Teresa Jo's journal

5 straight days off, so I'm going to put REI in lurch, or "Beast mode on" as Jen calls it!

Just posted an ad on CL....says "3 Bedroom, 2 Ba. house" and down in the description I put the same and the "has lots of mold". Waiting for my phone to ring...

What does everyone put on their facebook page to introduce themselves as investors?

OK, I didn't get a deal...BUT, I called a For Rent sign...they had 2 on the same street...always a good indicator! After speaking w/her a few minutes, she told me what they look for!!!! AND she gave me the area that they look at. I'm SO EXCITED! She said they probably wouldn't buy for about 6 months, but she is def. going to keep my cell number AND she knows of someone else that might use me. Yay!! Now she did tell me that she has a realtor, but if I presented them a good deal they would look at it.

Also, I've been driving for dollars today and took down several For Sale sign numbers. So I'm going to call them this afternoon and see if they are motivated or not.

Moving forward....

I put out 14 bandit signs tonight and made a note of where I put them. It's been real windy here but I think they will stay in place...used all the recommended sign supplies...yellow signs with black markers. Hope to get calls tomorrow. Will go pick up my signs on Sun. night.

Called one FSBO...real nice guy said he has 3-yr. old twin daughters. He and his wife needed a bigger house and have moved out of the one that they need to sell. Said his in-laws bought the house for their daughter (his wife) while she was in college and now they just need to sell it. They are asking $117,000, but he said that was negotiable and there's only a few minor things that need fixing. I forgot to ask him how much equity they had, but I think it's paid off. Mainly I just needed practice talking to a FSBO. Don't know what I was so worked up about...it went fine. Right now, I don't have any buyers for that area of town, so I need to build up my buyer's list some more. I'm going to Houston on Mon. night to attend a wholesale class and hopefully get more buyers.

Moving forward...

Got 2 more buyers on my list today. Have a total of 8 now. The CL ad is working!!

I've got 10 buyers now. Have emailed them and some of them have emailed me back with their criteria. My goal is to get 20 more in the next week or so.

Going to Houston today to attend a wholesaling class given by Steve Davis of LifeStyles Unlimited. Picked up almost all of my signs last night...some were taken or disappeared but I got most of them. Going to call SA again today.

Moving forward!

I emailed a letter to a local ReMax office yesterday (the letter that Mat Larsen used to find a real estate agent) and nobody has called me. I revised it by saying my goal was to do 25-50 deals in the next 12 - 18 months. Other than that, I pretty much kept the letter the same as what he suggested. I'm a little down about it, but I've decided that from now on, I'm just going to call a real estate agent and introduce myself. I've got 2 or 3 agents I'm going to call tomorrow.

Keep up the work work.

Keep taking action you are making good progress. I can tell you are getting closer to a deal with each passing day.

Best wishes!

Thanks Dan, and congratulations on your recent deal!

Today I'm going to look at an old ugly house (ha-ha!) with a realtor and a contractor. It's an REO...I went by the house last night to make sure I could find it and it is definitely ugly...LOL. There's also a vacant lot next to the house that is included in the deal. Someone was using the house to make drugs (meth?) and so they ended up tearing down the whole house so now the lot is vacant. The contractor is the one that told me about this house! He needs the work. Anyway, I'm excited because I've got a realtor and a contractor. And the contractor knows some people that will pay cash for a house because they can't get a loan! Even if I can't lock this deal down, I'm excited because I finally feel like I'm getting going w/real estate investing.

Haven't seen your journal before and thought I would give a shout out. Congratulations on moving forward! All the Best! Tammy

Teresa,

CALL the Remax agency and ask the receptionist who is their agent that gets the most business and works with investors; letters will get put to the side with the rest of the mail and end up in the trash.
When you get the name of that agent, then you call him/her and say that (name of receptionist) said that you are the best agent, etc. etc. Build rapport with the agent, but don't tell him/her that you want to wholesale. Have a script in front of you that you can refer to, so you don't forget to ask necessary questions.

Same thing when you talk to prospective sellers; SA has some templates with questions that you should ask when you speak with them... print them and use them, they are great!

You are doing awesome!

yes, Keith, all in OH

but I'm currently working on one not in OH... we'll see how it goes, I'll keep you posted!

