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

lol! thanks Walt. After 5 yrs of no vacation, 1 wk of REI and relaxing was nice! (even from a hammock - lol) I work on my business everyday. Cool thing about what I do, I can work from where ever I am.

Many blessings to you!
May success always be yours!

God bless,
Jen

Hey Mike,

I do have a strong list of cash buyers. I've used bandits in the yard and end of streets of a property to draw me tenant buyers (ex: RENT-TO-OWN, etc.) so haven't used them for cash buyers. Haven't had to. I do Not personally use ghost ads. I DO run the properties I have under contract until they close. (most effect was of getting quality buyers) I do give them address/#'s and have them as a back up buyers on a deal incase one can't/doesn't perform for any reason. I use direct marketing (letters and then 3 wk follow up with post cards) for cash solds. Also ads of:
""ATTN INVESTORS"
Cost you Nothing, Nothing to Lose! So put me to work for you!
Don't waste your time searching for properties - let me bring them to you!
Local wholesaler will Only bring you what fits your criteria, so NO wasting time!
Contact me Now (phone #)"

What to offer? I run each property to go three ways: wholesale, flip and hold. (it should work forwards and backwards and have multiple strategies to use) Based on MLS sold comps (i have access to mls). 30-60 days. On low low end stuff (no retail sales) cash solds mark the comp for the those properties. (ex if I know investors are purchasing off MLS for $15k I have to get under that to wholesale it (make sense?)
Earnest money: on my LO/Flex Option I do $10. on FSBO. MOST of my FSBO are $50 and in most cases due at close (it's netted out of my profit) EM on MLS is $500 unless Fannie Mae (10% of PP)
Yes I do use my cell number on my bandit signs. ALOT will hang up if they get a VM so make sure you are returning your missed calls.

Hope this helps!
Jen

This back up, it works!

Great Info. Thanks!

Hello Jen,

I just want to say I just read your post 154 about what to say and that helps me so much. thank you !!!! I'm scared to death of meeting the seller in person. so I'm glad you said you do alot on the phone first.

I know you said you got sick before you would call a seller. did it bother you to go to there house and be in there enviroment and talk to them about there house???? - AND WHAT TYPES OF BAD EXPERIENCES HAVE YOU HAD AT A SELLERS HOUSE ?? IF ANY....

thanks jen,
WALT

You know, what has truly helped me the most......Taking my eyes off myself. When I meet with a seller, I don't focus on me, the money, etc. I focus on 'how can I help/serve this person?' People will feel when you are genuine. Honestly I've never had a bad experience at a sellers house. Yes, I've had TONS that didn't amount/surface. But it's just human nature and extremely hard to get mad at someone that's trying to help you. lol
I believe in being honest, treating everyone with respect. NEVER giving what you get. Meaning if at first the seller seems harsh, rude, angry, etc. Don't take it personal. It usually surfaces WHY they are acting as they are. Most are stressed, hurting, in some kind of pain! Be hard on the problem and easy on the people!

One little "one liner" I've developed that takes the pressure off is: "o.k. Mike (seller's name) let stop for just a minute, forget about the property, forget about the numbers for just a second and let's just you and me have a conversation. Let's just talk about what it is YOU need and how I help you." I've found this to be extremely relaxing and setting the seller at ease and get them to open up. (aka allowing me to CREATE the deal)

Hope I answered your question fully and helps in some way!
Blessings,
Jen

Mike (blackboard),

I use the signs exactly (or pretty darned close) to what Dean and Matt tell us use, and truthfully I get calls from Cash Buyer/Investors, Retail Buyers, Sellers, and the occassional RE Agent from both. Here is what I use, and btw I tried 5 different locations before I found THE SPOT that brought me 60 calls a week!

Bandit Signs that attract (mostly) buyers:
"4 bdr/ 2 bth Desperate to Sell + my Google Voice (untraceable) LOCAL phone number"
Matt Larson actually tells us to use Magic Jack and he is right.... but I used 2 different email addresses to get 2 different GV phone numbers free... I was just cheap)

I do the signs BLACK on YELLOW, Handwritten with a giant sharpie, just like our instruction says to.

Bandit Signs that attract (mostly) sellers:
"I BUY HOUSES any condition + my Google Voice (untraceable) LOCAL phone number"

They work! (and yes they are illegal, but.... whatever, so far no harm, no foul)

Now that I found THE SPOT, my problem is I did not listen to Dean and do a lengthy detailed recorded message at first, so I need to now. I can't quite answer all the calls and my leads get cold... I am taking care of that now.

Hope this helped!

Mike (blackboard),

See previous post on Bandit Signs,
to answer your question re:
"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?"

