BANDITS If you AREN'T using them and aren't moving, that's your problem!

on the what to say if no money or credit. I don't tell them that. When they call I begin building a re-pour, I begin my fact finding mission. I gather as much information about their situation, what they are wishing to do, motivation, flexibility, current situation, condition of the property, etc. HOW I enter/exit the property is irrelevant at this point. They want to know can I help them, will I buy their property, will I solve their problem......etc

**wanted to add, the whole first conversation I do in 5-10 min. Remember be compassionate but it's business. Keep emotions in check.

You have to feel this out as you go. Bottom line talk less, listen more. I'll just touch the highlights but the conversation goes something like this:
Me: "Hello, this is Jennifer Gray returning a call regarding a property that you may want to sell" ,
seller: "Yes, I saw your bandit sign over by Winn-Dixie that said you buy houses and I've got a property I need to get rid of".
me: "O.k. great, well first tell me a little about your situation and what you are looking to do" (this is the start of finding their motivation, find out where they are AT, to know where you can take them - 'so to speak') beware they WILL UNLOAD on you. lol Be understanding, don't judge and give them conversational confirmations that (kind of repeat some of the info back to them) to let them know you are listening and sympathize with their situation. Be genuine. They will feel understood and by you listening are their new BFF! (jk - kind of) but you are laying a foundation here.
If by chance they do not open up or give you the information that will provide their motivation ASK THEM "Why are you to selling"
I rolling into "tell me about the property" usually I'll gather as much about current condition as possible. I will ask the property specific questions (all the specs)
I personally have found saying something like "O.k. Kathy, tell me......if you were going to stay in the property and money was not a concern.....what you do to the property/what do you see needs to be fixed" that comment has been a rock kicker for me. I'll get something she MAY have forgot or just failed to mention off the previous question. "Like I would finally hire someone to fix the leak in the roof that I've been trying to my husband to fix for months"...etc you get the idea
AFTER I gather their motivation and condition I then ask "what are you asking for the property"
get their # and say "is that flexible?"
CAN'T tell you how much I hear well I'm asking XXX but I'd take XXX lol
Then I divert back OFF the topic of the money to say "o.k. tell me, how long has it been that you noticed the leaking roof" doesn't matter what you say, you are diverting their attention off the money.
Then In a round about way, I bring it back with something like "you said you WOULD take $XXX for the property"...(insert PAUSE count to 3-5 IN YOUR HEAD the pause is powerful.) Then say "Is that the best you can do?" 9 out of 10 I get their TRUE bottom #.

Side note: based on the situation they gave me, I may have already found the bottom portion out. ex: they may say I owe: $XX and I'm about to lose it to the bank. If you can take it before they get it save further damage to my credit, I'll just walk away, or may say "I just need $3k to move", etc.

disclaimer (lol) THIS is what I have found to work for ME. I use to start in on the property details first, but ended up 'feeling' 'interrogation like 'with the questions, etc. So now I guide them through it and try to set an atmosphere that ALLOW them to open up to me.

Then I say "o.k. Kathy, let me run some numbers on the property this afternoon and I will get back with you tomorrow around noon. Is XXX-XXXX a good number to reach you at that time?"

I personally do about 90-95% of the deal on the phone. If it's a possible 'go' for me during due diligence, I simply set a time to view the property and will present #'s face to face. How I structure my calls, leads to when I step foot on the property, I will be 'packing' contracts to lock it up. lol

you just have to feel it out, keep control of the conversation, doesn't matter if you are the buyer or investor Mike is the actually buyer. Right now, you are just finding out if it's something you can/want to move forward on. Actually done right, your seller can practically put the deal together FOR you. No matter the outcome, I personally always give them recommended courses of action/do something to assist.

Sorry long winded. sometime I get asked the time, and get caught up and forget not want to know how to build a watch. LOL so hopefully someone gets something out of it and I felt it was important.

blessings,
jen

I so love it when I check back and see MASSIVE action being taking by so many! Yeah, you can file it under "Things that make Jen Happy!!" lol

address a few questions/comments.

yes I have been chased off by the creepy Wal-Mart security guard. lol They just don't like you to put then IN the parking lot areas. So I accommodated the little guys, then stopped at the EXIT and hammered it in and took off. lol!

