All Forum Posts by: Chris Piper

@Antonio Bodley Have you considered bird dogging? That would get you cash a lot faster than a wholesale deal. In case you don't know, bird dogging is where you go find properties for real estate investors, and they pay you so much per lead you send them. You would need to find local real estate investors("We buy houses" signs, craigslist, etc.), contact them, see what they are looking for and what they would be willing to pay you for each lead you bring them.

You CAN make money in a reasonable time with wholesaling, but you need to have a cash buyer's list which takes time to build, and you need to have access to properties that you can put under contract. Typically, once you have buyers and properties to choose from, you should be able to get paid on a wholesale deal within 30 days. That's start to finish: finding a property, getting it under contract, getting a buyer to put it under contract with you, closing and getting paid. The only way I could see a wholesale deal taking 6 months like Jon said, would be if you were wholesaling a short sale. Usually a wholesale deal closes in no more than 30 days.

Also, you might consider going to a temp agency where they pay you cash daily. We have one in my area. Usually they pay minimum wage, but cash daily is good if you can squeeze it in while working your day job, even if it's only temporary.

No problem @Nalo Coban and @Brian Christian. The mortgage will probably be public record, but will show up in the name of the land trust or LLC.

@Brian Christian I would recommend setting up a land trust for each property, or you can also set up one land trust and put all of the properties into it. You can make yourself or an LLC the benficiary to the trust or trusts. This will provide asset protection for your properties and anonymity so no one will know that you are the owner of the properties, and any searches won't reveal that they are your properties, and no one will be able to see what you paid for any of your properties. Additionally Brian, you can set up a series LLC. Please read what I wrote to Nalo below.

@Nalo Coban A series LLC is set up so that you can have multiple LLC's under one main LLC. The benefit is that each branch(LLC) within the series LLC is protected from the other branches(LLC's) in the event that any one of the LLC's is sued or runs into any legal problems. You can google "Bill Bronchick series LLC" then when the search results come up, click on "What is a Series Limited Liability Company by Attorney William ..." That should answer your questions about a series LLC.

@Patrick T. You can set up a land trust for each property, or put them all into one land trust. You can then make yourself the beneficiary, make your LLC the beneficiary, or create an entirely new LLC or Series LLC. A Series LLC allows you to set up multiple LLC's under one umbrella, without each LLC being exposed to any of the other LLC's legal problems that may arise.

@Carl Gryska Put everything into a land trust or trusts. You should never hold real estate in your personal name. Land trusts provide asset protection and anonymity. Maybe look around on BP and see what you can find, or google them. It really is the best way to protect yourself and your properties.

@Lloyd Whyte I would recommend setting up a land trust or trusts for any properties you purchase. It will protect you from any legal ramifications that may arise, the properties will be held in the name of the trust or trusts, and nothing will be public record, so none of the properties will be considered an asset and no records or prices will be visible to anyone. Just my 2 cents.

@Jacob Patterson The best route to go for asset protection is setting up a land trust or trusts. Plus, it has the added benefits of anonymity. This way, no real estate will be in your name, you are protected, and the land trust is a simple way to buy, hold, and sell real estate.

Hello all. I am looking into using land trusts for my real estate investing business. I have a few questions I'm hoping you can shed some light on for me.

1. Do you need to be an Attorney to set-up a land trust or can anyone do it?

2. Do you need to have an Attorney as the trustee of your land trust, or can it be anyone?

3. Do you need to be licensed, certified, or a lawyer in order to be the trustee of someone else's land trust?

4. If you use land trusts in your real estate investing business and appoint someone to be the trustee of your land trust(s), can you also be the trustee of other people's trusts at the same time?

5. What is the advantage of setting up a land trust in Illinois vs. Virginia, or vice versa?

6. Can you set-up a land trust in a state if the property being put into a land trust is not located in that state you are setting up the land trust in? (Example: can I set-up an Illinois land trust for a property located in Indiana)

@David Lee Your question doesn't make complete sense the way it's currently written. I think what you are saying is that you own the land that your wife's grandmother had her mobile home on, she just passed away, and you want to know what to pay if you decide to buy the mobile home.

I would recommend checking to see what other comparable mobile homes are selling for. Either check craigslist or the newspaper, or call local mobile home parks and see what they have for sale as if you are a buyer. Just my thoughts.

@Christine Waltz I do agree that you should mix up your mailings so your leads don't get tired of seeing the same thing every time. I just read from a well know real estate investor/author, that 80% of the people who respond to direct mailing, do so on or after the 5th mailing. Also, yellow letters get a much better response rate than postcards, but they both work. Yellow letters just work better, and have a much lower cost per lead response.