Getting Started - Posted by Westside Johnny (IN)

Real Estate Investing
#1

Posted by John (KS) on December 07, 1998 at 13:34:17:

“KA-CHINGGGG!!!”? I heard it. Every Sunday I scan the MH ad’s, the past 4 or 5 weeks there has been virtually nothing for sale I would even call on, just 20K doublewides. This week, there were at least 5 I am calling on tonight, all in the $2500-$1000 range (I won’t offer more than $1000 for any of them), plus one of my park mgrs called and asked if I had anyone to buy a home they just evicted someone out of. They will sell it to me for $800. I can easily get $3000 on contract. I have “GOT” to get my ad back in the paper.

I hunted the paper yesterday and found one “I buy houses” ad. I will call tonight. What kind of response did you get? I a good one I assume, you sound pretty motivated! How did the conversation go?

Later, John (KS)

#2

Getting Started - Posted by Westside Johnny (IN)

Posted by Westside Johnny (IN) on December 02, 1998 at 15:22:10:

Oh yay… I’m a newbie.

Any tips on getting started investing would be greatly appreciated. I am currently reading as much as I can about investing while my first home is being built. I should be in business by April.

Please help me out and steer me in the right direction.

#3

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Jackie in Dallas

Posted by Jackie in Dallas on December 02, 1998 at 22:32:40:

…in business by April. WHY WAIT?

You can get started RIGHT NOW with no money, no credit and no risk with flipping or wholesaling properties!

Here’s the short list of how to do it:

  1. Look in the newspaper and write down all the numbers of the “We Buy Houses” ads.

  2. Call them - find out where they want to buy and what price range - ask if they are cash buyers or will they need time for financing.

  3. On some Saturday morning, drive to an older neighborhood ( houses about 20+ years old) - and start looking for vacant houses (tall grass is a dead give away) or houses that are very run down. Write down the address.

  4. Once back home, look up the owner via internet and the local tax records - if not available in your area, you may have to go to the tax office or courthouse for this info.

  5. Next, write a creative form letter saying you are interested in buying houses in that neighborhood - or use a postcard - make sure to include your phone number - and mail it out to prospects you found.

  6. Just keep doing this and you’ll start getting calls from motivated sellers.

  7. Write a contract to buy the house for about 50% of market value with $10 down as earnest money- with the following clause in the contract " Subject to inspection and approval of the property by Buyer’s partner"

  8. Turn the contract into a title company - to check the title - once you know it’s clear…

  9. Call those “We Buy House” ads again and tell them you have a contract to sell – try to get at least $3,000 more than you offered the original Seller.

  10. When you get this far ( or if you need help) - send me e-mail and I’ll let you know what to do next.

How many of these do you think you can do between now and April?? - if just one a month x $3,000 - that’s $15,000 for making a few phone calls, driving around on a weekend, and sending out a few letters!!

Hey - then you can afford to come to the Creative Real Estate Convention in March!! Hope to see you there.

#4

Re: Getting Started - Posted by John (KS)

Posted by John (KS) on December 04, 1998 at 09:26:21:

I was so inspired, I want to put your 10 steps on my personal web site with your permission, to share with my friends.

When calling the “WE BUY HOUSES” ad, how do you approach the investor. Do you just say, “I am a beginning investor interested in birddogging and flipping some properties to you”. then find out what they are looking for? Thanks for any help you can give me, I am planning on calling Ad’s tonight.

#5

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Rob FL

Posted by Rob FL on December 03, 1998 at 20:00:49:

Great post. Thanks for keeping the ideas simple and easy to understand.

#6

Re: Getting Started - Posted by MilNC

Posted by MilNC on December 03, 1998 at 18:44:55:

Thanks for that post. OK, at this point, you are
not worried about having a corp. because you never
own the property?

What about business cards? or DBA, can someone explain
that, and if you later incorporate?

#7

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Earl (Austin)

Posted by Earl (Austin) on December 03, 1998 at 18:20:09:

Jackie, thanks for the 10 steps. An investor in our RE club passed around a copy of her $17K check that she made from wholesale flip on 12/1. It really motivates you when you see live people making that kind of money. I really appreciate the info. that you provided, now I have better idea of how to locate wholesale deals. Thanks a bunch, Earl

#8

Re: Getting Started - Thank you. - Posted by Westside Johnny (IN)

Posted by Westside Johnny (IN) on December 03, 1998 at 08:58:21:

Jackie -

Thank you very much for the good advice and the motivation.
I will begin immediately.

Westside Johnny

#9

Question for Jackie - Posted by ss

Posted by ss on December 03, 1998 at 08:48:43:

You mention in your reply to look up owners via the internet. How and where?
Thanks…

#10

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Matt B

Posted by Matt B on December 03, 1998 at 06:57:36:

Dang! What the heck have I been waiting for? I kept thinking that I had so much more to learn. (I do, actually.) I am going to put this advice to work TODAY. You have broken this one concept down into a very clear, workable plan. Why did I not see this all this time? Ok, I’m a newbie with a couple mobile home deals under my belt, but I really thought that with all the research and study that I’ve been doing, something like this would have occurred to me. Well, no sense kicking myself, I’m getting to work! Thank you very much, Jackie, you can count on seeing me at the convention.
(I just re-read my comments and they could be interpretted as sarcasm. They are not.)
P.S.
Do I have to pay you a commission on the deals I’m going to do now?