Regarding the comment on stakes. yes, have bent my share. I just bend it back to a form that works (wonder woman style - lol). I use a rubber mallet it hammer them in.
John and Jason did a good job responding on the the rock issue. I've personally found that usually if you move it a few feet either way to evade the mystery stone beneath. lol

Do whatever it takes, make it work and make it happen!

Great job everyone!

Jen

To honor my girlfriend's late Mother who was a 2 time breast cancer survivor, girlfriend and I took part in a Breast Cancer Awareness walk-a-thon this morning. While returning home after the walk, I passed by the locations I put my signs last night and saw that #1- They were still there and #2- The rain hadn't destroyed them. It only leaves me hopeful because since returning home, it has rained so much that this old dude with a long white beard and a big ole' boat floated by my house and asked if I needed any help. I thought I was smelling animals as he came closer. LOL

I did receive 1 call so far but it was from someone looking to rent a house from me. I returned the call but got no answer.

I may have to challenge the sign police because my yard is so flooded now that I know I won't be able to leave to pick up the signs. Last time it rained this much, it took almost a week before I could leave my property.

Will keep y'all posted

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

No wonder you have to get up at 4am every morning!

Another post full of great info!

Thanks!

Thanks for all the great info,you seem very compassionite and caring for people success,I know I will be successful,because of people like yourself on this website.

I had so much rain in just 2 days that the colvert in front of my yard, that drains into the lake at the end of the street, is so flooded that the water is running over my driveway not just under it. I walked out to see how bad it was and a baby Largemouth bass was swimming in my front yard. THAT'S a lot of water!!!!!! LOL Worst part is that there are 2 more days of rain expected after today

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

On a positive note, easy fishing! Better than a gator!

AndyS wrote:

I had so much rain in just 2 days that the colvert in front of my yard, that drains into the lake at the end of the street, is so flooded that the water is running over my driveway not just under it. I walked out to see how bad it was and a baby Largemouth bass was swimming in my front yard. THAT'S a lot of water!!!!!! LOL Worst part is that there are 2 more days of rain expected after today

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

The bad news is that he was too small for my lures. I got my fly rod but couldn't find him again. I think he went into the pile of tree limbs I was preparing to burn off. That or he was hiding somewhere in my vegetable garden. Imagine searching for bass behind the cucumbers or squash??? At least a gator would have been easier to spot. LOL
BTW: As the Father of a University of Florida alumni, I ain't scared of no Gators! LOL Go Gators!!!

Stay dry

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

"To honor my girlfriend's late Mother who was a 2 time breast cancer survivor, girlfriend and I took part in a Breast Cancer Awareness walk-a-thon this morning."

My mom and my sister are both two time br ca survivors! I've had it once (I took care of both sides the first time if you get what I mean). We have the dreaded mutant gene (yes, I'm a mutant!). hehe My sister actually gets involved in those things and today was on that walk a thon here in Phx. She's a trip, has a great sense of humor. She calls these things the "walk for the boobies" or something like that. lol Anyway, please tell your girlfriend to get checked and frequently because two times sounds like a gene issue.

I LOVE this thread, thanks Jen for starting it! I've learned so much.

If you can survive that, you can survive doing real estate.
Do what you have to do to be a winner!
Thanks for the advice. Girlfriend goes regularly for exams.

Now... Back to Real Estate...

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS in the Pink

When you received phone calls from your
For Sale
3BR/2BA Home
$37K
612-xxx-xxxx

What did you tell the caller when they called about your advertisement? I have tried this verbage, but when I told them the property is no longer available, but I may have other properties they might be interested in, I didn't hold their interest.

Also, when you are trying to wholesale for the first time and post a bandit sign that reads "I buy houses any condition" (but you don't have the $ to buy houses)what to you tell the caller? If you don't have the $ to buy houses (as advertised in your bandit sign) and you don't yet have buyers, how do you pull in buyers and/or gain their interest and trust?

