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outlawmp22

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Everything posted by outlawmp22

  1. I have been thinking about different ways over the past couple of weeks on how to get my name out there to t/b. I was thinking about one of the suggestions in the manual about apartment complexes. People there are already renting and would probably much rather be renting a home than an apartment or townhouse/condo. I know its not free marketing and I don't know how much of a budget you have right now. But I would think that it would be worth it. I was planning on using door hangers instead of flyer's or direct mail. The problem I think will direct mail to these complexes would be to actually get someone to open your letter instead of just throwing it in the trash. With a door hanger there is no opening and your advertisement is in plain sight where at least you would have a better chance of them reading it. Maybe some of them would throw it right away but I think it would be more successful than a letter. Plus I think the door hangers would be cheaper. (Don't know for sure) You could put a good message about why rent when you can rent to own for the same price or maybe even less than what they are already paying. Put your website and phone number on there, most people would at least check out your website so make sure you at least have one house on there before you put these out. Even if they are not interested they might know someone who would be. You could also put on there some kind of referral payment of $50 or something. (Of course only pay the referral when the t/b they referred actually pays you) You could probably have a local company print them up and then go around and do it yourself to save some money. I have heard a couple of guru's say that they contacted local delivery restaurants that are always going around and putting out flyer's and door hangers and pay them to take yours with them and put yours up along with whatever they are putting out. Or you could put an ad on CL and have someone do it for you. Pay them like 10 cents per door hanger and if they did 500 they would get $50. Or you could figure out your own numbers, just throwing something out there. Another problem would be that a lot of people renting an apartment aren't exactly in the right financial situation to pay the option fee and first months rent. (or even have good enough credit to qualify) But I think if you focus on the higher end apartment complexes and condos then it would be more successful. You can look up their websites and they usually have their monthly rent figures on their website to see what people are paying to rent there. If they don't have that info on the site then you could make a quick call and just act like your looking to rent and just ask for their prices. If you were to have someone else do this for you, you would probably want to either have them take pictures or you go drive around and confirm that they actually put them out. Has anyone else done this and had any good results? What do you think? Anything I am missing here or need to change in my thinking?
  2. Well I am by no means an expert on this. I have watched quite a few videos and read up on marketing and I think there was some very good tips and techniques that I have learned. Maybe you already know many, or maybe all of these but I thought I would share so maybe others who haven't heard some of these could get something out of it. I have not personally tried these because I am just starting and getting everything set up right now, but they seem like some pretty good common sense ideas when you think about it. Time of Day: Depending on your market area this might vary, you also will want to split test and see which works best. But as you already know CL is just a running tally of ads posted with the most recent post on TOP. Depending on your area and population your ads might get buried under everyone else's posts very quickly, or it might sit near the top for a couple of hours. But you want to keep your ads at the top of the page when the traffic to CL is going to be at the highest levels. So the usual times most people will be surfing CL will probably be during lunch time, right after most people get off of work, as well as after dinner when people are winding down from the day. So instead of just posting all of your ads in the morning and saying I am done with my marketing for the day. Pop in during these high traffic times of the day so your ads are as close to the top as possible. Just like google or any other search engine, it is statistically proven that (most) people will only click on the first couple of options and be done with it. Of course when someone is looking for a house or rental then they will more likely do a little more research. But how far are they willing to go down the list before they give up? So maximize those high traffic times to get the most possible eyes looking at your ads. Also with different seasons it might bring different times to post. During the winter people are not out as late as during the summer. The sun goes down earlier and its colder. So that might change up your times of posting with the seasons as well. Post More Than One Ad With marketing the key is always the more the better, as well as staying consistent. With CL you have a time standard as to how often you can repost the EXACT same ad. So the key is to make variations of ONE ad that will turn it into 3-6 different ads. Now you don't want to over do it and end up getting "ghosted" or flagged as spam or overposting. Some of the ways that you can post the same ad more than once in the 48 hrs or whatever it is, is to mix it up and make variations. Change the heading, change the price, change the text, use different pictures of the same