gdr6122

Has anyone here ever been cursed at and hung up on when you called to ask about a vacant home you noticed in your neighborhood? I have. I experienced this today. It was a unique experience because I learned that some people have a strong emotional attachment to their property and really don't know what it is we do. Remember, we are problem solvers that get paid to help distressed homeowners get out of their current property situation.

I ended up finding the owner of a vacant property. I ended up finding where the owner lived and I called the number and asked some general questions about the home, basically that I noticed it was vacant and wanted to know if it was for sale.

Long story short, I was hung up on twice and cursed at both times by a lady that told me she was the home owner and that I didn't have enough money to buy it if I wanted to and that it wasn't for sale.

There's more to the story but that's just an overview of the experience. The owner to this property lives four houses down from the one that's vacant. Her current residence is well maintained and the vacant one is a complete mess.

I've came to the conclusion that she is still emotionally attached to the house and maybe had some bad tenants in the home and is bitter by that experience or it may possibly be going into foreclosure. Whatever the reason, I am not going to give up on this one. I am going to write her a letter of apology and tell her exactly what I can possibly do for her if she would like to get out of her housing situation.

Initially I was nervous, very nervous to call this lady because calling a complete stranger was something that I have never done before. I sat on my bed for several minutes staring at her number and almost didn't call her because I was fearful that she would yell at me. Well guess what, she did yell at me and hung up on me. I call her back and continued to try to speak to her only to get hung up on a second time. To my surprise, this experience has made me more ambitious to call more home owners because every call is going to give you something that you never can anticipate. I never would have thought that I would be yelled and cursed at by a home owner but it has made me more confident because I know I'm heading in the right direction.

I'm writing this mainly to let others know that if you end up calling a home owner to ask about a home and they get defensive about your call, don't get down about it because they just don't understand what it is we do. Keep at it and you'll eventually close some deals down the road.

I received an email a few days ago inviting me to attend a D.G. real estate seminar in White Plains, NY. I registered and said that I'd love to attend since I live in Orange County NY but I never received a confimation. Is there in fact going to be a seminar there? If so, I'd love to attend and hopefully this post will excite others to the point to where they too would like to attend.

Perhaps there's additional information about these seminars ( there were more than just the White Plains seminar) on this site, if so does anyone know where to go to find this information?

Just out of curiousity, for those that have gone onto gosection8.com to get a list of landlords have any of you found success here? I attempted to go on and searched but all I was able to do is enroll as a landlord. I was trying to get access to a list of landlords through this site but came up empty handed. Please advise.

Goldbar-Gary I am seking your help. I went on your website. contact me via email too. lollipoohs@****

You have an email address but there is nothing after the @ portion. Is this @hotmail, gmail, yahoo?

I'd love to assist in any way possible. Let me know.

Gary D. Rabatin

Growing up, I used to LOVE receiving postcards in the mail from my grandma when she and my grandpa were away on vacation. They would send me a postcard about every three days until they returned. I enjoyed those postcards because it made me feel as if I were there with them and it brought joy to my day.

Postcards are the mail that everyone reads! All you have to do is see the front, flip it over, and read the quick 5-7 sentence postcard and that's that!

I've applied this simple strategy into my direct marketing and I've been asked to provide some additonal insight on how I do it and what I write on them. You asked, so you shall receive:

Postcard one: ( My initial postcard to the owner of a vacant house)

Dear (NAME),

While I was driving through the neighborhood, I noticed your house was empty at ( their address). Are you interested in selling it or would you at least consider selling it to me for cash? I'm a real estate investor and I buy housing for cash. I work with cash buyers that I have partnered with and together we are able to close on houses VERY quickly. If interested please email me at .......@ or call me at xxx-xxx-xxx. I look for to your reply.

Regards,
Gary D. Rabatin

NOTE: I will look up the property information to see if they have a different mailing address than the actual house. If so, then I send this postcard to their actual mailing address. If I am unable to find their new mailing address, I'll just send it to the house address hoping that they've provided the post office with a forwarding address. Sometimes they do and sometimes that don't so it's hit or miss but it's more HIT THAN MISS so try this approach anyways.

Postcard two ( send this out on Day two )

Hey (name),

I just wanted to follow up with you in case my first postcard get lost in the mail. I am interested in your lovely home located at (address) and wanted to know if you are interested in selling it? No I'm note an agent, I'm an investor and I buy housing for CASH. If you're currently dealing with a sticky housing situation that has caused you to relocate, that's perfectly fine because I'd still be willing to buy your house if it meets my criteria. Please email me at ...........@ or call me at xxx-xxx-xxx. I look forward to your reply.

Regards,
Gary D. Rabatin

NOTE: Look up the tax records to see if the house is delinquent on back taxes because they may have got behind on paying taxes so your next letter, yes the third piece is a HAND WRITTEN LETTER stating something like this:

Dear (owner),

Hello again, it's Gary ( the guy that would like to buy your lovely house) and I noticed that there are back taxes owed on your property at 1234 Elm St. in the amount of $15,833.23 and I would like to pay off your back taxes AND put a few thousand dollars back in your back in exchange for the deed to your property. We can do a quit claim deed ( I LIVE IN NY so it may be different in your state, not sure) which will essentially transfer the property from you to me. By doing this, you won't have to worry about your house getting vandalized or getting letters from the tax commissioner's office demanding that you pay them their money.

