Dmcdonald

Keep us up to date on that, I'd love to learn more...never heard of that type of protection. And what a coincidence that Adam should chime in on this thread; I just started going back over my Adam Kind materials!

Erik, I'm at the same point as you, where I see a huge benefit of a home warranty for the homeowner. In the end (if you're doing an assignment, not an SLO), all you can really do is explain how it helps them, maybe give them the related marketing materials, and let them make the final decision. I've toyed around with building it into a "package" that we can sell them and include some other services, but that seemed to pushy I felt. -DM

"CITY FOR LEASE OPTION NO BANK QUALIFYING 8,725 BEDS, 10,225 BATHS 30% RENT CREDIT!"

Erik, I offer $500 as a referral fee, but it really depends on how much you make on the average deal; you don't want to be giving up too large of a percentage. As for working with brokers or mortgage people, there are some legalities that you need to be careful of. Maybe someone here can fill in the specifics, but you basically need to just call it an advertising fee (you're avertising that persons services either. By word of mouth to clients or on your website). PS: I just saw your PM, I'll get back to you soon.

Hey there Erik. I'm doing the postcards as well and based mine off of the sample one that John posted awhile back (I've attached it to this post since I can't find the thread right now). I had mind printed at GotPrint.com. I got single sided printing in full color on thick-stock paper (non-gloss) for like $40 for 1000 postcards. Saying that, I do have to spend the .5 hour or so that it takes to address and stamp each one for each run. I go through Realtor.com and take houses from 1 zip code at a time and filter the results by beds, price, size, and housing type (single family). I got an oDesk VA that puts them onto a label sheet and sends them back to me. As of now, I've hit 3 zip codes (max 20 minute drive for me) and will repeat in a few weeks. Each time I've sent out postcards (around 70-100 per zip code), I've gotten a call from at least one homeowner, but no deals yet. I'm doing this as opposed to cold-calling simply because someone calling has technically been pre-filtered as they are only calling because they are interested. I do plan on adding cold-calling to the armory in the next month or so, but the 9-5 is really hectic now at the end of the year so we'll see... Hope this helps! Lease_to_Buy_postcard_front_2.pdf

Hi Dennis, I don't quite understand what you did. Did you hire them to make a scraper, or just manually download all the info? Oh sorry, I hired someone to just manually copy and paste + format the data. I figured that if I paid someone to make a scraper, it could quickly become useless if Realtor.com made even the slightest change to their site.

I tried for awhile to do the exact same thing. I have an IT background so I knew building a scrapper was completely possible, but was just more effort than I felt it was worth. I would up hiring someone on oDesk to do it for me. I had them put the properties right on the label template sheets for printing. Cost me about $10 for 3 zip codes (~200 properties).

I visited the site and had to put in contact info to view the demo videos. The sales guy there called me 2x one day, 2x the next day, and just called me again today. I finally picked up and he was all geared up to sign me up, but sure enough, you need to be an agent with MLS access to use RedX for the Expireds. Booo!!!!

Thanks for this! I've been looking for a source for expired listings for awhile.

My profit will either be the splitting of the wholesale profit or adding my own wholesale profit atop what's already there (there appears to be enough wiggle room).

They are looking to assign the contract it looks like.

Hello all! I'm back with a doozy. I went trolling for wholesalers to try and get their "junk" leads that work for Lease Option but not so well for wholesaling. I got a bite with a deal in the works! The catch is that the seller is selling for a wholesale price but wants to stay in the house , renting it from the new owner for a few years then buy it back for almost 30% more (it's a very low priced home...). The wholesaler thought of my remarkable ability to make rent-to-own magic and shot me an email. Unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure as to how to approach this and to protect my interest as well. Here is what I'm thinking, and please correct if wrong and don't be afraid to offer better suggestions: Sign an option to purchase with the wholesaler (whom already has a standard P&S agreement with the seller) Market for an investor for a slightly higher price (this will be the profit as I will not get option consideration) Have investor and current owner sign the Lease Option paperwork at closing Do a triple closing where the investor pays me, i take my fee, wholesaler takes their fee, and seller gets their money The other and obviously SIMPLER option would to either act as a consultant or somehow get on the wholesaler's contract with instructions to the title company to split the profits (or something like that) Please advise! Thanks!

The seller wanted more info on both methods and I figured I'd send a short offer right away too. I'm having trouble with the numbers as this is the first time I've had to valuate a property. Homes in the area are selling for 130k-150k. As well, there was a recent foreclosure that sold as-is (obviously) @ 85k. The house I'm looking at has still not moved (listed with a Realtor) at 100k because it is outdated and most likely needs many cosmetic fixings. If the monthly income from a lease option and a land contract are roughly the same, I'd probably recommend to this seller the lease option as they are older and do not want a long-term solution. Also, since this is free & clear, I'm still toying with the idea of an SLO since the taxes are $310/month and there are no mortgages to worry about and I could get in a decent position here to make a lot on the front and back end of this deal!

