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Hi Doug, I know you are quoting the privacy laws, but in Ontario, the name of the property owner is a matter of public record. Simply call your City Hall and ask for the tax department. In most cases they are obligated to release the name of the owner and the mailing address. Of course you can do a title search, but it will cost you money. As for the real estate agents, I think the only reason you would be concerned about possible investigation is because you are not offering a straight purchase. Do a simple thing and make two offers. One would be a purchase with escape clause and the second is your creative offer. All realtors must present all offers. Of course not all of them do it, but this is their obligation. If your offer is not presented, complain to the board. Since your offer is a purchase offer, you will be in the clear and will put the agent in a fairly tough spot. However, if you do not want to do that, you can simply send your seller a purchase offer to get their attention and then see if they would be flexible enough to look at other options.

I am curious, how many sellers take a realtors agreement for a listing to a lawyer for review? Maybe one out of a thousand. This is just one more excuse for not making a decision and delaying the answer. Although the option agreement permits the seller to sell on his own, it also provides a condition where you as the holder of the agreement should be compensated if the seller sells to a buyer you bring to the table. Also, it provides for the price and terms of the deal if your buyer buys the property. And, unless your seller has a legitimate offer from a third party, the seller is obligated to sell based on the written conditions. I think this is the highest protection you can get from a non-exclusive agreement. Without this agreement anyone can change the rules at any time.

Hi Doug, Is that actually a fact that we cannot use public information, like name and address of the owner to do direct mailing in Ontario? I know agents cannot use confidential information, but public information should be no problem. Do you have a reliable source for your info? We have been doing direct mailing to listings for a while. Not much success, but I would not want to break the law. Thanks.

Since when are doing business in northern Manitoba? I thought you were doing local business only. If you are short on time, you should advertise in the local community, ads, fliers… the regular things. Also, you may be surprised how many people in a big city would respond to an ad for a rural property. If you have the time, you can create a highly optimized web page with keywords related to the area and local interests. When people search for local info, your link will come up. If your info is interesting, many people will look at it. The cost is minimal and results can be very interesting. Also, you can contact the closest chamber of commerce to see if they would have any contacts for you. If you have a good deal, there will always be people interested in it.

Nice ideas Doug. I think in a long run, if you cause too much trouble for the City, you may get caught. No matter how you hide, if they want you, they will get you. And once they do, they will charge you with everything they have to make an example. Personally, I would prefer to work within the law and try to push it slightly. This way you get your work done and keep the government friends at a distance. Also, having no contact information on the website may reduce your credibility in the eyes of the sellers. And I think we want the sellers to trust us. Right?

In most cases, people just say no, because it is easier. Even if they need your help they still say no if you approach them directly. But if they see your name in a newspaper or get your info in any other indirect way, they begin to perceive you differently. That is why multiple approaches, like ads, fliers, letters, etc.. work better, most of the time. (But it definitely cost money, so you have to make deals) Also, if you noticed that the price was lowered by 25% and the property is still sitting on the market that would mean the property is seriously overpriced. Right? If it is priced right you can partner up with an investor and buy the place. What really gets to me is when people plan to list a property for $150K and they approach us to do a private sale for $145K firm. They want more than they would get after commissions and waiting for 3 month. But they do not care; they would rather list the property and take their chances. Isn’t it something? Thanks.

I think $65 per lead is expensive unless they guaranty a refund if the deal does not work. But at the same time if I screw up and loose a deal, why would they refund the money? Another thing is that we have been advertising in the Niagara Region (Canada) for quite some time for rent-to-own. Right now we are getting more leads than we need. Our leads provide full details of what they want. This includes area, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, monthly payments, etc… We have offered this information for FREE!!! to simply build a network of investors. Can you guess how many inquiries we got? …None. That’s just interesting.

How about using leftovers of plywood or drywall as backing for the sign. It is heavy and free, assuming you get it from construction dumpsters.

This payment does not include any expenses. It is strictly mortgage. We can easily take over the payments, plus mortgage is assumable. The issue is in finding a TB who can afford the payments. $1350+250(taxes)+$60 insurance + all utilities + our profit = a very high monthly payment. It looks like a thin deal.

Unfortunately, I have first hand experience with investigators. (Due to the nature of our business) Investigators are very similar across different industries. They would not enter your property without a warrant. However, if they have any supporting information, they can persuade a judge to issue such warrant, This would allow them to enter the specified premises, do complete search of all records, and confiscate any material that they think would support their case. Honestly, I would recommend that you review all of your records to make sure that everything is clean. It is much better than wake up at 5 am because there are 6 guys at your door and you don’t know what they are going to find. The worst part, you will never know that they are coming.

A motivated seller contacted me today. He has a 2 year old house in excellent condition. He must sell, because he cannot afford the payments. He is asking the balance of the mortgage of $180,000. Since it is a new area, the original builder is selling new similar houses (to be build) for $195,000. The current mortgage payment is $1350. What kind of a deal may work in this situation? Thanks.

Have you guys looked at the powers available to the investigators? They are listed in the Act under section 11/12/13. It is scary to think what measures they may take if they want to exercise their power.

How did you get that e-mail? It was suppose to be private Now, can we call you a "spy girl"

Peter, I will send you a private e-mail. It will be the exact same one I just sent Birdie! WCG (Jean) Thanks, very interesting. Peter

He's been posting that he's getting tons of leads and doing tons of deals in Niagara Falls. Peter had inquired as to the market because Matt's in the same market. The truth is Matt's a LIAR!!! He actually hasn't done any deals in 2 years at least!!! I have the proof Birdie if YOU are interested!!!! I would love to see the proof. Although I have no idea if Matt is doing any deals, something that he said about Niagara Region proved to be true. So I am curious. Thanks, Peter