All I'm doing is providing you with some options should you decide to sell. Please consider this option because I'll be able to keep this offer on the table for the next 45 days so you have some time to decide on whether or you would like to move forward and sell your house. I have an agent that I pay directly so they is need for you to have to find an agent to close on the property or even worry about my agent pulling 6% of the purchase price from the sale because I pay him directly. If you would like to consider doing this or have questions, just call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

I look forward to your call. Talk to you SOON!

Sincerely,
Gary D. Rabatin

NOTE: you will want to hand write this to make it more personal and you want to send it in an envelope because you don't want the world to see the contents of what you wrote so a postcard is not a good option here.

This is just a glimpse at what I'm doing here in Orange County, NY so feel free to get creative and begin your direct marketing campaign NOW. No, not tomorrow, not after the children go to bed next Wednesday, NOW.

MORE OFFERS, MORE DEALS, MORE MONEY!!!!!"

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend DGers.

Whether you're a novice investor or a seasoned investor, or have a few deals under your belt, a large majority of us will begin our real investor career by first looking for houses. I love being a property scout! I prefer using this terms over a bird dogger because it just sounds better. The approach of find houses is good but what does that house have to have in order for a deal to manifest? It needs to have a motivated SELLER!

Motivated Sellers equates to property bargains. But where do you find motivated sellers? There have been several posts on here on where to find motivated sellers but here are just a few so you have it. Motivated sellers are not hard to find but they won't be knocking on your door to tell they're motivated either nor will they be shouting out, "Here I AM, Buy my house because I'm motivated..." which is why we have to continue to keep our heads on a swivel looking for the next deal in the making.

Here's a few ways to find them:

1. Absentee Landlords, (check tax records for these owners)
2. Estate sales. Check your local newspaper for these.
3. HUD and other government foreclosed properties, check your state's website for listings.
4. Owners whose property has code violations, you will see a white paper attached to their front door if they have one or you can check with your city for a list of property code violators. ( I've never actually checked with my city, I've been successful with just noticing the violation sheets attached to front doors of properties)
5. Owners of fire damaged properties, check tax records for these owners because they more than likely already received OR are about to receive an insurance check from their insurance company.
6. Owners of condemned properties, again, a notice will be on front door usually of condemned properties or check tax records for a list of these owners.
7. People that are relocating. I like this one. Just go to craigslist.com and in the Search box inside the real estate section just type in "moving" or "relocating" and then click search and all the homes you will see pertain to people that are moving/relocating. Pretty cool huh.. I thought so..
8. Expired MLS listings ( you will have to use your agent for access to this information. If you don't have an agent on your team, GET ONE THIS WEEK!!)
9. Drive by and look for vacant homes and then find out who owns the house and send the owner a couple a friendly postcards offering to buy their house from them.
10. WORD OF MOUTH. Just ask around. "Hey do you know of anyone that needs to sell their home fast or has a house they have been trying to sell with little to no success? If so, I'd love to try to help them get their house sold within 30 days."

Ok I'm off to enjoy the nice weather today. It's BBQ preparation.

Spread your wings and take flight! You've earned it, so EARN IT!

The greatest investment you can make is real estate investing in

YOU Incorporated! If you invest in yourself, others will invest in you!

Being a certified cash flow consultant, a relentless RE investor and a public speaker ( Solely RE based of course) has opened up many doors for me professionally. Now that I have read every word of your anti-journal, I'm going to get my license too.

I'll be flashing my "badge" like I'm an FBI agent to keep the skeptics at bay. I'll still be putting up signs, flyers, handing out business cards like a blackjack dealer, setting up speaking engagements at hotels to bring in buyers and other investors, and I'll still continue to network network network.

Word of advice to all the DGers on here. Even if a deal is not a deal and you know it's not a deal, DON'T waste YOUR time with it BUT always FOLLOW up with your client because they will refer business back to your court TEN FOLD.

Okay, it's Sunday morning and I'm getting ready to go to a waterpark in NJ called "Land of Make Beleive."

I'll be back in Orange County, NY this evening. Tomorrow I'll stroll around my area to see how many of my 9 signs I put out at 5 am this morning throughout 5 towns ( New Windsor, Washingtonville, Cornwall, Woodbury, and Vails Gate) are still up and "running"

Time for sunblock and a whole lot of Fun under the SUN!!

I recall Rina posting about video blogging but I have not seen an actual section where video blogs can be added on here as an active forum. Yes, I've seen the ones posted on Dean's media which are great! I will be filming some properties tomorrow that are vacant so I'd like to show what I do to find the owners and get my phone to ring with people wanting to sell.

Is anyone else interested in sharing what they do via video as a tool to newbies and seasoned investors? I think this would be a great addition to the site.

finding an agent is easy. Call all of them in your area if you have to and tell them you're a real estate investor and you want to increase their commissions by working hand in hand with them closing on amazing real estate deals. Those that are winners and actually are real estate rock stars will listen to what you have to say. Then from that point, just be yourself and tell them that you invest in real estate........ Fill in the blanks...

Too easy.

If you have issues finding homes, again too easy. I can show you where to go to get that information so let me know. FYI: I don't even mess with the MLS just so you know. Finding homes is a piece of cake. So grab your fork and take a bite.

RE: FINDING HOMES

Who has them? Where are they? How do I find them? What do I do? Homes are like oxygen on land - they're ubiquitous <<< meaning they're EVERYWHERE. I find houses by doing 4 things and 4 things only. Keep reading because you'll be happy you DID!

