speedingpenguin

Something you might want to try, is click2mail.com It's inexpensive and... well, I can't say easy to use as it sometimes can be frustrating, but once you get the hang of it it's easy to use... and it'll save you a ton of time.... create your postcard and save it, upload your mailing list, and click a few buttons and you're done. You can mail merge too, to make the postcards specific to the recipient ("Hi John Smith, I want to buy your house at 123 Main St in Anytown...")

I one time recorded a video from my computer screen of the contracts, scrolling down slowly... and sent it to a seller who I was a little suspicious of (he was an agent in another state). He didn't like it, but I wasn't willing to send him the actual documents. If he was serious, he could have read the entire agreement easy enough the way I sent it. lol I probably won't do that again, because if I'm worried about them just taking the contracts, I probably shouldn't do business with them to begin with. Trust your instincts.

Good luck! Be careful that the 2nd seller(s) don't think your an agent, especially since theres a middleman who's relaying the info back and fourth (remember that game "Telephone" from when you were in school? It's amazing how much a simple story can get distorted as it gets passed between people)

Let's crush last months call! How bout getting some more people on the line? More people = more input = more info

I've got a few cards, one is my "pocket bandit sign" which is basically just that. Another one is my "agent" card, and then I've got a plain/generic card which I don't use very much any more...

Hi Tom, welcome to NI! The short offer isn't an actual contract, but more just an easy way to make sure the seller is on the same page numbers-wise. Once the sellers onboard you want to do the lease and option contracts before finding a t/b If you have to make changes, just redo the contracts with the seller before assigning the agreements

I also know of several successful wholesalers who use F$, but I think the important thing to keep in mind is that it's not going to do deals for you. It may help make your processes more efficient and from what I know about it, it's a good tool to use if you've got people (Virtual Assistants?) working for you, but I can't imagine a piece of software cutting down the learning curve or magically making deals happen for you. You've still gotta do marketing and lead generation (in addition to whatever the software is capable of), you've still gotta speak with buyers and sellers and sell them on the idea of selling their home to you (on a lease purchase, as a cash transaction, etc.), the numbers still have to work for your buyers, and you've still gotta make sure the right information gets put in to the software correctly every time in order for it to be effective. I've never used F$ so this is all just my personal opinion based on the knowledge I do have, but I know it's not inexpensive and I've seen the sales letters and webinars and videos and stuff and it does seem like it's the magic missing piece of the puzzle that will take you to the next level overnight. Check out zoho.com, it's a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool that's web based and free for up to 3 users, plus it's very customize-able so you can set it up for just how you want your business to run (i.e. create fields for the info you need from sellers / buyers such as property address, ARV, asking price, MAO, rehab est., monthly payment, amount owed, asking rent, number of bedrooms, etc. etc. etc.). You can track your leads/prospects/sales funnel, schedule appointments/calls/followups/etc., which I imagine is the foundation of F$. True you might not have the fancy features specific to wholesaling that F$ probably has (I imagine it can probably access public records and auto-fill in info such as living area, bedrooms, year built, last sale date, etc.), but for the price (free) and since lease-options are similar in some ways but very different in other ways than traditional wholesaling, you might be better off trying Zoho first and getting some deals done before paying whatever it costs + $97/mo (if I remember correctly?) for the fancy-schmancy F$ That's not to say it's not great software, I'm sure it is, but I can see how it would be easy to think that it's going to do a lot of the work for you and make a newer wholesaler capable of performing on the same level as an experienced wholesaler. If you decide to try it out let us know how it goes!

Welcome aboard!

Also, it's probably a good idea to team up with a mortgage broker who you can work with to screen potential tenant/buyers. On the first phone call, find out if they're working with a mortgage broker already or if they're taking action to fix their credit or whatever their issue is, that will give you an idea of the quality of that prospect as well. If they're working with a mortgage broker (or at least have met with one), they're somewhat pre-qualified (now whether or not they'll be able to GET a mortgage, that's another story. But it'll at least tell you that they're serious if they have), if not, you might tell them that the FIRST thing they need to do is call your mortgage broker and have a chat with them to figure out what they need to do to get a loan further down the road. Your mortgage broker will love you for the leads you're sending them! Again, let these little stepping stones weed out the tire kickers and save you the hassle. If your mortgage broker calls and thanks you for the referral and/or gives you an update as to the buyers status, they're serious. If you tell them to call and they don't, well... they couldn't be that serious, so don't show them the house! If I've got an appointment to show the property to somebody who's passed those little pre-qualifcation steps, I don't mind showing the property to people who call before the appointment, just schedule them a little before or a little after the appointment with the pre-qualified(ish) tenant/buyer... because when they see a couple pulling out of the driveway as they arrive, and another buyer or two show up as they're leaving, guess what they're thinking? (Oh sh!t, there's a lot of other people who want the house too! I better act quick if I'm serious!) And if it only means staying at the property a little longer and not making another trip, it isn't costing you much for that sense of competition. Plus, they just might wind up being the right people for the property anyway! (Last one I sold was to a couple who called me while I was driving to show the property to someone else!)