#11

Re: Getting Started - Posted by johnman

Posted by johnman on December 03, 1998 at 01:46:03:

That’s wonderful Jackie!!! Thanks for the tip. I’m going to try that while I’m here in Savannah and will do it when I get back to Arlington, TX.

Johnman

#12

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Jackie in Dallas

Posted by Jackie in Dallas on December 04, 1998 at 14:10:25:

BTW - what’s your URL? I’d like to see your web site.

#13

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Jackie in Dallas

Posted by Jackie in Dallas on December 04, 1998 at 14:08:13:

John…

When you call the “We Buy Houses” ads - just be honest. Tell them that you are just starting out as an investor and would like to begin by “finding” properties to assign to rehab investors. Ask if they would be interested in being contacted when you find something. They will say YES - call me first! Then ask them if there is a particualr area they like to buy in and a limit on the price house.

You also need to find out if they are cash buyers or if they need additional time to arrange for financing. This information will indicate how long you should allow for closing on houses you find - if it’s a cash buyer, allow 2 weeks, if they need financing, allow 4 weeks.

You will soon learn that as you are negotiating to buy a house from a Seller, you will have particular investors in mind to immediately flip to - so just write the contract with that investor in mind. Even if the investor needs time to arrange financing, they probably have hard money lenders lined up, so the process won’t take too long. Your contract to the seller should be for CASH!! There are some exceptions to this, like when you get the seller to carry back financing - but we’ll save that for the next step.

For now, just …Remember offering CASH and CLOSE QUICKLY are the hot button that will get sellers to say yes to your offers more often.

#14

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Jackie in Dallas

Posted by Jackie in Dallas on December 03, 1998 at 22:48:23:

I should scan in my $24,165 check from last month’s flip and post it on CREonline - maybe THAT would get some of you motivated!

#15

Re: Question for Jackie - Posted by Jackie in Dallas

Posted by Jackie in Dallas on December 03, 1998 at 11:54:51:

In Dallas, we have the County tax records available online. You’ll have to call your tax office and see if they hav a web site. If they don’t, don’t despair!

You can use anyone of the people finder sites on the internet like infospace or four11.

There are many companies that sell computer disks with names and phone numbers. Phone disk is one, I think it costs about $35 for national information or there is a disk called 88 million households by CD USA - I got it on sale at Microcenter for $5.

#16

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Jackie in Dallas

Posted by Jackie in Dallas on December 03, 1998 at 12:00:28:

No commissions - BUT I do want to see some Success Stories SOON - and you’ll have to sign for the convention as soon as you have a flip under your belt! Deal??

Let me know if you need any help -

#17

Re: Thanks Jackie!!!Getting Started - Posted by kiki, IL

Posted by kiki, IL on December 03, 1998 at 08:28:53:

Jackie THANK YOU THANK YOU. This is a simple wonderful concise and clear idea. Motivation is always good but its nice to have a simple plan. Newbies can get lost between all the ideas and information. Your tip is a winner. I too can get started. YIPPEEEE!!

#18

Re: Getting Started - Posted by Matt B

Posted by Matt B on December 04, 1998 at 14:37:57:

Please keep these little pearls of wisdom coming! I believe John and I are in similar situations, having done a few mobile homes deals, and looking to branch out into other areas. I did what I said I was going to do and went to call the ads last night. You’ll never believe this… this is the only time that I have never seen a “We buy houses” ad in the paper!! So I had my fiance driving around today while I’m at work gathering phone numbers from “We buy houses” signs along the road. (Did I mention NOTHING is going to stop me?) I’ll be making calls either tonight (Friday evening? What are my chances of getting a hold of anyone? Or am I making excuses?) or tomorrow. By the way, I’m showing another one of my mobile homes tomorrow. When I called one of the people back who had responded to an ad I ran 2 months ago, she asked what year the home was, because although she had good credit the bank wouldn’t finance the last one she looked at (a '74) because they said that it was too old. Did anyone else hear that “KA-CHINGGGG!!!”? (I think John did.)

#19

To all - Posted by Lonnie Turner

Posted by Lonnie Turner on December 03, 1998 at 13:18:43:

You also can use the free directories on the internet lice switchboard located at switchboard.com. My default site when I open MS Internet Explore is a site that have a link to a nother site where you can look up address by tying in the telephone# are type in address and get the owner name and address if it is listed. Remember if the numbers are not listed they will not be in the database just like your regular telephone directory. I use software on CD rom by pro cd.

#20

You got it! - Posted by Matt B

Posted by Matt B on December 03, 1998 at 12:15:48:

I will be signing up for the convention with the proceeds of my first flip. I’m getting started tonight!
Just out of curiousity, how many have you done personally? Is this your main type of investment or just your best suggestion for getting started quickly?
By the way, I do have one success story up already regarding my first mobile home deal. Can’t wait to add my first flip to it, though!