Unless you live in the mojave desert, you can find a home. They are out there and some of the homes have people living in them that NEED your help to get them out of their "sticky" situation. You will soon learn that I use the term "sticky situation" often because that encompasses many areas such as loss of a loved one, job loss, divorce, medical issues, just retired and wants to move to a warmer state etc. and some of the homes are empty and need to be brought back to life ( rehab houses) and some just need a user. ( an end buyer) And yes, then there are those for sale by owner and for rent properties that Elixbrown often mentions. The truth behind for sale by owners from my experience involves one of two things:

A) FSBO properties:

1. Often times these homes are paid off and have no mortgage so the seller figures "I'm not going to give an agent 6% to sell a house I can sell on my own!" So they just stick a for rent sign in the yard or a for sale by owner sign in the yard and hope someone just happens to drive by, see the sign, like the house, and either knock on the door, or call the number. But the odd part about the whole process here is that you can offer them far less than a 6% discount if you present your offer appropriately and inform them that you can close in 30 days. If they haven't received any hits on the house and you come into the picture willing to buy their house ( your end buyer will obviously buy the house) they will often accept your offer. If they decline, follow up two - three weeks later if you still see their sign in their yard. Always keep it positive and wish them luck in getting their house sold. So the first take away here is that for rent signs and FSBO signs more than likely have a seller that has no mortgage on the house and has opted to sell it themself to avoid paying a measely 6% realtor's fee.

2. For rent houses and FSBOs often are owned by landlords or people that have several homes. So if you ask them about their house and find out that they have several in the area and you are able to negotiate a deal with them, make them a proposal to buy their other homes too. ( I HAVE NOT DONE THIS YET SO I'M JUST MAKING A SUGGESTION HERE THAT'S ALL) A proposal would be something like this, "If I'm able to negotiate a purchase price with you after I due my due diligence and run some numbers on my end and then I bring in my partner ( your end buyer) to close on the property in 30 days or so, would you consider showing me some additional properties I can buy from you? This may work or it may not but again, it's just an option and an idea I have that I intend to use should this situation present itself for me. So the second take away with these homes is that it may lead to more homes. FSBO Properties is complete, lets move on to the next chapter of knowledge. Take action!

B) Driving for Dollars:

My favorite thing to do as a private real estate investor is to grab my notebook and a couple of ink pens and get in my truck and drive neighborhoods to canvass new areas. I would suggest using a GPS so you can see on the screen if a road deadends or leads to additional side streets and it will help you figure out where you are so that you don't get lost. Another reason I like using my GPS while doing this is because it helps me get the name of the street so if I see a vacant house with an address number of 82, I look to see the name of the street I'm on from my GPS screen and I write the street name and the number and a few notes about the property. i.e. "possible vacant house, electric meter not spinning, blue tarp on roof - possible roof leak, no major signs of vandalism, on a quiet street, one car detached car garage that needs paint, Took four pictures ( red brick home w/ blue tarp on roof) FIND OWNER!!" That's what my notebook is full of - full of homes and full of notes. Also, bring a digital camera and take some photos too to help remind you what the home at 82 Grand Ave looks like. I do this constantly. When I get home I go onto my county website ( google your city then tax assessor, auditor's office, real property records, parcel map data or some type of variation. Ex: Google box "Dallas, TX tax assessor's office" and then search the property section. Every town is different. I work with six right now, 3 in NY (where I live currently) and 3 in OH (where I grew up) and they are all different so it will take some time getting use to finding the information you need so just go to yours and find out the owner's information to include where they live now. OR you can just call you real property tax office or tax assessor's office and ask if they have a website and tell them you are trying to find out information about a certain home in your area. These people are usually friendly and are willing to help you out. It's their job to do this and always thank them for their time. Once you find this information out, I begin my marketing campaign. I get my pen in my southpaw and grab a post card and write them a friendly message and include BOTH my phone number and email. ALWAYS include both because some people will respond via email and the others will respond via emails. I have found that the people responding via email are usually the ones involved in a "sticky situation" and the callers are the ones that are either curious as to what you do are my want to sell but aren't quite sure or they are cash buyers looking to see if you have any homes for sale. You may be thinking to yourself "but wait, Goldbar-Gary has advertized that he sell houses in this post?" That's correct but once you read section C, you'll see that I get calls from buyers from a sign I use that advertizes that I buy houses. People will call you to see if you are selling any of the homes you bought so from there get their information and put them on your buyer's list. Okay so that's your class on "Driving for Dollars" Take action!

FYI: I don't bother asking the neighbors anything about vacant houses because I don't like doing that but one time a person approached me while I was writing down some property info on a vacant home and she asked me if I wanted the house. I said yes, and she told me great information about the house. She told me it was an estate property and that the daughter has been trying to sell it for 18 months and that there hasn't been any interested buyers from what she could. At another location, a guy asked me what I was doing on his street and just told him I'm a private real estate investor and that I was interested in buying the home I was looking at. He too provided great info about the house such as, "that thing has been empty for 5 years, the lady died years ago and I don't know if she has any relatives in the area to do anything with it. I'm waiting for it to go back to the bank so I can buy it and then level it so my kids can have more room to run and play." He lived next door to this green little eye soar of a house. I'm currently working this deal to find out if I can just buy it from the county because there are no hiers to the house.

C) What's you Sign?