I've heard of Joes 1-2-3 punch and while I understand the concept behind it (eliminate the NO's right off the top), the bottom line is you still have to "make the sale", with the 1-2-3 punch you're working with warm leads but not done deals. If you're saying that Claude's approach is simply getting on the phone with a seller, setting an appointment, and picking up a contract, I think you're confused. As he himself once told me, "It's all about sales!" Get them on the phone, quickly find out if they have a problem that you have a solution to and if they're likely to work with you, THEN tell them how you can get them what they need and set up an appointment to get the contracts... I think just driving out to meet a seller without a verbal commitment and thorough understanding of what the agreement is for you'll just waste a lot of time and get bummed out when you're not driving home with contracts you were expecting. Like MC said, the sellers may be getting confused and think you're doing something sketchy. It's not the end of the world, it just means you've gotta work on your approach and figure out what you want the sellers to be thinking and feeling about you and your offer. If they're not clear, they'll probably just say no and you won't get the deal. If they're crystal clear about who you are, what you're offering, and most importantly what's in it for THEM, you'll still get some no's but you'll also get yes's! I've picked up properties (including pictures and descriptions!) without leaving my house, it can be done fairly easily, so don't feel like you've have a ton of time to be driving around because you don't. Especially since you're only dealing with craigslist ads which mean the sellers at least have computer access and understand how email works. lol

1) The house doesn't get shown to any TB until they have (i) applied and (ii) been approved by the seller correct? You could do it however you want, really, I have heard of people making potential tenant/buyers fill out an application before seeing the house to make sure you're dealing with really serious people, but I just make them jump through a hoop or two before showing it to them, to weed out the tire kickers and make sure I'm dealing with someone who's serious. I have them drive past the property to see the area and the house from the exterior, they also get a video tour and a bunch of pictures emailed to them, and only after that do I set up an appointment to see the house. I feel like part of my responsibility is to pre-screen the tenant/buyers before telling the seller about them. If everything looks good on my end, I assume the seller will be OK as well. After the tenant/buyer fills out an application and I get their background check / credit scorecard back, I'll share the results with the seller and get their opinion/thoughts before proceeding with the assignment. 2) Once I've got an approved TB who wants the house, do they have to sign the Lease and Option agreements as I did? Technically they only need to sign the "assignment of agreements" form, along with the seller. But I have had tenant/buyers initial/sign the original agreements that I signed with the seller.... I don't see it as hurting anything, and it's further acknowledgement on their part of EXACTLY what they're getting in to. 3) When is the TB down payment check due? at move in or in advance to allow it to clear? Learn from the mistakes of others (like myself) and only accept a bank check... It's not a good feeling when you deposit a personal check and have it bounce a few days later, after everything's signed and done with. You could collect a deposit when they apply and the rest when you sign the agreements with the tenant/buyer and the seller, or you could just do it all when you do the assignment of agreements. 4) When is my kickback check to the seller due? Kickback to the seller? If you're splitting the option money with them I'd say on or before move-in, though it's really between the two of you so decide what works for the both of you. 5) The seller lives in FL but the house is a good hour or longer drive from me PLUS, I currently have a JOB so, is it reasonable that the current tenant show the house? The cool thing about cooperative assignments is that there are no rules set in stone for this kind of stuff. I've driven an hour to show a property, and even though I probably had 10-12 hours total invested in driving back and fourth to the property and showing the property/signing paperwork there.... still worked out to $500/hr! and I don't mind driving so I didn't TRY and get the seller to show the house, though he probably would have. Do what you can do and work with the seller/tenants that are living there now to make it work! 6) Now that the seller has signed the Lease and Option agreements do I need to send them a check for the $1 earnest money or can that be included with their kickback(the portion of the fee I am giving them)? hahahaha! Nice! You could do either I guess, though honestly I have a hard time getting sellers to take the $1-10 earnest money from me! Congrats on the contract man! Get'er sold!

Looking for a tenant/buyer for this 3/2/2 split on 1.16 acres by Sand Pond in Wakefield NH $5,000 down $1,250/mo with $250 rent credit, purchase price is 184,900 lease term is 18 months More info and pictures here: http://www.postlets.com/repb/6287385 Come on, I'd love to partner with another Naked Investor! 978-294-9778 give me a call!

yup I run in to the same here

NICE! That's awesome! 17 years old and flipping houses, dang! Good for him! Craigslist marketing definitely gets a good response and for the price, can't be beat! What sort of direct mail are you cranking up? Welcome to the Naked Investor!

http://www.sellwithguts.com/NICallSept.mp3 right click - save target as

sounds like a short sale rather than a lease-purchase...

you didn't miss it i don't think, it's a star that blew up 21 million years ago, i don't think it'll disappear THAT fast. I haven't seen it yet either, my yard sucks...

Reminder to everyone, 10 minutes 'till the call starts!

It happens, no worries! What's funny is the times where I've been very up front and told a seller who was giving me shit that it doesn't sound like there's much reason for us to keep talking, they usually panic and try and hold on to you. Just get off the phone quickly and move on. If they're difficult to deal with up front, just imagine what working with them would be like!

Pretty sure it's 9pm EST (Thats what the other ones have been I think)

You live and learn from these experiences... Imagine finding yourself in that situation, only sitting at the sellers kitchen table after driving 40 mins to see the house... which happened to me early on, and taught me.... haha Now I make it a game to see how quickly I can spot these sellers (over the phone) and get off the phone with them!

Every once in a while I'll sweep through the FSBO websites (Isoldmyhouse.com fsbo.com owners.com, etc.) and grab telephone numbers and/or send messages through the site (same concept as CL marketing). Only once did I get a call from one of the websites asking why I sent so many messages in a short period of time.... told 'em I was looking for a rent to own in the area and know that most of the people selling aren't willing to do RTO, and he said "Okay, I'll put them through for you..." haha. But as for your question for weeding out the junk leads, make a list of key words that would ONLY appear in the ads you didn't want.... and filter your craigslist search to exclude any ads with those words in it. That would be the easiest way...

You don't have binoculars?

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/...Stories+2%29%29 I'm fascinated with space, stars, that sort of stuff, and I came across this link a couple days ago. The astronomers think they found the supernova within hours of it's initial explosion, 21 million light years away from Earth

This is an easy system to put together and outsource, let someone else deal with the pissy replies and Realtor ads!