All Forum Posts by: Sharon Vornholt

Tyler - If you have landlords on your list, they will buy properties with a tenant. Ask around at your next REIA meeting.

Andrew, learn everything you can about real estate investing. While it can be helpful to have your license, I don't believe that it is necessarily a requirement. Here are some things I would suggest

-Join your local REI group ASAP. That is where you will find someone to mentor you and a lot of free education. I bought my first few deals from this group.

-Hang out on forums like Bigger Pockets and learn.

-Read blogs by other real estate investors. My blog is like a lot of others that are dedicated to teaching other investors. Most folks also are very willing to share their "mistakes" along with their successes.

The main thing you need to do, is invest in your education. While there are some great courses out there that are for sale, there is also a ton of free education just for investing a little of your time. And my hat's off to you for thinking about becoming a real estate investor while you're still in school.

Even if you choose another career, it's still a great idea to invest in real estate.

I am "dragging" my 10 year old granddaughter along with me this summer. So far, I haven't made her fall in love with this business, but she is learning about entrepreneurs and what they do. She has learned though that when a house is really smelly, that it is the "smell of money".

Good luck.

I think you should replace the windows. At that price point, they are going to want energy efficient windows. I believe it will help the house sell faster too.

Ryan - I think you bring up some excellent points. Those "lifetime renters" can make good tenants.

Ryan - I agree with you completely. While it shouldn't matter, it does matter to a lot of people.Closings have been know to fall apart over these situations.

I my area, it will cost me under $400.00 to close each deal. I just look at that extra closing as "insurance" that the closing will happen without the problems that assignments often cause.

It's certainly up to each investor how they want to handle this situation. I my area there is absolutely no problem doing double closings. Since I buy and sell in a land trust, my name doesn't show up on the deed.

I'm just thinking out loud here J. Scott -

Since you are a Realtor and have access to the MLS, why don't you run a list of the agents that routinely work with investors/cash buyers. You can't put the property back on the MLS, but you could call these agents and let them know you have a house under contract that you want to wholesale.

Those Realtors would understand wholesaling and would welcome a house that was like a pocket listing to pass on to their investor buyers.

I'm not an agent, but I work with them from time to time when I'm wholesaling properties. If they have clients that are cash buyers, I just figure their commission in my asking price. It's a win win for everyone.

As an agent/investor, you are in great postion.

I think you should work with a Realtor that is also an investor.

Early on I worked with someone that was a great Realtor for retail buyers, but after paying too much for my first couple of properties I came to understand that she knew absolutely nothing about investing; nothing about what was a good deal. I completly agree with Josh that you shouldn't work with relatives. Business and relatives often don't mix.

I would also recommend that you join your local Board of Realtors as an affiliate member. I owned and operated a successful home inspection company for 17 years and I was always an affiliate member of the board.

Get to know these folks and they will be able to assist you in a great many ways, and you will make a lot of good friends in the process. Assitionally, they often have pocket listings and you want to be the person they call when they do.

Congrats Steve!

I am also a wholesaler. I only have cash buyers on my buyers list. Work on building your buyers list for the next 12 months and it will make things so much easier.

As Rob said, you can do an assignment if you're not making too much on the deal. I pretty much do a double closing when I wholesale. It just seems to cause too many problems in my area with the seller if you are making a lot of money on the deal.

Tony -

I think when you are new it's very important to talk to every seller that calls. Think of that first call as an "information gathering call." It's great practice and it will help build your confidence.

I use a form each time I talk to a seller. I have all the questions on mine that Lafi has on his plus a few more. This guarantees that you won't forget to ask something important.

After getting your information, then tell the seller you will need to do some research and you will call them back. This will buy you some time.

Sellers often throw out a price that they don't really expect to get. Don't be put off by that initial price.

Remember that great deals are usually made - not found.

I have great luck with direct mail myself. It's my primary source of leads.

Marketing always works! The trick is to do it consistently. That is where most foks go wrong. I am big fan of direct mail and it brings me a lot of leads. Thanks for sharing your results.