to list her property and it did not sell. Another way is to go to HUDhomestore to find deals. These have a lot of competition but once you register you can start bidding on deals fast! 

I think for me Nat is that we just don't give up. I have come so close to getting a deal and then it does not go through and I feel like giving up. Then, right when I am thinking about giving up - that is when amazing deals are right around the corner. Dedication+Determination= A Deal.  LOL! 

I used a company here in Indianapolis IN called RECP @Laurence Walsh-Hodson. I do not recommend doing a two week course unless you like being driven to your breaking point. It was extremely stressful and I feel that I did not retain as much knowledge. I had to go back and study items to really keep ideas planted firmly in my mind. I believe there are some statistics that talk about the learning habits of people that says that our brains only retain a certain amount of information over a given time. Then, inherently information gets lost. 

Basically, I feel that taking this course over two weeks did not give me enough time to really retain all of the information. You might find this to not be the case for you, but for me I had to go back and study. Another great point of getting your license is that you will have another income if you are an investor. I rely on having my license to help retail buyers find their next home, and this has been a great source of income for me! Sort of like not putting all your eggs in one basket. Having multiple income streams will only help push you closer to achieving your goals- in my opinion.

-Stephen Barton

I cannot speak for your state or online, but I have to admit the relationships that I have developed with those in my class were amazing! Just being able to ask questions to one another, the teacher, plus the fellowship made the intensive 2 week class well worth it.

First off, @Ray JimenezI would tell you to drop the signs. Sure, you may get some deals but they are illegal unless you have a permit (depending on the city ordinances) and frankly they give investors a bad name. You do not want to pay the fines and then get your business shut down before you really even get started. They just look tacky. I want to encourage you to instead take $100 or even $50 to $75 and go to Listsource.com to get some REAL leads. This is what most of the pro's that I know use. I use listsource as well because it is a targeted list and will help you reach people who actually own property free and clear. Also, with bandit signs you have no control over who is calling you. The person could have a mortgage over what the home is really worth. This will not help you. Getting to the people who actually have equity will be your secret sauce.

There are so many other ways to: Code Violations, Probate, and Foreclosures. The first two are published in your local newspaper. It may be a small "local looking" paper and not the main newspaper that everyone reads on a Sunday morning. Though depending on your city it could be. In my city, there is a newspaper that is not that well known that has a large legal section. Here is where the gold is at! You can find out who has code violations and mail to them. Honestly, I have tried this once and did not do well but I have a lot of competition in my city.

Just try to get into local meetups about real estate, and there you will learn who the major players are and you can talk to them. Ask them what they do. I found my mentor here on BP by going up to the top bar on this site where it says Network and I entered my Zip Code and started reaching out to other investor hoping one would give me the time of day. If they are good- then they will try to guide you. At least this has been true in my experience. The good investors who care about others and really want what is best for people are the only people I try to work with. Do not give up! You just push through the noise and never quit Ray!  -Stephen Barton

I know what you are going through more than you know @Crystal Chang. I went to Odesk which is now Upwork and I hired a virtual assistant. I used Podio for a time or now I use Zoho which I like a lot better to field my calls and take their information. I used spreadsheets for the longest time along with actual paper lead sheets. Needless to say, I have an enormous stack of paper now. Trust me, figure it out now or you will get buried and miss opportunities like I did.

Another idea which I use now is I have my phone number going to google voice. I hate to do this because I know what it is like to call a company about a product or service you are interested in and then you have to leave a message - so frustrating. Next, you can check out @Ben G.who did a podcast where his callers leave a message and it automatically goes into podio (crm) and alerts him right away. Personally, I feel that people who answer their phone each and every time may have a slight advantage over those who let calls go to voicemail. This is just my opinion.

You can find a virtual assistant possibly even here on BP! On Upwork you can hire someone who actually lives here in the USA to take the calls. In fact, I found someone who charged less than what some people make at McDonald's. Your best bet is to slow down your marketing because unless you wear a cape and have super powers- you may lose out on deals. I went from 400-500 pieces of mail a week down to a manageable 200-300 a week. This has been amazing, because now I actually have time to work my other job being a real estate agent. 

What you are going through are the growing pains of being in business for yourself. I understand the urgency of sending out so many letters but let's face it- if you cannot really take the lead properly then you will not be serving them well. By slowing my campaign down I can really focus on each caller and actually have a conversation with them. It has given me the time to find out that they may not really be motivated to sell, but they are looking for deals. Now, you have someone to add to your buyer's list. Taa daa! This personal touch I feel is what separates the good from the great (not that I think I am great because I am not great!). I do get deals that people say just because they liked talking to me they would do business with me instead of going to my competition. (This has been a humbling compliment) You can do amazing things when you put your mind to it by replacing the words: "I can't" with "How can I".   -Stephen Barton

Here is a link to upwork: upwork

Here is Podio: Podio

Here is the best CRM (in my opinion) Zoho: Zoho

Sounds like you are on the right track @Dante Anchelia. I did a lot of reading my first few months and even now after a year. I highly recommend going to the top bar of this website and clicking on the Network tab and enter in the Zip Codes for your area. This is how I found my mentor and eventually got my start as a wholesaler. I owe so much to the site and to those that I reached out to and continue to reach out to. 

Being in constant contact with people who share the same vision as you is key. Watch you life get launched into the stratosphere once you take the leap and decide you are not going to live a "normal" life again. Keep going to as many Meetups as possible. I bet there are more meetings than what you know about currently and this is just another way to really get to know your "people". For me, I was reluctant to reach out to my "competition" but once I dropped that silly mindset and started thinking like an entrepreneur my life has never been the same. Your "competition" will actually be some of the best people you may end up partnering with. You will see. 

Good luck to you and believe in yourself and you will live a life you have only dreamed of! You can do this!!!!

Stephen B.