Mike, go back to the books....
basically you determine your offers by ARV COMPS-15% Crap Costs-Profit-Repairs = Offer,
BUT you also have to offer WHAT YOUR BUYER WILL PAY...(it is part of your buyers criteria), make sure your offer fits our DG equation and your buyer's criteria.

As for Earnest Money... again go back to the books, but basically Matt Larson only does $1 [on FSBO], and I think you'll find in this site that most of us do what the market "requires" (what the local investors are doing). I do a standard $500 on my REO offers and a standard $100 on Short Sales. In reality, I negotiate with the sellers on EMD. $500 is often accepted, sometimes $1000 and sometimes 1 or 2%.
I had just had an offer that the seller countered with $10,000 (on a purchase price of $50,000!) and I contacted my buyer... he said go ahead and accept the counter, so I did! (he did not care, because he was ready to close the deal as fast as Title could put the paperwork together.
All in all, DON"T sweat the EMD... put it in low on your standard offers and negotiate it as you go.

"Think Less, Do More"-- our very own Dean Graziosi

Be well and have an abundant 2012

You have so much valuable information.
A lot to learn from you!!

Watch for abandoned signs after elections, including the upcoming presidential ones. Do not take them from private property...people's yards for instance. There are lots of vacant lots and public property signs. Realtors pick up their open house signs, for instance, the evening after their open house, but political campaigns put them out and forget them, forever. Watch for them an after an election and take them. Sometimes, the stakes are more expensive than the signs.

You can also use wooden stakes, like the ones for small plants and trees bought in the garden section of Walmart, for example.

Hi Jen,
In your post titled "BANDITS If you AREN'T using them and aren't moving, that's your problem!", the deals you refer to, were they all from the bandit signs and over what period of time did you do those deal? - 4 wholesale deals, 1-Subject To, 2-LO. Will be putting 2 more for sure under contract by Friday (wholesales).
Thanks, Rick

Jen, you are amazing, truly motivation inspired, i cant wait to read your post and follow in ur foot steps, ur amazing Jen aka mini matt ; )

yes they were all from bandit signs. These were picked up in a one week span.
lol! I look back at the thread posted last year and I had put out '22 signs' that night bhhahha! I had to laugh.....that's all I was doing?!?! Now it'd be considered a night off if I only did 22!
funny how we grow!
jen

lol! thank you Irvin! I appreciate the kind words!

Not to be a downer but the following article was in my local newspaper and I wanted all us Bandit Signers to be aware of it. It could be coming to a town near you! Be SELECTIVE where you put out your signs

"Code Enforcement: Polk May Turn To Robocalls in War on Signs"
Published June 17, 2012
http://www.theledger.com/article/20120617/NEWS/120619409

How fortunate for me that the other city mentioned in the article is where I came from? :s Talk about from the fire into the frying pan!

So all beware and have your backup advertising plan in place

A_d_ S_ge_
DG's AndyS
CFIC member

thnk you bama girl & I am about to put out signs too, I found a guy netwrkng w/puts them out for you for 2 bcks a sign being that I dont drive due to vision and $500 a deal w/i get it so God is making a way! Be blessed

Jen,
That is fantastic. Thanks for the fast reply.
Rick

There's a lot of different businesses, taking advantage of bandit signs & leaving 'em up all the time. The junk car signs are annoying!

AndyS wrote:

Not to be a downer but the following article was in my local newspaper and I wanted all us Bandit Signers to be aware of it. It could be coming to a town near you! Be SELECTIVE where you put out your signs

"Code Enforcement: Polk May Turn To Robocalls in War on Signs"
Published June 17, 2012
http://www.theledger.com/article/20120617/NEWS/120619409

How fortunate for me that the other city mentioned in the article is where I came from? :s Talk about from the fire into the frying pan!

So all beware and have your backup advertising plan in place

A_d_ S_ge_
DG's AndyS
CFIC member

The point I was making was that the government is trying new tactics to get rid of Bandit signs that are put in PUBLIC places. These tactics are designed to waste the signer's time and efforts and make it more disruptive to use them. They were not talking about on private land tho. A while back I had an incident in a parking lot of a grocery store and the policeman who responded said that because I was on private property he could not ticket the other driver. That leads me to believe that putting your signs in a parking lot (for example) might be less likely to attract code enforcement's attention than say, a stop sign or traffic corner.
The bottom line is that each town has their own specific advertising laws or rules and it might just come, at some point, to be more advantageous to follow them. (The ol' "Pay me less now or more later" kind of thing. ) It might be worth investigating these rules to use them in your favor.

Just trying to provide a public service to our family

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS
CFIC member

thishousebuyer wrote:

There's a lot of different businesses, taking advantage of bandit signs & leaving 'em up all the time. The junk car signs are annoying!