( I'm a capricorn by the way.. LOL, Yes, I write my own jokes too :-)~)

I like working harder not smarter so another thing I do is order yellow signs and write, "DON'T FORGET! We buy HOUSES for ANY reason! xxx-xxx-xxxx. I put them by freeway off ramps, next to stop signs, and on telephone poles. The trick to having your sign last on telephone poles is to put it up high! I have a step stool I use so that it's more difficult for the "sign police" to get them or even my competition to remove them for that matter. 18x24 works the best. When you make money with this then you can spend a little extra and help the company professional put your message on your sign. FYI: YOU MAY feel odd or akward putting up signs on telephone poles ( don't put them up everywhere, just put up may 4-6 on a Thursday afternoon because you will make someone mad if they see your sign on every telephone phone) or you may feel odd or akward putting your sign in grass by a stop sign or at on off ramp. I did at first but then I had to tell myself, "Wait, why am I nervous about doing this? I want people to see these signs so why do I care if they SEE me putting up these signs? If they see me and see the sign at the same time and want their house sold, then I've accomplished my intent!!!" After thinking that way, I am at the point now where I just point my signs up as if I'm supposed to be doing it and then get in my truck and go about my business. This will have houses find YOU!!! Doing a little leg work up front will be dividends on the backend. I get calls from my signs often so I know they work!!! If you want to order signs just let me know and I'll send you some information on who I use. Your class on "What's you sign" is officially over! Take action!

D) Invest in an Agent!

For those of you who don't know me and my strategies I will tell you that I'm the guy that probably is doing things you never considered even doing until NOW. The things I'm doing right now LITERALLY right NOW, are things I've just started putting into action and they are WORKING!! Sorry for the side bar there. My orginal thought I wanted to convey to all the DGers here is that I'm the guy that does not look at the MLS. I know this may seem crazy to many but I literally don't even bother personally looking at the MLS for homes. There's too much competition out there in my opinion because you're fighting to try to find great buys with other investors, desperate buyers, first time home buyers, newlyweds, cash buyers, landlords, your mom and second cousin, Joe the plumber etc.... So I don't bother with it, but in NO WAY AM I SAYING DON'T use it. The multiple listing service (MLS) has proven to work wonders for many people so I assume it works based off what others have said but for me, I simply pass on it. Here's where my agent comes into place... Okay, so if you are currently paying for a "free foreclosure" website, after reading this you my want to consider cancelling your membership because what I'm about to reveal to you should have you excited to the point that you are going to want to tackle your agent and hold him/her hostage until they provide the data you're looking for. Warning! The following section is only intended for HUNGRY investors that want to EARN massive paychecks! All others, need not read.....

This evening seek out REO agents. These are agents that deal with foreclosed properties. They have the same list you're paying a monthly fee for right at their finger tips! Pretty cool right! Okay, so you are going to want to get in contact with him/her and explain that you're a real estate investor and that you invest in shortsales ( properties that a bank is willing to accept less than what's owed on it), and foreclosures and that you would like to work closely with them and buy great deals so that you can achieve your business goals and so they can sell some of the homes in their inventory. Also mention that you want to build a long term business relationship with them and that you value their time. You are going to want to make your request specific instead of saying, "send me everything you have TOM!" They may not take you seriously so I would say that you choose no more than 8-10 towns in your county that you are interested in and send him/her the names of those towns and ask if they can send you a list of all of the short sales and foreclosures throughout those towns! You will be provided with great information and thank them for their time. Again, they will send you the list because they are in business to get them sold so you're providing an outlet for them to do so. Please do this! Oh yeah I forget to remind you to, PLEASE DO THIS... Get the point. Then go through the houses and look them up to see what they sold for and what they are worth. type in the addresses into www.totalviewrealestate.com ( AN amazing website that DEAN and his CREW were so generous to allow us to use FOR FREE)to see additional info about the property and the imagery will allow you to get a bird's eye view of the neighborhood too. Run some numbers and then make some aggressive and firm offers through him/her and wait and see what happens. Get with a CASH buyer that will buy from you if you can bring them a GREAT DEAL and you will not FAIL. JUST do these things and you'll be successful!!! And let them know that when you close on your first deal, offer to take them out to a nice steak dinner, or send them a $50 gift card to Longhorn steakhouse or something just to let them know you are greatful for their willingness to provide the data you have request. It's always best to give back to those that gave so much for you! I give back so much of my time on here because Dean has provided a new life for me and I am now changing my family tree financially because of what I'm doing as a real estate investor. This post alone has taken me nearly 90 minutes to put together. Not because I type with two fingers like Dean.. ( Sorry Dean, but hey you said it.LOL) but because I value each and everyone of you taking the time to read what I post so I continue to answer my countless emails and try to reply when I have time because I hope I can influence many people out there.

Overall recap on finding homes: A) FSBO and For rent properties B) driving for dollars C) placing signs telling people what I do D) Working with a great real estate agent

Please cut and paste this post somewhere so you'll always have it. Hopefully you see the value in this post! Put this in a binder or in a folder and refer back to it and add your notes to it. I'm a firm believer that something can always be better and improved upon so here's a good templete for success that you can run with.

Best of luck! "Building Weatlh by the Numbers"

You've been searching for answers? Really? On this site? And you have not found ANYTHING you're looking for? No guidance? No support? No motivation? NOTHING? On this SITE? Okay, now I'm going to have to professionally put you in your place!

I'm confused a bit... ( don't worry, confusion with me happens often so this a normal occurrence) How can you two write a complaint type of thread and yet in your post you don't discuss or list any action steps you've taken to succeed? You only mention that you've sunk every penny you have into this... What are you even talking about? A $19 dollar book? Every penny? I seriously doubt that.

