All Forum Posts by: Stephen Barton

@Christopher Elliott welcome to the biggerpockets community! I read your profile and I would like to make a few suggestions: I think the best thing for you now that you know what type of investing you want to do is go out and find someone who you want to be like. I started out going to a lot of local real estate meetings until I found bp and I found what I was looking for-a mentor! I went to this person with something to bring to the table, not for a handout and not for them to "hold my hand" but for them to just guide me. This has made all of the difference for me so far. I would strongly like to recommend that you just get started! Get with another investor in your area who you can work for or just someone who will let you hang out with them. I think you could start right away with the right direction. The opportunities are out there you just have to be creative and make them happen. That is my two cents worth. If you believe in yourself then there is nothing or no one who can discourage you from accomplishing your goals. "We can be our own worst enemy or our best friend." You have what it takes so just get out and make something happen! You can do it!

@Wes Jordan welcome to the BiggerPockets community! You are in the right place as I am sure you have or will discover. There are so many great people here. The amount of information contained within this website is second to none. Glad to see you on here!

@Matt Heath You have an excellent question! Looks like you are thinking like a true investor. In my humble opinion you should decide what path you are going to take. If you want to do buy-and-hold you are going to need some serious dough. If you want to do some wholesaling I started with a couple thousand. We started very slowly by placing an ad in craigslist(we have only gotten 1 deal that way in a year), and we bought a list from listsource.com for $247 that had 1200 names, addresses. We chose absentee owners and wrote the letters ourselves. You need to make sure you BUDGET 6 months worth of money to write letters. The ability to stay consistent is key to this business. 90% of my deals come not from the first time a seller calls me but from the follow up. Remember that! Most of us do not keep good track of who we have talked to but being able to call people back and do what you say you do is all the difference between failing and success. 

Being able to guide sellers to what serves them best is the next piece of advice. I do not always get a person to sell their house to me because it is in THEIR best interest to list their property with someone else. Yeah, you heard me right. I turn people away. Sometimes they choose to come back to me after they realize that I am the only one who they have talked to that can get them the cash they need to sell. Listings do not always guarantee a sale of a property. Just make sure you are honest, moral, and ethical in everything you do and you will go far! Feel free to colleague request me and call me for any questions you might have. I love to help others and of course, there is no charge for this. I just get a kick out of helping others. I like to share the "love" so to speak. The way others have done for me. You can do this! Just believe in yourself and watch things happen!

@Sharon Vornholt my attorney said that I cannot contact the personal representative if they have an attorney representing them. Is that not the case?

@Nick Mainella I would suggest speaking with @Sharon Vornholt who is the probate specialist. I feel you should do yourself a favor and speak with a real estate attorney in your  state who knows about probate. My RE attorney said that I can only mail to the personal representatives if they do not have an attorney representing the estate. If there is an attorney (in Indiana this is the case) then you may ONLY contact their attorney. So do some homework on this subject, and consult a professional! Just my two cents:)

@Russ Swan I can recommend Brett Snodgrass to you. He is a real estate agent/investor in Indiana and Florida. He might be able to guide you around that area. Or he might be able to direct you to someone who can. Just message him and let him know what you are trying to do! Take care.

Very nicely done @Joshua Dorkin ! This is very clean looking and the material you guys provide is priceless! I am so proud to brag about you guys and this site to other people in my network who have been joining. I speak very highly of you guys and this site has been the spark that ignited my dream I have turned into a real company! I am so impressed with everything you guys do! 

It was just getting together with someone who has been doing this for a while and who is creative. I have seen in my life those who are successful @Ben G. remain teachable, and who always keep an open mind to other techniques. Thanks for the mention!

I do not think you are asking for trouble. I grew up in a house where we had to get rid of around 27 bats in our house. Our solution, was to seal up the house asap. Then, we used a net of any kind with small holes. Fine fishing nets might work, bats seem to get caught in them and then you can call animal control to come and get them humanely. We used a lot of spray foam insulation and caulk. I would try the nets and have someone seal up the place as they (what I have heard) can enter a space under a quarter of an inch wide. I wish I could give you a better solution but this is what worked for us! Bottom line go with your gut instinct!:)

@Scott  

@Scott Theaman I think you should listen to Podcast show 077 with Michael Quarles. Really you just need to run your numbers and then you have to justify your price by telling them they will not have to pay commissions or closing fees. (We do that) You just also need to tell them they should use you as a last resort. I know sounds crazy, but ethically, morally, and legally you should be honest with them. Your cash price may not be in their best interest. For the deals I have done my cash price was heaven sent and they were glad to have the headache removed from their life. Message me for more questions if you would like!