That Magic 25:1 Ratio- It WORKED

you are my new hero. heroine.. Thanks for staying at it. I just feel so happy for you right now and a sense of peace after an RE storm. Thanks for being so determined and standing against all the negatives! I am proud to have you in my corner, and I'm proud to be in yours!

God bless,
your DG sis,

Rina

Hi, I'm new at this so can you explain in detail how you put in the offers? an exsample would be great!

That is so great...Very good job staying with everything...I have read your post on here, and thought the whole assignment with Rina was awesome...And on the being frustrated part, oh I know how that is...Believe me...I am going to save your post, and show my agent this...maybe that will get him more into doing this...I can tell(even though he is willing to put offers in)that he is still kind of skeptical and doesn't think it will work like that...So I thank you very much for this post and am happy for you...

I remember your frustated post.
How are you getting funded? HML, and did you put and/or assigns on any of your offers.

Rina - I wouldnt be where I am without you - honestly. You and all the others who so tirelessly post here and support the rest of us with your experience and knowledge (and great deals )- you all know who you are! So a thousand thanks!
Marc - thanks for your kind words...definitely tell your realtor this story! I told mine last week what I was going to do and offered her an out if she wasnt comfortable with it. She said she was definitely in and would put in any offer I told her to, and here we are!
This brings me to the answer to Cashflows question: What I did was get a list of all bank REOs and homes on the market over 90 days from my realtor. From that list I read them over, picked ones within my target price range, did initial comps for FMV using Zillow if I didnt know the area, (my realtor runs them for me when/if we get any action on offers to verify) and also check the tax site for assessed value and sales history. Then when I determined that the asking price was far enough below FMV - I did what Matt said in the book - I offered 40% below the ASKING price! This is where playing the odds comes in. We got fast response on some, where they already had offers 50,000 or more higher than mine, some asked for my highest and best and some havent responded yet. But the truth is if you take the whole process one house at a time like I've been doing - finding it, setting up a walk through, running numbers, and then going back with an offer you will spend alot of wasted time - not to mention that the good deals go fast - you cant really afford to do that. Throw your offers out there. Once one gets accepted you always have the option to back out once you see it. But it puts YOU in control. GO FOR IT!

out of curiosity, did you find properties that were on the market for a certain amount of time, or did you just throw low offers at anything???Basically, did you have a certain criteria you were looking for before putting in the offers?

I am sorry, you must have been posting same time as me...Disregard the question cause you answered it already...

Ha - I must have been typing at the same time as Jason too!
Jason - I did not put and/or assigns on my contracts, because right now I am investing with my fiance - who is in the home improvement business - great match, right and we are looking to buy and hold right now for positive cash flow for ourselves. We are purchasing with 25% down and mortgaging the rest. The rehab money will come from my HELOC, which is really low - prime minus 1%. Cant beat that. I already know we can rent it for positive cash flow, or even better do a lease/option for a year or two.

No Way Laura! You got a colonial???? I love those old houses. They are so beautiful and large. Keep it. Can you post pictures of it for us to see?
Congratulations on your find and the 25:1. I know it works. You just have to get through all those no's to get to that one wonderful yes! I am so proud of you and so happy you got a colonial.

I picked up 3 houses last night to wholesale. Houses are very abundant right now if you just constantly look.

Wow - 3 houses last night! Incredible - good for you! Do you have a big buyers list?
As far as my new house, I love colonials too! So much character...this house has beautiful woodwork inside. Once I take possession (30 days till closing) I will post pre-pics and then post.
Tell me more of your deals - by wholesaling do you mean assigning?

Laura:
Congratulations!!! I know investing in NJ is as hard as NYC. I hope it works out. Good luck! Thanks for the inspiration!

Sissy:
You picked up 3 houses! Congrats! Where are they located?

Yuri

Laura:
Congratulations!!! I know investing in NJ is as hard as NYC. I hope it works out. Good luck! Thanks for the inspiration!

Sissy:
You picked up 3 houses! Congrats! Where are they located?

Yuri

And best of luck to you to! Perseverence DOES pay off.....how are things going up there in Brooklyn?

Yes...by wholesaling I mean assigning. I have a medium sized buyer list and adding to it all the time. I just call up home owners (who own several houses) and start talking about the housing market etc....before you know it I am telling them of great wholesale deals I can pass on to them. Then sometimes I pick up another buyer.
These 3 houses are located in a neighborhood in North Little Rock that is being refurbished and being bought up by investors. It is the new Argenta district. A new artsy location that artists and developers are restoring all these old classic buildings and houses.
I really want to see the old colonial pictures when you get them.

Laura:
Though I live in Brooklyn, my area of investment is in Pennsylvania. Pocono Mountains to be exact. The area has been coming up for a while.

Sissy:
I would love to hear the way you strike up a conversation with home owners. I was never good at that. Do you mind sharing?

Yuri

Nice....55% of FMV....good job!

I would say something like this if it were you I was calling.

Hi Yuri? (Or I am calling for Yuri if someone else answers)
"yes this is Yuri"....You are just the person I was looking for! How are you doing today? "I am doing well" Great! This is Sissy and I have been looking at houses to buy in an area that you currently own a home in. (discuss the area they own a home in)
I was wondering what you think of that area? (People like to talk about what they think or an opinion...this engages them into conversation)
Does it seem to be a nice safe area? "well yes I have never had any problems"..
Do you think $30,000 is a good price for a 3 BR 2 BA in that area? What kind of rents can I get in that area?