Lastly, I received a good tip for creating bandit signs. There are a number of elections occuring soon, so there are bandit signs all over the place. Pull the signs (after the election)and use those stakes to post your bandit signs. Jen is absolutely right about the corregated yellow signs and the size.

Thanks to any and all that would like to provide input with my "buyers" questions.
homeruns

homeruns,

Print out a lead sheet on the site here and run through the questions with them.
Your looking to see if they have any equity in the house for a possible deal to pass on to your buyers. I know you said you don't have any buyers yet, if the deals good someone will buy it from you. There is more posts on the subject here also. Do you have the 30 days to quick cash book? Great info in there. I did my second posting on my bandit signs and got a call from a lady that said well if he buys houses he must have some for sale. Well I don't so I took all the information about what she's looking for in a home. now I'm looking to find her a home. It all works the same plus she has been pre qualified for up to 200k.It's not a cash buyer so to speak, hopefully it works out the same in the end.

Good Luck.

Awesome. Good info

okay... I finally ordered more signs today after researching and found your info to be the best price for me too. Thank you for providing the exact ordering product ##, otherwise that site is massive and confusing to me.

So, please give us the update on your connections made from putting out the signs you did that lead to the beginning of this thread being created!! (if you already did this and I missed it sorry, I'll get back and scan)

Thanks again!!

Best wishes on all your deal making!!

I posted Bandit signs and they get stolen. They are placed in areas that they are allowed in.
The only calls I have gotten are from angry agents that say I am doing something illegal. I know it isn't but I do not have the money put signs up that are going to disappear.
Peggy

OK newbie here.

I like the bandits idea, but what if I can only afford to purchase 1 sign at a time? It should still work right! I just priced one yesterday about $20 for stand and sign. Do people try to steal them? Do I need to be worried about that...

Wow, $20 for a sign is way too high!! Your money would go further with cheaper signs. Yes, people move them for various reasons. Still it should work if it is in a good location, but if you have multiple signs spread out, of course you will have lots more traffic and calls. Home depot has signs with I think reasonable stands for just $3-7.oo dollars. Also check the dollar store, although may not have stands but you can put them up on poles, etc. Tammy

For less than $30 I purchased the materials to make about 15 signs. I used Poster Board, Foam board and Saran Wrap from the Dollar Store, a bundle of 25- 1"x2"x 36" wood stakes from Lowes and roofing nails that I had at home. (I also already had tape and thick black magic markers at home.) I cut the poster board to fit the size of the foam board (Each piece made 2 signs), wrapped them in 2 pieces of Saran Wrap for weather protection and nailed them to a stake. I used a hammer and a spare piece of 2x4 to hammer the stakes into the ground. If you make your letters thick enough, people will see them through the Saran.

Hope this helps...

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

I will shop around. That was just my first look into the sign pricing!

AndyS wrote:

To honor my girlfriend's late Mother who was a 2 time breast cancer survivor, girlfriend and I took part in a Breast Cancer Awareness walk-a-thon this morning. While returning home after the walk, I passed by the locations I put my signs last night and saw that #1- They were still there and #2- The rain hadn't destroyed them. It only leaves me hopeful because since returning home, it has rained so much that this old dude with a long white beard and a big ole' boat floated by my house and asked if I needed any help. I thought I was smelling animals as he came closer. LOL

I did receive 1 call so far but it was from someone looking to rent a house from me. I returned the call but got no answer.

I may have to challenge the sign police because my yard is so flooded now that I know I won't be able to leave to pick up the signs. Last time it rained this much, it took almost a week before I could leave my property.

Will keep y'all posted

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

It is now Tuesday and I could finally get out and see what happened to my signs. Of the nine that I strategically placed in my towns high volume areas, 1 got broken by the weather( I believe) and 1 was removed. I was able to find the removed one and replanted it only to have it removed again about 1 hour later. Considering that I have the 2 other exits of this parking lot plastered in signs, I took the removed sign and will replace it again on Fri. I left the other signs since no one has bothered with them. Using the Saran wrap really saved the day because even tho the signs got wet, they didn't get destroyed and are still usable.

