All Forum Posts by: Tom Sylvester

@Steve Foth - Is that permanently or just for a time period. I had additional space added to my Dropbox when I got my HTC Thunderbolt but it was only for 2 years and it just expired/got taken away.

@Ibrahim Hughes - I would recommend writing down your goals and working backwards to see how a website fit into your strategy. You can spend a lot of money on SEO to drive traffic to your website, so you want to make sure that the time/effort/money is driving to your business goals.

There are 4 that I listen to each week that are my mainstays. I think 2 have been mentioned but 2 have not been.

BiggerPockets - Real Estate

Entrepreneur on Fire - Entrepreneurship

Smart Passive Income - Online Business

Online Marketing Made Easy - Online Marketing & List Building

I wrote a review of these here - http://entreprenewlyweds.com/podcasts-listen-every-week/

I typically will swap in a few new ones each week, but these are my mainstays. There is only so much that one can learn about real estate investing, which is only 1 one my main shows is about real estate. Being an entrepreneur and marketing are 2 other key aspects, and I get information about those topics on the other shows. This helps round out my business.

Got a kick out of this advertising placement while catching up on the blogs this morning...

@Mooro El - You wanted honest feedback, so here is my view.

Initial Reaction: The page looks very amateurish. There is a lot of white space which detracts from the page. The header section contains your large logo, but then creates a lot of white space around your social media icons. And the logo looks like it was created in paint in about 5 minutes.

The image on your homepage does not correspond to the types of leads you are most likely looking for. That image is of a nice house with a beautiful lawn and landscape. Then down below you talk about houses with problems, including fire damages and property that needs to much repair to list. I would work on trying to get those 2 in sync, since they send conflicting messages.

Why do you have so many social media icons? When I click on them, they are all empty with no content. It is much better to focus on 1 or 2 sites where your leads/subscribers can go and get great content/information instead of 10 different ones that are not maintained.

I'm generally not a fan of mixing content sites. When you look at people that want to sell their property, you want simplicity and to provide a strong reason for them to sell their property to you with a call to action. You have a call to action with your red button, but I have no reason to want to sell my house to you from the brief message "We can't wait to discuss our buying process with you!". Also, as the seller I can easily get distracted by visiting your social media sites. At which point I see that they are basically blank and I come to the conclusion that you are not experienced.

My Recommendations:

• Split your Website Into 2: This one is for your business/buyers. Create another for lead generation/sellers. You mentioned not having a lot of time/money. A separate domain is ~$10-$15/year and monthly hosting ranges from $3-6/month. Some hosting providers allow more than 1 domain. So for less than $100, you can have 2 separate websites that are focused. You can use Wordpress (many hosting sites have a 1 click install of it) and you can buy free/cheep templates that look more professional.
• Sellers Site: Make it 1 page. Your FAQ page is a great start. Build your seller site around that and create a strong call to action. You sell your property page has too many fields and many people will leave before filling it out. Get a name and contact number/email. That is all you need initially to follow-up. Once you make a connection, you can get the additional information. Also the page should spark interest and make the seller want to sell you their property. Also, just having a website will not do much as there are thousands of other websites out there. How will people find yours? And once they find it, why will they sell to you? You need to drive potential sellers to the site, and a lot of them. Evaluate your business. Are you focused on a local market? Maybe try Google Adwords. Or maybe don't worry about a website and marketing it, get out and networking with people locally. Contact vacant or run down properties to see if you can get them under contract.
• Buyers Site: Spend some time to make it more professional. As it, I most likely would not even contact you to do business. First impressions are big, and your website tells me offhand that you are an amateur. I would get rid of the social pages, I don't think you need them or should spend time on them. You mentioned that you have tried wholesaling for a year. Really evaluate why you have not had success and focus your time on those areas instead of maintaining social media sites. I posted a blog a few months ago with some recommendations for wholesalers and where to focus.
  
  I haven't had my coffee yet so hopefully that helps and good luck. Feel free to contact me if you want some additional guidance or assistance.

@Jerry W. - If it is the same window that I think you are talking about, try clicking the angled lines in the bottom right and dragging the window to the right. That will make the typing window larger.

Awesome, love seeing all the new features!

@Tara Piantanida-Kelly - Welcome to the site! Others have provided some great links to get you started. There is a TON of great information on the site. Take some time and check the podcasts, forums and blogs.

Let me know if you if you have any questions or just want to chat real estate.

@Paul Z. Shoot me a message and I'll take a look.

So I primarily invest in the sticks, but from your post I'm not sure this would be good for you.

1 - Small towns typically do not have property management companies. So you either manage yourself, or hire someone to do things like showings, maintenance and renovations between turnovers.

2 - 1 bedroom units tend to have more turnover. Some of our duplexes have a 1 bedroom unit, but the other unit is 2+, which gets more stable tenants.

3 - Doesn't meet the 2% rule.

4 - Doesn't generate $100+ per unit assuming the 50% rule.

5 - Relatives living for free (may need to evict). Somewhat declining market limits renter pool.

If this property were in my investment area, I might pick it up, especially with the owner financing. But given that the above items and the fact that you are 150 miles away, I would recommend passing.