Posted by Mark (SDCA) on May 14, 2003 at 15:58:38:
I pay only by the job. Not hourly. So its XXX for repairing the tub and so on.
So basically this lady is working on a “bonus” system in that she does the cleaning as well. So she gets paid pretty well for that (names her own price) but its STILL much cheaper than the professional cleaning services.
And then I ask her to keep the key and hand it out to people who call. I pay her a “bonus” really only 25-50.00 when the unit rents. Still, its basically money for nothing for her.
We need help in southern california. We recently attented a Ron Legrand bootcamp and have spent several thousand dollars advertising for sellers with nearly no response. We are putting we buy houses signs all over the county (Orange Co.) 300 so far as well as running a print ad in the penny saver covering a circulation of 480,000. This ad along with the signs and the ad in the Orange County Register ( circulation of 375,000) is costing us around $1500.00 per month. We have spent over $2,000.00 looking for a deal so far, no luck yet. Our marketing is pulling in aprroximately 4-6 calls per week. DOES THIS NOT WORK IS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ??? We’re going broke looking for a seller we can do a deal with. Not to mention we have invested $6,000 into the bootcamp training. CAN ANYONE GIVE US SOME GUIDENCE OR HELP??? We can’t keep this up for too much longer without getting a deal before we will be out of cash. PLEASE HELP. THANKYOU, BILL AND JESSIE.
Bill and Jessie,
I opperate in OC, and have done so for around 7 months now. I have found that working with pre-foreclosures offers more opportunity than I can handle and I spend less than $500 per month on advertising. If you would like some tips to working in OC, email me.
Good luck and good investing,
Rocky
After prices have doubled since 1996, the greater fool theory is now in full operation in the Southern California real estate market.
Want to know how to time the market more favorably?
Start plotting the number of “How to Get Rich in Real Estate” classes that are offered by Los Angeles branch of The Learning Annex on a month-by-month basis.
When the number of classes hit a six-year high, SELL. When they hit a six-year low, BUY.
Of course, this is a contrary market indicator. But with human nature being so predictable, that’s why it works so well.
Hi Bill and Jessie:
Having the same problem you expressed, here in the L.A./ Ventura markets. Home prices have shot up 30/40%in the last several years and all the realtor’s have locked up the areas with their agressive attitude and farm marketing techniques. As a former realtor, here in the area, Buyers list and get numerous top market offers, from their realtors.
The reality here is no So. Ca. property owner just gives their equity and deed away, subject to; or otherwise; The R.EO’s all go to the the lender’s favorite Brokerage house and list at top market dollar. I don’t care what the Guru’s say; this market is not described in their courses/books and tapes and I have bought them all
If this is any help, I am now working out of state. In areas not in So. Ca.
Bill and Jessie,
I think I saw one of your signs. Are they yellow? That was only the second sign I can remember seeing in my 26 years of living in OC. Think that might be telling us something about CREI in OC?
Does CREI work in OC? Many people on this board will tell you it works in any market. And I think that is probably true, but I also think it is a lot harder to make it work in some markets.
You are looking for motivated sellers, right? Someone who will just hand you the keys to their house and walk away. Good luck in finding such a person in OC. Just use common sense. Prices have doubled in the last five years. They went up 20% last year alone. Why would any sane person just walk away from $50,000 or more in equity? If they get into trouble, they just list their house with a realtor, pay the 6% and walk away with plenty of money in their pocket.
So, sure, CREI works in OC. And if you look long enough, you can find that needle in the haystack.
Anyway, that is how it looks to me. Someone else may have a different take on it.
Rocky, Thankyou for your reply to our message. I’m not able to access your email from the computer I’m using. Please put it in the message text. THANKYOU!!
I love Contrarian indicators. - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on May 14, 2003 at 24:57:50:
And I think the classes are a great indicator.
It’s hard to avoid the stigma of being one of the greater fools out here in So Cal. I have been accused of being a Carleton Sheets wannabe (that’s a direct quote), and a student of Ron LeGrand’s. All before I ever even saw a CS infomercial (went without TV for 5 years) and before I even heard of Ron LeGrand. I have since read one of his books. So some of those not falling for the hype are trying to protect themselves from it.
But I gotta tell you, a $50.00 class? There’s got to be something in a couple of hours with an experienced RE investor or teacher worth fifty bucks. I mean, I could spend that on pizza and movie here. I better check into the continuing ed classes and sign up with the other fools.
Robert, it is also funny that interest in the stock market is now at an all time low. Maybe that can be another contrarian indicator that real estate interest is at a peak. For most of the 90’s all the so called newbies traded stocks and invested in 401k’s. As a successful real estate investor during other times in the ‘cycle’ I find myself making a return trading the stock market that blows away anything I’ve made lately in real estate and I’m already financially independent from real estate investing. Raady to plow back in (still love doing real estate deals with real profits) with full force once the newbies and gurus go back to stocks…
I like that indicator. I presume this measure in a per month figure?
I’ve noticed that the San Fran Learning Annex also has a lot of classes no on foreclosures, nothing down, etc. John Beck teaches a couple of them. There are three or four other people teaching them aslo. I don’t know how many they had in the mid-1990s when CA went through the depression. Wish I did.
Oh, I notice that these evening classes are priced at over $50 each. Whew, that seems high to me.
You say: “Why would any sane person just walk away from $50,000 or more in equity?” I think you are right.
However, buying bargains is about stealing properties from the widows, orphans, and mentally irregular. You said “sane,” remember? Buying bargains from sane people is not easy, but possible. Buying from insane peaple? Possible too, and sometimes easier.
Just because you attend any real estate class does not mean you are falling prey to the greater fool theory.
Let me give you an example. During the early 1980’s, Robert Allen’s “no money down” concept was building incredible momentum as the secret to building wealth in real estate.
When these speakers would come to San Diego to make their seminar presentations, I would put my “no money down” ads in the newspaper to capitalize on the surge of interest.
It worked great! I cross-collateralized my trust deeds with other properties (smart!) … and locked-in my profits during very, very difficult economic times.
Moral of story? When the ducks are quacking, feed them.
Ron,
I hear ya, but however you define it, I think it is harder to find a bargain deal in the coastal areas of CA than most other “normal” markets. That is why you go to OK and I go to OH. Right?
Posted by Mark (SDCA) on May 14, 2003 at 12:48:21:
Not entirely, no. The reason Ronald goes to OK and I go to AZ is the rent to price ratio. Houses do NOT cash flow in OC. Even apartments do NOT cash flow in OC. So buying long term for rentals for wealth creation is VERY hard in OC.
Mark
PS I guess the moral of this is that CRE may work everywhere but not every aspect of CRE works everywhere.
But I think we are really talking about the same problem: prices are just too high. The reason properties do not cash flow out here is that prices are too high. Anyway, it is not worth arguing about.
How do you manage your properties in AZ? Maybe we could compare notes. I do not use a property manager per se. I am using a handyman who does a lot of the things a prop manager would do. I can do the rest long distance.
Posted by Kristine-CA on May 14, 2003 at 01:09:29:
Yep. Some of us are so lazy that we take an airplane to go look at rental properties under 50K. And lord knows how easy it is to buy positive cash flow cows at tax sales.
Ron: I have a good friend who made his millions in rei and he always reminds me that big deals and little deals are the same amount of work. I can imagine this to be true, but why do the big deals seem impossible to me? Do you ever have any desire to buy better properties with better rents?