Thanks Val. I already sent one of the local Remax offices one of those letters that Matt Larsen put together. I emailed it to the person that answered the phone. Not sure if she ever forwarded my email to the agents. I never heard from anyone from Remax. So next time I will call! Right now, I'm dealing w/a Century 21 realtor, and he is very receptive to what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm waiting for him to get back with me on some comps for the house we just looked at today. I'm hopeful this deal will work out, especially since it will be the very first one I've tried!! Thanks for your help and encouragement.

Thanks Tammy! I'm very excited!!
Working on 1st wholesale deal!!!

So, I'm still in the middle of trying to wholesale an REO...waiting for my realtor to get back w/me with the comps. I'm sure I'll hear from him tomorrow. He told me when he gets the listing back, we have 3 days to work with. So when he calls me and gives me the info. I'll get on the phone with the advisory line to get help so I can make this work! I met my realtor and a contractor at the house yesterday. The lady really did not want us to come in because she said it was a mess...and it was. I felt sorry for her though because she and her husband have been living there for 20+ years and they don't want to move. Their rent is only $475/mo. She said the landlord never updated anything. The house (inside & out) looks like it hasn't been painted in 30 years. There is junk all over the yard. When we went in the back yard, more junk. There was a tarp thrown over something that was in the shape of a person. We checked to make sure that it wasn't a person...lol!

So I decided since I'm waiting on my realtor, I would call on a FSBO. This is in an area that one of my buyers wants to buy in. I made an appt. to go see it tomorrow night. This property looks like it's in pristine condition, but that's what my buyer is looking for. He's looking for a place for his grown kids to be able to stay at when they come into town. I asked the owner if the price was negotiable, and she said it was. She & her husband live in a different town, and their grown daughter is living there currently. But she will be graduating and I think they want someone to buy it by the end of May. The downside is the owner said she has only had it on the market for 2 weeks. So I may have to make an offer, and then give them some time.

I have to keep telling myself to look in the areas or subdivisions where my buyers want to buy. Although some of them will buy anywhere if its a good deal.

Anyway, I finally feel like I'm "in the game". Still can't afford to be in IE, but I hope to be able to sign up once I get some deals done. Seems like it's a good way to get more wholesale deals with fellow DG members and I just want to be able to network with the other members.

Very excited about the future!

Went and looked at a FSBO today. 2600 sq. ft. The owner lives out-of-town and I think he's a motivated seller. One bathroom is all pink (like you would see in the 1950's or 60's) and the other is all light green. I laughed out loud when I saw that. The hardwood floors have been redone, but the kitchen's floors are a mess and the linoleum needs to be replaced big time. One wall looks like someone put their fist through it. All the fixtures need to be replaced and some of the inside doors need to be replaced. There's a crack in the floor in the hallway. I'm thinking I should get a pretty good discount with all the things that need fixing. I'll take a contractor w/me when I go through it with the owner. I spoke w/him and he said he would take $140,000 for it. I told him "If I can close in 7 days, what would be the minimum they would accept? He said he would give me a discount.

Working with the Success Academy. I hope this deal works out. I still have hopes for the REO I was working on, but the realtor has been slow in getting back w/me.

Just got a call off my bandit sign. It was one of my buyers...LOL! He was just seeing who I was. He's a local realtor and he said he would buy anything if he could get it at .50cents on the dollar. Maybe he'll buy this house and resell it. I don't know. He & I are supposed to go to lunch next week and see how we can help each other.

Feel like I'm getting busier & busier!

so excited and happy for you keep on "Pushing"!

Thanks...I feel like I'm on a roll...got lots of stakes in the fire! Ok, really only two but I feel like its more! LOL!

Good job on getting in the game. One thing though. REOs cannot usually be assigned unless you are buying it in the name of an LLC or something and plan to sell the LLC. In extremely rare cases will a bank allow assigning (that is usually a small local bank or Credit Union)

What is your plan on assigning this? Not trying to burst your bubble, just watching out for you.

Karen

Ok, thanks Karen. No wonder my realtor hasn't gotten back w/me. Guess I'm gonna have to let this one go. I'll concentrate my efforts on the FSBO deal I'm working on. Live & learn.

Have a Happy Easter Karen!

We've all done it. Tell your realtor you want to concentrate on "standard sales". Those are the ones that are privately owned (non REOs or SS)

Karen

Will do Karen. Thanks.

Well I've decided not to make an offer on the FSBO I mentioned above (pink bathroom, etc.) because I had a contractor look at it this morning and there were way too many things wrong w/it (large crack in concrete floor, evidence of water damage, etc.). Plus he said it looked like some homeless people had been living there. I was kind of wondering about that myself because there was some bedding on the floor in one of the back rooms.

