Land Trusts? - Posted by Tran (CA)
Posted by Tran (CA) on June 17, 2001 at 01:07:35:
Hi Laura,
I think you can use land trusts to avoid this, naming yourself as primary beneficiary. Of course, I’m just starting to read about this stuff, so I’m hoping one of the gurus will step in and correct me if I’m wrong.
Chris
Discouraged??? - Posted by Matt B
Posted by Matt B on June 17, 2001 at 08:54:17:
Dee?s comments are right on the money. We?ve all gone through marketing slumps, Sue. I?ve seen your posts and from them and our e-mails, you are on the right track. You need to re-read what I sent you. Marketing can be a funny critter. The same marketing can leave you with no responses, then suddenly give you tons of calls.
I know it may sometimes leave you wondering how some people are doing what they are doing. I know that I?ve told you of my quick success. Well, I was also working from 7AM until midnight to make it happen. I was pouring constant effort into my business to give it the jump start needed to make deals start happening quickly. Obviously, your hours are a little more limited.
I see many newbies making the same mistake. They get so few leads that they try turning something that isn?t a deal into a deal. The problem is that they are losing patience waiting for the leads to come in, and when they get a call or 2, they want to turn it into a deal no matter what. Patience is one of the best characteristics to have in this business.
I often get e-mails from excited newbies saying that they finally got a call on their marketing. They then proceed to tell me about this property that is 125% financed (how the heck does this happen any way???) and has 3 mortgages on it. The payments are about $500 over market rent and they want to know how to write it up! The reason is because they lose patience and don?t know that the real deals are just around the corner.
Here?s something that helped me as I got my start in real estate a few years ago. I had been in basic training when I was in the Army. Before I went, I realized that there were going to be drill sergeants screaming in my face 23 hours a day. (Yes, they actually let us sleep for an hour or so every now and then!) I realized that I would be running all over the place. I realized that I was going to have to do a ton of pushups. I realized that I would be crawling around in the dirt all day, getting physically exhausted, then have to run a few miles back to the barracks at the end of the day.
I also realized something else very important. I realized that MILLIONS of people had gone through this successfully before me. I realized that I simply had to just do what I needed to do, and I would graduate basic training and go on to better things.
There were many guys in my platoon that would literally cry themselves to sleep each night! They couldn?t see past the next day when the drill sergeant would just be screaming at them again. Many talked about leaving the military because it was just too tough. They could not realize that this was just the beginning phase. It wasn?t always like this. However, they lacked the patience and vision to see that they could get through this and on to bigger and better things simply by just doing what had to be done. It?s just too easy. You do the pushups, get screamed at, crawl in the dirt, fire a gun, and you graduate! What could be easier?
When you are starting to wonder if this real estate thing is going to happen for you, simply think about all the other successful real estate investors out there that have gone through the same problems when starting up as you are. Think about the fact that they simply realized that it COULD be done. (As I?m sure you realize.) All you have to do is what you need to do. Crank up your marketing in as many ways as possible. Eventually, the leads will start coming in.
Think about it this way. How many times have you bought a product the first time you saw it advertised, even if you really needed it? Probably not too many. How many times did you have to see it advertised before you actually bought it? 2, 5, 10, 100? Just stay consistent with your marketing and eventually, the right type of calls will start coming in. The motivated sellers may see your ad and be a little apprehensive about discussing their financial problems with this brand new business that just started advertising. However, after seeing signs, ads, flyers, and then your letter, they will start to think that they have seen this business advertising ?everywhere?, so they must be well established and legitimate!
Good luck, Sue. It will happen.
Re: And just when I was getting discouraged! - Posted by Dee-Texas
Posted by Dee-Texas on June 17, 2001 at 07:11:32:
Hi Sue,
Don’t EVER stop the marketing. It happens that sometimes things get stalled out in the RE world. It’s happened to all of us. Then WHAM!! out of the blue, people will start calling, I’m talking about sellers wanting you to take their problem off of their hands. When this happens don’t stop the marketing.
I did once thinking that I have so much going I can’t handle another call…so I stopped my ads and then after the flurry of buying, selling stopped it took about a month for my ads to catch on again.
Best Success,
Dee-Texas
Re: How I went from $0 to a mil. in RE(very long) - Posted by Steve-DC
Posted by Steve-DC on July 16, 2002 at 12:52:59:
Thanks for the reply Steve,
How do you “package” them? Are businesses such as this more attractive to an end buyer if bundled? I can’t figure out how the risk could be lowered.
What are some good outlets for you to find small to medium size businesses for sale? I’ve been meeting with a few business brokers but there obviously trying to the same thing as me!
Thanks for the input,
Steve
Re: property in my name? - Posted by Dave (CA)
Posted by Dave (CA) on June 18, 2001 at 10:06:05:
Steve,
Are you getting bank loans on any of the properties you buy in the name of the trust or LLC? I was under the impression that the bank would want your name on the property if they were making the loan.
Also, on putting the properties into an LLC, do you really put each one in a separate LLC? I thought that it cost $800 per year in CA for an LLC.
Thx,
Dave
Re: more pushups please! - Posted by SueC
Posted by SueC on June 17, 2001 at 09:17:49:
Thanks Matt, you’re right, the truth is that I KNOW I"m doing everything “right” (including making mistakes) and it is just a matter of time.