What are you doing to succeed? Complaining won't get you any where. I ONLY provide assistance and guidance to those that have done something out in the field. Maybe if you had put up a post such as:

"Hello, so far, I've read Dean's books from front to cover and I have contacted 4 mortgage brokers, 3 real estate attorneys, two SOLID title companies that do assignments of contacts, six real estate agents ( two of which WILL work with investors) ALL IN AN ATTEMPT to inform them I'm a real estate investor and that I'm looking for great deals in (YOUR ZIP CODE or surrounding towns to include your own).....

I've also been looking on Craigslist to see who is selling homes and making contact with them to see if there's a deal or not...

I've also put up bandit signs in my town that read " I buy houses 123-456-7891" I've also put up flyers in grocery stores, bowling allies, laundry mats, and restaurants to let people know I'm a real estate investor and that I find great deals and that I'm looking to buy real estate or can get people out of a "sticky housing situation"...

I've contacted a real estate agent and have asked them to send me a spreadsheet of all the properties that have sold for cash in the past 90 days and I have sent three post cards and one letter to these people spaced out throughout a seven day period just to let them know that I am a real estate investor and that I find great deals all the time and that you would like to add them to your list and would like to contact them if I find a property that meets their criteria.

Through your postcards, and letters you should get a response from a few that will tell you what they're looking for.

I have also told EVERYONE I meet that I'm a real estate investor and that I buy and sell houses even though I'm a stay at home mom/dad, unemployeed, truck driver, accountant, babysitter, electrician...... in an attempt to generate prospects....

I continue to go through Dean's books to find additional information, I blog all the time, I've looked up REI in my area at MEETUP.com to see if there are RE meetings I can attend and I've find a few in my area and attended one Last Tuesday at seven and meet 11 people all interested in real estate deals we exchanged information and are going to meet again this upcoming Sunday...

I ordered some business cards so I can put them on car windows, ATM machines, countertops in public bathrooms, tables in restaurants, pin up boards, next to other places where other people put their business cards to let people know what I do and how to contact me. ( you can order them at office depot, OR you can even google free business cards and them made for you, All you do is pay 6 bucks for shipping.)

I have been driving around looking for vacant properties and came across 14 that were vacant because the yards were overgrown, the electric meters were no longer spinning etc and then I went to the county auditor/ tax assessor/ real property tax website to look up the owner. I could not find out anything on line so I called the commissioner of finance, the tax assessor's office, and they gave me some useful information and even told me how to properly navigate their website to find out where these owners of these vacant houses are living....

Out of the 14, I found out where 7 of them are living. I called 4 of them because I was able to get a number on them using skiptracer.com, or zabasearch.com, whitepages.com, anywho.com etc. One lady cushed me out and hung up on me, one man shouted at me and said "stop calling me!!", another went to an answering machine ( i will call back at some point to speak to a live person because I don't like speaking to a machine) OR ( I left a message explaining that I'm interested in possibly buying their house and I left both my email and phone number on the machine/voicemail and I'll follow up in two days if I don't hear back from anyone) and the 4th person has missed a few payments and JUST WANTS the house sold so now I'm gathering all their information and pulling in qualified buyers to close the deal but still a bit shaky on the process..

I'm continuing to build my buyers list and LOVE helping people. The more I do this the more fun I'm having....

I'm been doing this now for 6 weeks straight and have not gotten any results ( I find this hard to believe but I'm just in the zone here) can someone please help me because I'm adamit about being a successful RE investor.....

IF YOU TYPED UP A POST SUCH AS THAT, THEN MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, YOU'D ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE WILLING TO HELP YOU OUT!!!!!! STOP ACTING LIKE A CHILD AND GROW UP AND DO SOMETHING WITH THIS!!!!!

Dave Ramsey often says, "Children do what feels good, adults devise a plan and follow it!" Stop acting like a child and devise your plan and follow it.

YOU'LL PROBABLY TAKE THIS POST AS AN INSULT AND WON'T DO ANY OF THE THINGS I TYPED AND WILL JUST GET OFFENDED BY THIS.... IF SO, SHAME ON YOU.

NOTE: Just so you know, I'm the type of person that will never quite doing what I'm doing. If I did all the things I mentioned above and got no response, guess what... I'D STILL BE WAKING UP A 4:30 AM EVERY MORNING WORKING THIS BUSINESS!!!! I'd just make more calls, look at more properties, send out more postcards, letters, and change up the wording on them and tell more people what I do as a profession......

Now it's back to writing my postcards to owners of vacant properties in my area.

Happy Memorial day.

This is in reference to the above post by me earlier today.

RICK & PEGGY WILL succeed! I just received an email from them earlier this morning and it's a complete 180 FOR THE BETTER!!! I'm excited for them and want all DGers to know that my previous post was only to ignite their passion towards real estate.

They are doing it big time! I'm in NY but if there are any CA investors with some good experience, please drop them a line to see if you can further assist. This is what this site is all about, helping others and making great money in the process.

Good job you two!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm huge on marketing! I use yellow signs, letters, post cards,write articles, make phone calls, word of mouth ( I tell everyone I buy houses for cash with other cash investors throughout "YOUR COUNTY"), and I always follow up with potential clients. What I've done is arranged an email thread between myself and one of my newly committed cash buyers that I brought on board last night at a diner. It was one of those informal business dinner meetings. You will see that with a 28 cent post card, an ink pen, and a simple post card message to a cash buyer will pay big bucks down the road. Here you go - ENJOY!