On a good note, I finally got a call from someone that saw my bandit sign. I retrieved all of my bandit signs last Sun. night, but I left one up at a major intersection in front of a gas station. I didn't think anyone would pull it because of where I put it. It must still be there since I got a call. The caller said he has a house for sale in Somerville, TX, which is a very small town about 30 min. away from where I live. We had a bad connection so he's going to call me back tomorrow. Not sure if any of my buyers would want to buy in that town, so tonight I'm going to call or email all of my buyers to get better criteria from them. Need to find out what is the max. price they would pay for a house, what is the max. square footage that they would want and what area of town would they want to buy in.

Tomorrow I'll call a Keller Williams agent and one other agent about working with me.

Moving forward...

Teresa,

if you get a 'bad connection' in the future, instead of letting seller call you back, ask him/her for his/her phone number, so that you can call them back

don't think that you can't sell the house in the small town because you're not sure if your buyers will want it...never assume, and always think outside the box... could it be a possible L/O? find out the needs of the seller, why does he/she want to sell? how motivated is he/she?

you're doing great, taking steps towards your goal! keep going and you will be there before you know it!

ok, thanks Val! Yes, next time I'll get the guy's number. Actually, he called my google number so I think I can go online and get it.

Can you explain how a lease option works? Or how I could propose that idea to him?

Thanks!

So I went to google voice mail and was able to retrieve the guy's ph. number that called me tonight. If he doesn't call me by noon tomorrow, I'm calling him!

I also noticed that a guy from Nebraska called and left a message on Google vm about 2 weeks ago, so I need to call him tomorrow too.

Listened to a recording of Working with Real Estate agents tonight. Very helpful.

I find myself envious of investors that can do this full-time. I want to retire from my Just Over Broke (JOB) job as soon as possible! But I know it will probably be a few more years before I can do that....sigh.

When you find out all the info on his house (be sure to ask WHY he is selling) tell him you will do some research on the property and get back with him in a couple of days. Don't suggest L/O or anything else in the initial call.

Find out this info:

REAL ESTATE LEAD SHEET

SELLERS NAME: _________________________ NUMBER:____________________DATE______

PROPERTY ADDRESS:__________________________________________

GARAGE/BASEMENT:__________________

BEDROOMS:_____________

BATHS_________

SQFT________________

YEAR:_______________________

WHAT STYLE HOUSE IS IT:________________________________

HOW MUCH $ WOULD IT TAKE TO PUT BACK IN MINT CONDITION?___________________

WHAT WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE?__________________________________________________

WHY ARE YOU SELLING?__________________________________________________________

WHAT IS YOUR ASKING PRICE?___________________________

IS THAT PRICE FLEXIBLE?_____________________________

YOU CAN WORD THIS HOWEVER. MOST PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THIS MARKET! AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET IS APPROX ___!! AS YOU KNOW THE IS NOT THE BEST MARKET.THE PROBLEM IS YOUR COMPETING WITH FORECLOSURES.........IF YOU WANT TO GET UR PRICE YOU CAN LIST IT WITH AN AGENT AND 6-9 MONTHS YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SELL IT.

ARE YOU JUST LOOKING TO PAY OFF THE HOUSE TO GET SOME MONEY OUT OF IT______________

I
Tms#________
Taxes& INS________
Zillow________
Total View_____
HOA__________

Also if you can, find out if there is a mortgage and what is owed. When you ask what he is asking, you could ask how he came up with that number and say "Is that how much you owe on it?" Then he may say it's paid off or give you more info.

Karen

Teresa,

When you said "...I know it will probably be a few more years before I can do that....sigh." I'd have to say at the rate you are going you may get there sooner than you think. I know you will.

Karen, great info on the lead sheet and Lease options.

Teresa, A sandwich lease-option may work for you also to get residual income or just a regular lease option http://www.forsalebyowner.com/education/market-conditions/84-market-cond... or for a sandwich lease-option see http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/83/topics/604-sandwich-lease-options Research Wendt Paton http://www.wendypatton.com/# Those may help. Keep up the great work.

I just love this site because of all the wonderful people on here that help each other.

Karen--yes I will ask those questions...thanks!

Rick--I'll look at that info. on sandwich lease options. I've already studied sandwich lease options some, but need to review it again. Yes, I KNOW I will succeed...like you said, sooner than I think! I know I will succeed because I'm constantly thinking about REI and working on it. Thanks.