I only got the 1 call so far but I can't stop thinking that the weather had a lot to do with that. ( There was over 8 - 12 inches of rain in my area in just 2 days. So much flooding still that news crews from both Tampa and Orlando were in town today shooting the aftermath. These towns are both over 60 miles away from me.)
I do know that the signs are being seen. I went into a store today for something non RE related and needed to give the store owner my phone number. I took out one of my RE cards and told her to call me at the number on the card and as she looked at the card she said "Oh, are you the one with all the signs out on Rte 60?" I had to confess because I am the only signs on the road that say "WE BUY HOUSES!"
So I may not have gotten a lot of calls but I know I need to keep my number out there because it is being seen.

Will be putting out more signs again on Fri in a few more locations.
Will keep y'all posted

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

I will be putting out my First set Of signs this Weekend..I hope I get alot of calls..Well hopefully not to much Cuz I will be watching Football all Weekend but after that let the phone Ring all it wants..LOL.

That is why it is so important to build your buyers list first. Trust me it took me awhile and it wasn't easy.

The only reason I am in this thread is I have finally started to build a decent buyers list.

Its time to locate some deals for the people who are counting on me.

Good luck Frank,

I was a skeptic and after almost 2 weeks of getting nothing from them, I was prepared to say "They don't work everywhere." I would have been WRONG!!!!!

With all the tribulations and fears I had about getting nasty calls and having my signs removed by the sign police, it hasn't happened.....yet. Yes, the first few days I did have 2 signs removed from their spots but they were dumped in the shrubbery close by so I was able to find them and re post them. It's now been 3 weeks and I know of 3 signs that are still up. 3 signs that I took down because they were ruined by the weather and 4 that have disappeared ( probably by the lawn crews.) Best of all, after the first 2 weeks of nothing, I have had 7 calls in the past 2 days alone. I've spoken to all and will be arranging meetings to see their properties.

So YES, Bandit Signs, when done correctly, work. Correctly means making sure your words are BIG and your phone number is LARGE enough to see at a distance. I can't tell you how many garage/ yard sale signs I've seen that you can't read the info because it is too small or has too many words. Say less and write BIGGER! I was in another town this week and there were signs EVERYWHERE for this one house. The problem was the letters were written so lightly that even at a stop light, I couldn't read them. What good is 20 signs if they can't be read.

Here's a tip: since I live in a small town, there aren't many busy intersections. What I did was place my signs at the exits of the shopping/ grocery centers right by the stop signs. I also made sure that they were placed that if someone was stopped to write down the number, others could get around the stopped car safely. (No sense losing a potential client because he had an accident writing down your number ) You may want to keep this in mind when placing your signs. Cars going 40 miles per hour only have about 2 seconds to see your sign. Cars stopped at a light have about 30 to 40 seconds. Cars stopped at a stop sign have all the time they need.

Hope this helps....

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

bumping post..... thought it could use it

system works, don't change it!

just duplicate exactly as we've been taught.

Many blessings,
Jen

reminder.....bandits work, work them!

God bless,
Jen

Costa Maya or Roatan?

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

thank you! was taken in Cozumel

Hi Jen:
I didn't recognize the background. I love Cozumel and have been many times. The only beach side places I can remember that had hammocks was the El Presidente resort. I didn't think you guys would be going there. LOL
I guess I need my RE investing to get me back there soon. I guess that means MORE BANDIT SIGNS!!!!

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

JEN,

may god bless you, thank you for taking time away from your hammock to help us. LOL......... oh wait do you have a laptop ???...... LOL...... i wish you all the success in the world........

LYNWALT PROPERTIES, ???
WALT

Thanks for inspiration us.Do you put signs up to get buyers also,if so can you tell us what they say.Or do you all ready have your buyers in place?How do you know what to offer for these places?When you lock them up on contract,what kind of earnest money do you put down?Sorry,one more thing do you use your own cell number,or a untraceble number?