From: Todd (Cash Buyer)
Sent: Tue, May 25, 2010 8:07:38 AM
Subject: Houses for sale

Hi Gary-

I received a post card that you sent me regarding a property I purchased in Goshen. On your post card, you mentioned that you have access to properties for sale. I wanted to find out more information - where do these properties come from? What condition are they in? Are they already listed on the MLS? I am interested in buying properties if you are for real, but I need some more information before I'm willing to move forward. I am interested in single and multi family properties in Orange and Southern Ulster counties, but not in the City of Newburgh and not too far west in Orange county. I primarily buy distressed properties, but I'm interested in anything that is a deal. I pay cash when I buy, and most of the single family houses I buy are in the 100k range. Let me know how you work and what kind of properties you have.

Thanks.

My Reply to Cash Buyer:
On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 8:39 PM, gary rabatin wrote:

Hey thanks for the email reply! YES, I have access to properties that are for sale AND I also have access to historical data on most properties throughout Orange county. I can do the same for Ulster county, but it is more time consuming and that particular database is less user friendly than the one I use for Orange county. Just so you know, I don't waste my time screening the MLS because there is too much competition on it and the better deals are the ones that take additional time to find, research and ultimately get it sold to an investor so they can flip it and sell it for a great profit! So you can rest asure that I'm not an MLS jocky that will send you anything and everything that pops up on the MLS and send it off to you using a generic message such as " i have found a great property that meets your criteria, let me know if there are any properties you're interested in." I do not and will not send you an email blast on something that is not what your looking. With that said, you WON'T receive any Newburgh deals from me. Besides, that place is a war zone - LITERALLY!

The following is a snapshot as to how I operate:

Any potential property candidate I find I will always look at what a property previously sold for which is huge during the negotiation process, especially with motivated/desperate seller! I also check to see if a property has a bank code on it. If a property does not have a bank code on it, then guess what.... IT DOES NOT have a mortgage on it. Again, this is HUGE during the negotiation process! How many agent are you going to find that can provide that information to cash buyers such as yourself? NOT many; if any. With this information, I then provide a full report on that particular property to include the year it was built, the section, block, and lot number (SBL), the square footage, number of beds, baths etc. I will also provide the comps for that particular property, it's tax assessed value, it's FMV, and the current estimated value. I can ballpark it's ARV, but I tend to leave that to the cash buyer because the cash buyers I find houses for have a crew lined up to do necessary repairs and remodeling to the home and they are better at figuring out the ARV on houses than I'll ever be so that's something I wanted to disclose to you upfront should you decide to allow me to work with you.

I appreciate you telling me that all the properties you buy you pay for with cash because that's the only people I am currently working with right now. I have a total of two solid cash buyers that I bring insane deals that you won't find on the MLS and I'm looking for a few more. So again, I appreciate you informing me that you're a cash buyer because it just makes deals flow and close much smoother.

I also target vacant properties that have been left for the city to claim, I come across probate properties, foreclosures, shortsales that I negotiate an "AS IS" "ALL CASH" offer with a full report providing justification as to why I am offering that particular amount of money for the home. I have found that by providing a good detailed market analysis on a property and being able to articulate it to a listing agent, they will feel more comfortable submitting, a "low ball" offer to the bank and I also request that they send my report to the bank along with the offer. The biggest factor with getting properties moved are four simple words, "AS IS" "ALL CASH" because that lets face it, a desperate seller knows the deal will close quickly and they know there won't be any further delays with getting a property inspected and so forth.

Another added incentive I provide for the cash buyers that work with me is this - for every house that I find and market to my cash buyers who are fix and flippers, I then begin to find end buyers for the exact same property I found for them at a deep discount to end buyers. This is great because I am pre screening end buyers that are looking for a property that meets the same criteria for a home that one of my cash buyers has. I then begin building rapport with them and I always always always follow up with them to keep them posted on deals in the making. I make sure they are pre approved or have cash themself so they can purchase the property once it's officially listed. No, I am not a licensed real estate agent and that's by design because most agents that I have interacted with simply can't do the type of leg work that I do with finding great buys and then finding great buyers to buy the homes I find for people. Another point to make is the agents I have interacted with just don't understand what property scouts do. Why there aren't doing this is simply beyond me but for some reason they just DON'T! Let me shift gears back to vacant properties because I wanted to make a few more comments on this.

Once I find a vacant property that has potential for a great fix and flip project, I then find out who owns the property and find out if it has a bank code on it and if there are back taxes owed on property. Often times there are back taxes owed so then we're dealing with a quit claim deed situation. I do a marketing campaign to the person that just left their home explaining that I noticed their house was vacant and that I'd like to pay off their back taxes and put a few thousand dollars back in their pocket in the process. This doesn't always work so then it's a waiting game. i wait to see when the county assumes ownship and then I offer to buy it for cash at a specified amount which is an amount that is worked out ahead of time between the interested cash buyer and me.

I'd love to continue to further explain how I can find great deals in the area but my girl friend has been asking me to come to the living room to watch AVATAR so I gotta run.... FOR now anyway...

Oh, one last thing, how far is too far west? Again, I only want to bring you deals that fit what you're looking for. I look forward to working with you and I look forward to your reply.

Regards,

Gary D. Rabatin

From: Todd (Cash Buyer)
Sent: Tue, May 25, 2010 6:49:45 PM
Subject: Re: Houses for sale

Hi Gary-

OK, I'll admit I'm impressed. You sound like you know what you're talking about, and it sounds like you do have experience. I'm still not sure I understand how exactly you're locating your properties other than noticing that some are vacant and doing legwork, but that's OK, I really don't have to know as long as you're able to produce....I do have a few questions though...an obvious question I have is how are you compensated? And if you're already working with 2 other investors, how will you decide who gets first dibs on a property you find? And if you have those 2, why do you need another investor (why do you need me)?