I sometimes am concerned about getting tenants that won't pay their rents or destroying my property. Have you ever had bad tenants? "Yuri tells her bad tenant story" (at this point you are building rapore with Yuri swapping bad tenant stories and having a laugh)

Then you go on to say...Hey I am always finding great bargains in your area and all around Central Arkansas...would you mind me adding you to my list of people to call on when I get a great bargain on a house? Yuri will probably say sure! Get her email and contact information and what she likes to buy.
Then say..."hey since we both have real estate in common we ought to meet sometime for coffee or a burger and talk about real estate.
Yuri may say sure...it was so good talking to you and hopefully we can find a day to meet.

Just kinda like that. LOL! I have made good friends with my investors and a lot of time they just call me to say hi what you doing! Always make a friend first.

Hi Everyone, I just got Deans new book and I'm very interested in starting this. My question is-I'm in New York, has anyone bought in New York. We are a very different market and I have concerns about it. What seems to work across the country is always very different in New York. I know, because I have a flooring store and a national chain that runs ads all over the US promised my store we could do 100,000 and because of our area we only did 15000. So I feel NY is very different. Besides real estate taxes are very high and properties are also very high. Can anyone suggest anything? Anxious to start.

I'm thrilled to read your post on how you decided to go for it re: the 25 offer route. Aside from reading about Matt's 25:1 method in the latest book by Dean, it is fantastic to be reading about it in real time and seeing it succeed over and over again for people in this forum. I look forward to your updates on this, it's inspiring!

Nancy

I was wondering is anyone on the site in the Maryland area?

Laura,
If I understand this correctly you put in 25 offers on houses you never saw? How do you know what needs to be done to rehab it in order to come up with an offer?
Kat

Love reading 'success stories,' gives me hope for similar results. Thanks for sharing. Will save your post to use as future reference. Way To Go!!

Sandi

Enjoyed your post. Wish I had your talent, your gift for gab...it is a valuable asset to have in any business, but especially this one, I think. Hope you don't mind, but I'm copying your conversation with Yuri into my notebook...I know I'll want to read it again. Thanks for sharing.

Sandi

Of course it works. I discovered it out of actually buying properties-not theory. When the 25:1 formula is performed as it was designed it is more consistent than gravity.

HI NYJO
MY NAME IS WILTON,AND I LIVE IN BKLYN.I TO HAVE JUST STARTED READING DEANS BOOKS,ANDF YOUR CONCERN IS ALSO MY CONCERN.YES NY IS REALLY EXPENSIVE ,DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY-NO DOUTH ABOUT THAT NYJO.BUT READING AND FOLLOMING DEANS STRATERGIES I BEIEVE THAT YOU CAN FIND DEALS THAT YOU CAN PROFIT FROM AND MAKE IT A WIN WIN WIN SITUATION.IT MAY BE EASY FOR ME TO SAY SO,BUT IT TAKES ALOT OF DUE DILEGENCE AND FOCUS.AND LETS NOT LET ANYTHING AS OUR CONCERNS STOP US FROM BEING A SUCCUSS. HEY IT CAN BE DONE IN NY.ALL YOU NEED IS JUST ONE DEAL IN THIS GREAT BUYERS MARKET AND THE REST WILL BE HISTORY.HEY WE CAN DO IT

Hi guys:
I am from Brooklyn as well and share your concerns. That's why I started investing in a different area. Poconos is coming up and there are alot of undervalued properties there. Once you get your feet wet on 80-100K properties, you can move to Brooklyn market.

I have to agree with you about Sistreat's talent. She is good! I guess it is the southern thing Try calling people in New York and saying "HI, I would like your advice on the properties" You will get hung up on LOL Everyone is busy, everyone is running and pretty much rude. It's not just my observation, but everyone else's.

Regardless, I will definitely will you use your speech, Sissy! Thanks a million!

Hey Matt:
I just followed your theory and submitted 27 offers. Let's hope it works out. Thanks for your input in Dean's book. It helped tremendously.

After accepting my offer yesterday - we redid the contract and sent it over. Today my realtor called to say 'wheres my signed contract' and he said, 'oh sorry, we just got a 170,000.00 offer they signed on." X*#*$@#*$&@(#*&$
I'll admit I'm upset right now. But I tell myself if it doesnt happen it wasnt meant to be...... NEXT.....
CCC - about your question - yes - I am putting in offers without seeing the houses (other than the pics on the listing)....once one gets countered or accepted THEN I go look. My offers are low enough that it leaves alot of room. But if they turn out to be completely out of the question then I would be the one to walk. It saves a ton of time and gets your offers out there a whole lot quicker. I am following everything CBRPower (Matt) has taught about this strategy. You can read it in his threads or in the new book. And look where he is!!!!!!!!!!
Keep on keeping on everybody!

Hi Laura, congrats on a job well done. You did what you said you were going to do, ACT. It proved to be quite successful. Your success as well of the successes of others are what drives us to stay the course. Good Luck.

Sandra