speedingpenguin

I'm north of you in MA Naked Investor is a great bunch of people and you'll be able to learn a LOT here. As far as sending a few emails and not getting results, you need to be consistent and send more than 'a few' if you want results. Let me know if I can help you with anything :-)

You shouldn't have any problem finding out what they're looking for. If your posting ghost ads and they respond, after letting them know that the property is no longer available, let them know that you/your company do get new properties available rent to own in that area and you'd be happy to let them know as soon as something becomes available. Then ask how many bedrooms they're looking for, what type of house (condo? townhouse? something big? small?), what area they like, what they're comfortable spending, why they can't buy now, when they think they'll be able to buy, if they have money put aside for a down payment, etc. (any other questions that will give you the info you need). If they can't or won't answer those questions, they're not serious. Move on!

Nahhhh.... no thanks

With some VOIP services (I use tossable digits) you can set it so that it records the calls and you can download them later. If you want/need it to disclose that the call is being recorded, you can set it up to play a quick message at the beginning of the phone call.

Not sure about being a broker, but I'm an agent and just posted a thread related to this. My understanding is that other than needing to disclose that you are a broker or agent, there is no difference at all. You're not acting as a broker or agent, but instead a principal in the transaction

that's what I'm wondering I think there may be some confusion because another agent is also trying to do L/O's but is using some wacky contract where he's basically acting as a buyers agent and has an agreement for 50% of the option consideration or a dollar amount, whichever is higher, and is basically an exclusive right to buy as a lease-purchase. I sent a copy of my contracts to the broker further explaining my position, so I'll be curious to see what his response is. The whole point of this new brokerage was to be a place where investors who are doing their own thing in the investing world can hang their license and if they want, help clients with regular transactions or investment properties. The only reason I have a license is for MLS access, and something about giving a cut (however small) to the brokerage on my own L/O deals just doesn't make sense... lol

Yeah, when I first signed on with him it was with the mutual understanding that my wholesaling and lease/option business was separate, but now he's saying Every time you operate in locating a tenant buyer & placing them, you're required by law to operate underneath a broker license, so in effect, we'd need that transaction to run through the office. I specifically tell the seller and tenant/buyers that I have a license but I'm not acting as an agent, because I'm not... can they still demand I throw a piece of the pie towards the brokerage for assigning lease and option contracts?

I'm an agent working with an 'investor friendly' or investor oriented brokerage, and my broker is telling me that all the L/O's I do need to go through the brokerage (and thus give the office a slice of each transaction). I was under the impression that since I'm doing assignments of contract, and the contracts specifically state that I'm NOT acting as an agent or broker in the transaction, that this is not the case. Any ideas? -Chris

Too many Michaels on the forum now, it's confusing! (I thought you replied to your own post) Not a bad suggestion at all, taking a little more and then giving some back to settle the sellers need to feel like they negotiated a better deal for themselves. I've never run in to this sort of problem yet, when a seller tells me they'll consider doing a lease purchase with X amount of money down, I pretty much tell them that it sounds like they already know how to do this and I'm probably not going to be able to help them very much. I did have on seller who explained to me her situation and that she would want 1 months rent to have in her bank account in the unlikely event that anything DID happen where the tenant/buyer didn't pay on time and I was fine with that. I think that sort of request is reasonable and fair, but there is a big difference between a seller who's a little cautious and makes a reasonable request and a seller who makes a problem out of someone else earning a profit for providing a service like what we provide. I guess it goes back to motivation... are they highly motivated sellers, or are they comfortable with things staying the way they are enough that something as minor as option money gets in the way. If I ran in to a seller who wanted to keep me from earning a fair profit, I'd say "Thanks but no thanks!" and move on to the next prospect! I just tell them before any of this comes up that rather than them paying a commission or any fees, I provide my service to them for free and get paid by the tenant/buyer and that's how my company gets paid. I let them know that I only get paid when a tenant/buyer moves in and that the fee is large enough to weed out anyone but serious buyers. Most people are fine with this because they see the value in what they're getting and that it doesn't cost them anything at all really....

maybe I should try something like this for the next house I get.... Saw this on another forum and thought it was some great marketing

Nice, thanks!