Hello all, I'm looking at a deal currently that involes a free and clear home. The seller mentioned the idea of a land contract and wanted more info on that as well as lease options. I'm going to send some literature his way but was wondering, how do the monthly payments compare for the two methods? Are they usually about the same? Thanks!

Just thought I'd post an update, as promised! Yesterday I got a voicemail from an older gentleman that had received my postcard stating that he was looking for more info into my program. GREAT! I called him back today with all my bullet points and scripts and...quickly deviated . It was sounding too scripted and I just started talking like a normal person that knows a little about the current market and the problems we all face. In the process I found out that he owned this house FREE AND CLEAR and even though he is moving out of state to live closer to family, he is still considering rent to own or a LAND CONTRACT! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic, even though chances are still slim I'll get the deal as we are waiting on his existing Realtor contract to expire (1.5 months left). I'm excited because, even if I don't get the deal, I've proven to myself that I can send out postcards and get a response, as well as talk to a stranger on the phone without getting so nervous that I'm sweating ! All in all, my faith in direct-mail marketing has been renewed and I will continue to keep it in my arsenal.

I'll be first to buy a bottle. It's all I can do to understand them. Hahaha! Amen to that!

I'm going to take a stab at this, although I'm sure someone will come up behind me with a more cohesive answer... The best way I've heard is to simply tell the seller that the tenant/buyer pays your fee when they close on the property. If the seller is angry at the idea that you're making some money, they are not truly motivated! Point to the net price that they requested and say that you will be getting them that much and how much you make from the T/B does not affect that price.

As a wholesaling guru of mine once said "Fake it 'til you make it"! And for all those out there that don't want to or just won't spend the money to get started, take a step back and think about how a couple hundred bucks can get you started and get you some credibility. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, $130 for the LLC, $50 for some lead generation via direct mail, $97 for the nuclear codes lease option manual. I'm going to drop these postcards off on Monday; I'll post any results.

Thanks Mike! I totally agree that it feels good to be actually acting and not just studying. I've got my postcards ready to go. In all it cost: $12 for yellow cardstock $6 for a pack of 750 Avery labels $29 for postage stamps (100 postcard stamps) a couple hours for design, printing, and cutting I'm sending out about 100 postcards, which is how many listed properties there are in my zip code that fit my criteria. I plan on dropping these off at the post office Saturday or Monday to ensure a mid-week delivery (I've heard that Tuesday is the best day statistically? Not gonna be too crazy about that one). Also on the business end, I got my Vumber phone number, website up, some basic info onthe site, email address created, and have been going over the manual again to prepare for the calls. Exciting!! PS: I printed these on my laser printer that I purchased a few years ago. The toner in it is lasting forever so I'm basically calling the cost of printing those postcards null.

I thought $200 sounded a little far-fetched, but what do I know? I'm just a guy who read another guy's manual! With that said, I agree 100% with the above statements and am in the process of altering my business model. Just have to tell the seller that we cannot guarantee T/B performance and we also cannot offer legal advice as we are not attorneys (nor do I play one on TV). I'm hoping that by giving the seller a portion of the option consideration, they will be willing to get over that obstacle in their head. Is this typical in most areas? I know I know, it varies by area and judge I'm sure, but I'm just curious if others have seen this. I'll have to talk with my landlord buddies and see if they've encountered this around here. Also - John, what do you mean by having everything in place for an eviction? Do you just mean that you have all the paperwork at the ready for the homeowner to use if they need it? Do you ever pay for a homeowners eviction costs?

I know Joe McCall tells his sellers that he will pay for the eviction if it comes to that. He claims it costs, what, $200? If that's true, I'd be fine paying that as well, but I'd make sure and ask around to see what it really costs and see if you're comfortable paying that. If you're not, you can always politely remind the seller that you aren't a property management company that takes a cut of the rent every month and therefor cannot guarantee a T/B's performance (in other words, paying eviction fees might only be appropriate in a sandwich lease option if the costs are too high).

OMG Violent right-wing rhetoric! I think part of the problem of the build-up of foreclosed properties is the way that Fannie jerks around people that are trying to purchase those homes. I've heard homeowners in passing mention how they won't ever try to buy a foreclosed home because the Fannie Mae experience was so bad. Wish I had more background on that, but I just heard it in passing like I said.

I was listening to the radio today and the Feds are asking for people/organizations to submit their ideas for what to do with the 248,000 homes that Fannie/Freddie own due to foreclosure: http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/22366/RFIFinal081011.pdf I got an idea: do away with seasoning! Even better: allow people to purchase them on a lease purchase! Just thought I'd pass this along as it it has at least some bearing on us in the Real Estate business.

Dennis, you're overestimating the average homeowner. True, true; perhaps HUD should steal Geico's slogan and adapt it. "Homeownership: So easy a caveman can do it!"

Have you considered replacing "Lease Purchase" with "Rent-2-Own"? Many people either know what that is or are able to figure it out...pretty self-explanatory