AndyS wrote:

Not to be a downer but the following article was in my local newspaper and I wanted all us Bandit Signers to be aware of it. It could be coming to a town near you! Be SELECTIVE where you put out your signs

"Code Enforcement: Polk May Turn To Robocalls in War on Signs"
Published June 17, 2012
http://www.theledger.com/article/20120617/NEWS/120619409

How fortunate for me that the other city mentioned in the article is where I came from? :s Talk about from the fire into the frying pan!

So all beware and have your backup advertising plan in place

A_d_ S_ge_
DG's AndyS
CFIC member

To the top again

I was just wondering are you putting your Bandit Signs up on telephone polls and light polls or are you just putting them on stakes and sticking them in the ground.

I have between 5-10 put on poles. these are in specific areas/intersections. Otherwise each week all 50-100 go on stakes.

thanks
jen

Hey Jen,

You keep your signs out and never take them down correct? Thats what we were thinking of doing. We put out 25 Fri, we know 9 have been taken down so far, we plan on putting another 25 out this coming week/weekend and don't plan on ever taking them down unless the officials contact us and tell us we need to.

Yes Jack, I never pick them up. I have a min of 50 go out every Friday night.

Thank You for answering my question Jen it was a big help. I have been putting the bandit signs on telephone polls only and have only gotten about 4 calls. Your answer should help to improve that for me.

It is so uplifting to hear all these stories. I have yet to complete reading my Books I ordered from Dean. I am so excited, at the moment I don't have the money to invest in even the bandit signs, but I am gathering my information on Lenders. I have also looked at my banks REO's. I checked out with the bank to see if, I qualified for any loans, which I don't so, I am interested in no money down deals for sure or owner will carry. Once I figure that out enough for me to try it. I am also looking at properties and making a list to use as a dummy list to learn to do the comps. I am looking at what Agents I want to find, but not there yet. I am like most here prop virgin still, but determined to go throw it all to make it! God bless you all and may we all prosper in Jesus' name Amen.

I'm glad you explained how you worked that out with your REA. I tried to do that with mine and I guess she thought I wanted to do it "under the table" and she said she was not allowed to do that! WHAT??? Maybe I didn't explain it well enough but I had a deal and needed a buyer too. So you just told your agent that you would let her list it when you got it under contract if she could provide a cash buyer? How did you handle the inspection period (after you got it listed with her)? But since you probably had a 14 day inspection, that was probably enough time since she had a cash buyer now that I think about it. That's a good way to get your realtor to help on the deal and you still make your profit and the REA makes a profit also!!! Way to go Jen!!!! Thanks!!!

Shirley

Hey Shirley,

going to have to refresh me on which specific deal. Which post are you referring to?

I have paid my agent outside and he has paid me outside (1x each) everything else is always caught on the HUD-1
I am not even submitting with 14 day contingencies right now. I'm submitting with inspection and to close within a 10 day period. These last resubmits I pulled down to 7 days (mls stuff). But I'm aggressively offering and aggressively buying! FSBO I'm closing in 3-5 days.

about agent and list. I pull him in on a double if 1st side fee is crap. lol also occasionally pull in on FSBO. then he gets front and back sides of retail flips. I have him hitting a pretty good bit 2 times. (but he does work his tail off for me and gets anything I ask within 5 mins. tops - I appreciate him and want him paid well!) we are running a pretty decent/consistent volume

hope that covered what you were asking.
thanks and God bless
jen

This post got me off my Bandit Sign Butt.

I only put out 20 and they were getting me 1 or 2 calls per day. Not alot of calls, I know, but enough to keep me pretty busy for 3 weeks, between taking calls, researching properties, and wage-slave-ing everyday.

I got about 30 calls total. Some were just people "wondering what this is all about" (thought that was strange that so many said EXACTLY that), alot of unmotivated sellers, listed properties or WAY upside down, one cash buyer, a local wholesaler that told me he didn't know anybody else was doing this here (he seemed scared), one lady that asked me if I needed a housekeeper , one possible Lease/Option and three possible wholesale deals, 2 of them are vacant/inherited/heavy rehab houses that look very promi$ing.

A WHOLE YEAR of driving for dollars, yellow letters, and cold-calling seller ads didn't work this good! It was getting a little bit too hectic and my signs were falling apart because I made them out of cardboard so I pulled them all except 2 and I am STILL getting about 1 call every 3 days.

Concentrating on research and offers this week. I LOVE MY BANDIT SIGNS!

Jen & other fellow DGers,

So you are placing your signs at major intersections and where people shop, NOT in neighborhoods, right? And you are getting BOTH Sellers and Buyers responding to your signs, right?

Just trying to understand the marketing tips behind Bandit Signs, as I am not getting anywhere near that level of response. Like Edison, I am learning a 1000 ways NOT to use Bandit Signs (i.e. a 1000 ways not to invent the light-bulb).

Thanks.
--Walter