Thanks MC!

Yep, just put it under agreement with an option, I doubt a serious investor would try and go around you if you're really offering them a deal. The investor-buyers I know are HAPPY to pay a wholesale fee if it's a real deal and meets their criteria. And if it doesn't, then they wouldn't pay a wholesale fee because they wouldn't buy the property! Even though you aren't 100% comfortable with the whole process, an option would be ZERO risk to you and would give you the right to try and find a buyer. DO IT! Might I also suggest not getting emotionally attached to this deal (or any deal for that matter), don't count your chickens before they hatch! Go in to it with confidence but it sounds like this is your first real estate transaction, so treat it more as a learning experience to prepare you for all the deals that have yet to come, and if you can make some $ from it even better! Good luck!!!

I'm looking for a tenant/buyer for this gorgeous gambrel / colonial in beautiful Templeton, MA (near Gardner) The house was built 5 years ago by one of the best builders in the area and is located on 1.55 acres at the end of a cul de sac, surrounded by acres of undeveloped/undevelopable land (Lots of privacy!) 3 beds 2 full and 2 half baths, 2 car garage, unfinished basement, and a large front porch overlooking the manicured lawn and garden area. Rock fireplace, hardwood and tile floors on the main level, large family room with vaulted ceilings, arched doorways and arched Harvey windows, modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances included, laundry area on main level, home office. Looking for a tenant/buyer who can get a mortgage within 24 months and has a clean background with good references, $6,000 down and $1,500/mo with 20% rent credit. Purchase price after option $ and rent credits is $265,410 If you have a tenant/buyer who's interested, give me a call at 978-294-9778 or message me on here and lets do business together! Postlet: http://www.postlets.com/rts/5707083 YouTube Tour: More pics at www.renttoownmass.com

I agree. I was told when I first started out that you always have to answer the calls, but I disagree. Yes, it's nice if you can answer the calls as they come in, but as MC said, if the seller has ANY real motivation they'll be fine with leaving a voicemail. Now there's too approaches you could take, you could record the message just like a regular ol' voicemail so they call and it sounds like they're leaving a message for just a regular ol' person, or you could present yourself as a company and maybe even go over some information about what you offer as a way to pre-screen leads. If you go that route, it's probably not a bad idea to mention the fact that they'll be calling a recorded message on your marketing material. Some people may like this better actually, because it allows them to listen to what you have to say and leave a message if they want rather than calling and talking to someone not knowing what to expect. Besides, if you've got caller ID (it's 2011 so i'm sure you do) you can call back everyone including the people that don't leave a message :-)

Just because a property is advertised at a certain price doesn't mean that's actually the price the homeowner will sell for or is expecting to sell for. A lot of times I'll call up FSBO's and after asking them some questions they'll drop their price 10-15-20k or more without even really negotiating. Still doesn't mean that they're being realistic all the time, but the advertised price is usually higher than what they actually are willing to take. As far as emailing realtors, who cares. Try and avoid it if possible, but it can't hurt if they get an email

Never even heard of it, I'll have to check in B&N!

Coming right out of the gate with a question like that is TOO direct IMO, and secondly asking some more general questions (general but important) allow you to qualify the prospect rather than wasting your time talking to anyone who says "Yes" right from the get-go. Maybe the house is full of chipping lead paint and the toilet in the upstairs bathroom was removed 2 years ago and never replaced. Or maybe they're just kinda fishing to see what sort of offers are out there and they really aren't that serious about selling yet? When I talk to sellers who are in those sorts of situations, I certainly wouldn't want to spend my time talking about lease purchasing.... and in the first scenario, the conversation would be better off going in the direction of a cash offer/pure option