To give you a little background on me, I've been buying for several years now, some properties I fix and flip (like the property in Goshen that you sent me the postcard on) and others I'll fix and rent. In Orange County I've done stuff in Newburgh, Wallkill, Walden, Goshen and Warwick. In Ulster I've done stuff in Pine Bush, Gardiner, Plattekill and Highland. I'm currently negotiating on a property in Marlboro.

To answer your question about how far west, I have stayed out of Middletown for now, and haven't gone any further west. I'm willing to go south and east to wherever a deal may lead us.

As I think I may have mentioned in my earlier email, I'm looking for deals, but I would rather buy 2 single family houses for 75k each than a single family for 350k, even if the 350k house is a better deal.....that preference being stated, I am still open to anything that is a deal, and am also interested in multi's.

So let me know about those questions up above, and let me know how this would work, and let me know if you have anything now, because I am definitely buying right now!

Thanks,

Todd

From: Me
Sent: Mon, May 31, 2010 10:25:31 PM
To: Todd (Cash Buyer)

Todd,

Sorry for the delayed repsonse, I had to go to Ohio for a week but I'm back I'm back now and reading through my emails.

RE: Compensation

Yes that's an obvious question and a great question at that. I have structured several ways I get paid depending on the deal of course. I'm either paid on the equtiy spread created from the sale of the property in the deal or if I place a property on contract with a seller and I can then give my cash buyer first right of refusal to buy it outright at a slightly higher price. So for example, if I find a property that is for sale the has a FMV of 250,000 and the seller wants 240,000 and has not received any activity on it ( these are obviously FBSOs I'm talking about or shortsales, foreclosures, or just great potential deals in the making) and over the course of multiple conversations, researching the property and running some numbers and explaining to them ( either the seller, or the agent) that I have cash buyers that are looking for a property such as this but in order for them to purchase it quickly they have to buy it at an aggressive discount so in order for a property like this to make sense, they would offer you an "AS IS ALL CASH" offer for 180,000 ( as an example) so that you can move back to PA to be with your daughter like you have stated.. etc. Through my research and finding out their selling motivation, I can then drive an aggressive price to them and give them the piece of mind that if it they want it to move quickly and not have to worry about conventional financing buyers falling through the cracks days before the closing, they usually have no issues with selling at a deep discount. This only works of course with properties that are either paid off, near paid off, or with people that really don't understand real estate and the true value of their home.

RE: Cash Buyers

The reason I'm looking for no more than 5 cash buyers is because I want to personally work with a limited number of people personally so I can better manage the properties I have and run the numbers by them to see if they make sense from their investing standpoint. The way the dibs will work is based on specific locations first and investor criteria. For example, a cash buyer I'm working with only will look at properties in Goshen, crawford, wallkill, Hamptonburgh, Monroe, chester, rhinebeck and select areas in Middletown. The other lady is only looking for run down properties for fixing and flipping purposes only.

I the areas and homes you are interested in will be filtered out and those homes will be given to you for first right of refusal.

I have a large number of properties right now in my binder but I'm going to try to get in contact with the bank verses the agent because I feel that the asset manager or loss mitigation department rep is more willing to sell their home quickly and will entertain more offers this way than a listing agent who will often times sit on offers ( which is illegal but they do it all the time) hoping larger offers fall in their lap. Plus, this will speed up the process.

Since you buy and hold some properties, do you work with a 1031 tax exchange specialist? If not, let me know because I'd like to mail you a DVD that better explains what a 1031 exchange is vs just googling it. Doing this will literally save you thousands of dollars during the course of your real investing career.

The best thing for me to do is to meet you so that i can formally introduce myself to you so I can tell you a little more about myself and work on getting some great deals closed in the up coming weeks and months ahead.

Oh, I have also made the decision to just go ahead and get my real estate license but I intend to use it ONLY as a benefit to the investors I will be working with that want to get their house sold for top dollar. I'm just fed up with lousy agents that just stick their sign in a yard and move on to the next "customer" and do the same with them hoping they'll get an interested buyer at some point. I intend to put together a small portfolio for end buyers showing the sales, FMV data, improvements made to the end buyer and so forth to make them feel they deserve the home i'm selling. All I want to do is provide a great service to investors and bring them great deals so that I can continue to find deals for them and keep the pipelines full.

What's a good number to call you at Todd? I'd like to call you first to set up a time to maybe meet if needed or to just chat more in depth about real estate so we move forward on some transactions.

Sort of jet lagged right now so i'm going to call it a night but we'll definately have to chat via phone and then meet at a diner or something at some point.

Regards,
Gary

P.S. How'd that marlboro deal go for you?

OUTCOME:

We ended up meeting at a diner yesterday evening around 7 p.m. to discuss real estate and other things non real estate related. We ate dinner and talked for over an hour.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT WILL SUM ALL THIS UP WHICH IS WHY I TOOK THE TIME TO ARRANGE THESE EMAILS FOR YOU DGers TO READ.

He simply told me the reason he responded to my post card was because it was HAND WRITTEN and personal.

LESSON LEARNED HERE: Take the time to hand write a message on a post card because it just might pay off, literally!

I hope this will help motivate others to do the same thing. I am looking forward to finding houses for my newly added CASH BUYER so that he can add more properties to his portfolio and in the process I will be able to continue "Building Wealth by the Numbers."

As a certified cash flow consultant, I pride myself on helping people. This of course has rolled over into real estate investing as well.

For those that have or will potentially be in contact with desperate home sellers facing foreclosure, try educating them first.

To cash in on a potential short sale deal try using this conversational suggestion:

"Did you know that a foreclosure can be prevented in most cases? If you are facing foreclosure and don't want to be foreclosed on, contact your lender and see if they will consider a short sale." If they don't know what a short sale is educate them on what it is and the process. (if you don't know what it is just call an agent that specializes in short sales or google it for self help) Simply put, it's the bank willing to accept LESS than what is actually owed on the property.

Also, ask them if they've ever considered filing for bankruptcy. Chances are they'll reply back with an emphatic, "NO, NEVER!" reply. Once they do, simply educate them again by saying, " I didn't think so, but chances are you will not be accepted into bankruptcy anyway which of course is not what you would want in the first place but just by filing for it will give you ( the distressed home owner) an open window of opportunity to push forward to get their home sold because it's going to take about 30 days for them to officially get DENIED. During this 30 day "grace period," the bank will not be able to foreclose on their house!

Implement this into your practice as a property problem solver and an investor and you're income will compliment you for your efforts.

I've read most of what is in your column. I am not quite sure what to say and more importantly, what not to say to my list of potential buyers. I have a list from my agent. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Gary,

You have no idea (or maybe you do) how much your journal is helping me get started and learn how to become a Real Estate Investor. I have just finished reading "Profits from Real Estate Right Now". I live in Rapid City, SD, the beautiful Black Hills. And want as much help as possible. I am going to send your letter to Real Estate Agencies today and try to find an agent then make a buyers list from your suggestions and the book. Please continue to write in your journal it is a tremendous help. Marci South Dakota.

Gary,
I can not find your sample letter to the agent's. I got caught up in reading the journal and now do not know where to find it. Thank you. Marci from South Dakota.

Email me your email address again. Is it yahoo, google, hotmail? Not sure?

I wanted to post this before heading off to church with my two boys.

Here's what I send to FSBOs which is hand written of course. Feel free to use what I've developed or modify to your likely. The key is to send letters to these people and build rapport. Marketing is part of being a real estate investor.

Here's the most recent letter I sent to a FSBO:

Dear ( FSBO ),

I noticed your for sale sign in your yard for a while now and I happen to know several cash buyers that buy properties in ( your area ) and they have the ability to close very quickly on homes they buy.

I know their buying patterns and they typically buy houses for 40 cents on the dollar which is based off the home's Full Market Value. According to the municipality of New Windsor, your home's Full Market Value is $158,428 so they would more than likely offer you a cash offer of approximately $62,000.

They may not be interested because they like 3-4 bedroom homes with 2 or more bathrooms but I can let them know about your house if you're interested. I'm not a realtor, I simply find potential houses for these cash buyers that invest in properties. There is no cash to you for me to do this either. Feel free to call me at ( 845 ) 123-4567 so I can meet you and personally take a look at the inside of the home prior to sending them the property information. I look forward to your phone call.

Regards,

( signature )

Gary D. Rabatin

Note: If they call you back and you go there to meet them, bring some contracts with you because if it's a deal and you know it's a deal ( basically getting a house for 50% off or MORE ) put the house on contract using and or assigns after your name on the buyer's line and then market it to your cash buyers.

Prior to leaving, let the owner know that you'll need access into their house to show it to the cash buyers, or you may want to bring in a home inspector to see the property so work that out with them prior to leaving. It's best to be upfront with a FSBO during face to face conversations rather than leaving and then calling them with an "or by the way, I need ......" Hope this helps.

Off to church now. ENJOY!

Marci,

Thanks for the post. Keep at it because the deals will come.

Marketing to home owners that aren't officially sellers, could potentially allow you to make large profit gains because you'll be the ONLY one offering to buy their property. I always hand write my letters because it's more personal and I get better responses with hand written letters over typed letters, but it's just easier for me to type it on here so others can see what I use. I encourage others to use it and make changes to it if you'd like should you decide to try it, and see if it works for you in your market.

Here's the letter I developed and continue to use:

NOTE: I always hand write my letters on yellow legal paper and I only send this letter to homeowners that are in pre-foreclosure. I find this information through various means.

Dear ( homeowner ),

I'm a private real estate investor and I help home owners that are facing a sticky housing situation whether they're going through a pre-foreclosure, a divorce, a job loss or needing to relocate quickly, by making cash offers on properties. My partners and I buy homes with cash and ONLY cash because it speeds up the closing process. If the information I received through public records and database searches is incorrect, I apologize for any misunderstanding but according to my findings, your property at 521 Harbor street is in pre-foreclosure. Again, if this is not the case, I apologize; but if it is the case, I'd like to help by possibly making you an all cash offer on your home.

The unpaid balance is approximately $71,833.43.

I would like to help you out in any way so please feel free to either call me at (845) 123-4567 or contact me by email at your_email_address@whatever.com. Thanks and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

( my signature )

Gary D. Rabatin

__________________

Gary D. Rabatin
Certified Cash Flow Consultant
Founder & President of Gold Bar Funding Group L.L.C.
Private Real Estate Investor
"Building Wealth by the Numbers"
www.goldbarfundinggroup.com

Gary

I just completed reading all your posts here, the knowledge you share is unbelievable.You prove yet again that DG.com is the place to be to learn investing. You are so generous in sharing your knowlege with DG family, you are truly amazing. Please keep posting.

Thank you!!
Maddy

I just finished reading your notes on here and I want to thank you for offering this amazing information. You haven't posted in over a year, how are you? What are you doing now? Just curious