Claude's method is very direct and to the point, but I wouldn't use the term aggressive. The reason you're calling them and they're talking to you isn't to chit-chat and "get to know them" by "building rapport" like some teachers suggest. You're calling because they have a house for sale/rent and you need to get the answers to certain questions in order to decide whether or not you're talking with someone who's likely to do business with you or not. How many times have you been on the phone with a seller for 15-20-30 minutes or more only to find out that there's no way a deal is going to come from the conversation? Figure out what info you need and think about how you can get this info as quickly as possible without coming across as a slick salesman or just an arrogant prick. My cold calls start out: "Hi I had seen your ad on Craigslist for the house in _______?" "I was wondering if it was still available?" "Great, would it be OK if I ask you a few questions about the house?" "Well first of all, does the house need any repairs or updating?" "Okay, and it's in a good neighborhood?" "How long have you owned the house? "It sounds like a nice house, how come you're selling it?" "How much are you looking to get for it?" "Has it been on the market very long?" "If you got your price without having to pay any commissions or closing costs, do you think you'd consider renting it out for a year or two before selling it, or probably not?" The key when using a "script" is to be flexible, be able to go with the conversation and act natural but get back to your next question once you've gotten the info you need from the previous question. Using G.U.T.S. I really do qualify or disqualify most people within the first 3-4 minutes at the most, often times even sooner. Unfortunately with cold calling FSBO's and FRBO's, I've been finding that most leads get disqualified. One thing I've been doing is letting the leads age for a bit before calling them. I think MC mentions this in the manual and I've seen it other places too where you let the classifieds section of the newspaper sit for a few weeks before calling the ads. Craigslist is the same, you just have to copy the info to a spreadsheet or something because the ads disappear after 7 days. I do this because when I was calling ads that were 1 day-1 week old, most people were just starting to advertise their house for sale and were expecting to sell the house outright soon. After a few weeks though, they've gotten tired of posting ads on craigslist and answering calls, waiting for people to show up who never do or who just walk around the house and maybe say they'll make an offer but never get back to them. This is when they're going to be more likely to consider the idea that their house might not sell for as much as they hoped or as soon as they'd like, and a lease option is a possible solution to the problem. With cold calls you must be consistent and make LOTS of calls if you expect to be effective. It can be hard to pick up the phone and make the first few calls, but I find after talking to 2 or 3 people I get into the groove of it and it's a lot easier to keep making calls. Something that helps me when I get nervous about making the first call of the day is from Frank Bettger's book "How I raised myself from failure to success in selling" and I have it written on an index card taped by my computer. I don't know if it's by Bettger or someone else: You can't collect your commission until you make the sale; You can't make the sale 'til you write the order; You can't write the order 'til you have an interview; And you can't have an interview until you make the call

If these postcards work, I'll build a John Jackson shrine on my desk and pray to it whenever I need inspiration or a creative idea, how bout that?

oooohh. Nice. I like it. Mind if I swipe some of the copy and test my own variation? 8-)

LOL Maybe I'll give it a shot using someone elses voice and name and see if it gets different results from me cold calling.

I'm the same way MC, so my own thought is "it wont work", but I hear about other people doing it / teaching it so it makes me wonder if maybe it does work sometimes? MQ, I checked out your text website a while back and tried it out, my only concern is that it's not from my phone number (or any local number, for that matter...) I've done text messaging with Google Voice (which is the number I use anyway) and had a decent response. Lots of "undeliverable"s though. Maybe I'll stick with that and just call the ones that don't make it through, unless anyone else has input on voice blasting? Thanks guys!

I know at least one other lease/option teacher has his students doing voice blasts to classified ads for rent/ for sale by owner, and I'm sure it works (otherwise why would they be doing it?), I'm curious if anyone on here has tried this method and if so, is there typically a good response? Cold calling is well and good, but it's time consuming to weed through the sellers/landlords who aren't interested or are way out of line as far as what they expect to get for $$$ I'd rather be spending my time talking with slightly more pre-qualified leads so doing some voice blasts seems like the logical thing to try next (as far as working with FSBO/FRBO ads) Does anyone on here do this at all, and if so, have you had a decent response? What type of message do you send out when doing something like this? Any tips? I'm gonna try it with some older FRBO leads I haven't gotten to yet....

You could ask an investor friendly real estate agent in the state you're targeting, here in MA we can download up to 500 records at a time as a .csv spreadsheet ;-)