house, use an html ad instead of just a text ad. Now I don't mean change the price so people are confused, I am saying that in one ad you can have the purchase price. In a different ad you can have the rental amount, or the option fee. Just change everything up and post the different ads at different times of the day. Over time you will be able to see which different type of ads are getting the best results. You will also see what times of the day you are getting your most traffic. So you then switch it up to use your BEST AD during the HIGHEST TRAFFIC time of the day generating hopefully better and better results. Using the Google Keyword Tool If you haven't heard of this tool then hopefully this will intrigue you. The keyword tool (which is absolutely free) can be utilized to help you do some keyword assessment of your local area and what they are searching for. It can be used for pretty much anything. So lets say that on the header of your ad you put in there [3bed, 2bath close to downtown] or whatever most people do. But lets say you use the keyword tool and figure out that in your area tons of people are searching for "rent to own" or "rent to own (insert your local city and state)" so lets just call it "rent to own miami, fl". Then in your heading for your ad you put in [rent to own, 3bd/2bt 1800 sq]. Not only will you be getting people who will click on your ad who went specifically to CL to view ads. But you will also get people to your ad that searched for "rent to own miami, fl" using google, yahoo, or whatever other search engine they used. CL has very good search engine optimization as well as backpage, which in turn CL and backpage ads will rank high on different search engines. Getting you high amounts of traffic and more eyes on your ad. Use the keyword tool and find out what term or keywords are the most popular. Is it lease purchase, rent to own, lease option, rent to purchase? You get the idea, whatever is ranking the highest or maybe the two or three different keyword phrases that are being searched for the most. USE THEM! You will get more FREE traffic to your ads, generating hopefully better results. I don't really know what would be better between showing that your a business or just a regular person. But with being able to post more than just 1 ad a day then you should be able to split test it. You could also try getting another CL account. I know you have to verify over the phone but you can always use a different number like google voice or some other free phone service to verify. That way not only can you run more than one variation of an ad but you can run quite a few more ads and all of their variations. Just don't go overboard and get your account shut down. That way if you do get flagged by someone, or get ghosted by CL then you have more than one ad out there that people are able to view. Like I said before I have not used these and I am not an expert. I have heard and seen these tips from others and they seemed to be some of the best tips I have heard about posting on CL or backpage. Or literally any other ad posting website out there. I think if you use these principals and figure out your area, you should have some pretty decent results. If I am wrong on anything here please let me know.
  3. I know the basics of comparable sales and the importance of it. I just don't know the best way to get them. I have heard a lot of people say that the best of all is the MLS, but me not being licensed and not really wanting to use an agent to do it for me. Not that I don't think they know how to do their job or anything. But I really would like to do it myself, not only to really learn my area but I think if I am going to make a viable business I need to know every aspect in detail before I let someone else take care of it or outsourcing. More than likely not letting anyone but myself do this in the future since it is such a important part. I am sure there are different opinions and everyone probably does it a different way, but what service do you use to figure your comps? Do you have any suggestions on maybe some of the cheaper ones as of now, and then maybe some more advanced options for the future as the business grows. I know I could do a google search (and I have). I really want to hear from personal experience and what you use on a daily basis. Maybe some of you veterans have used quite a few different ones and have a found a "favorite". Does anyone use the free websites that give an "estimate" or are they a complete waste like most have said? Please any and all comments. Thanks in advance.
  4. Well just my luck. Last night I wrote two posts and sent a pm to MC. Tried to get on the forums all day biting my nails to get some good answers there waiting for me. Well its back up but my two posts are GONE. LOL Oh well. Try, try again I guess. I might wait until tomorrow just to see what happens.
  5. LOL I did take him up on his offer and I already have an email from USPS! It might not have happened if I let him know I was a Cowboys Fan, we might not be doing all that great this year but we are 1-1 against the Giants. With the coaching change we are on a roll now, even though we really don't have anything to look forward this year. Thanks MC!
  6. Thanks to both of you. I guess I will have to think about it, but I don't see myself getting more than possibly one or two deals done this year if any? So I might just try and do it in my own name this year and just file with my SOS with a origination date of 1 January. If I do any deals in my personal name this year how would that affect my taxes this year as a single person? Would that also have any affect on me setting up my business for the next year? Because right now I would be looked at as a sole proprietor without an entity, would I then have to create an entity as a sole proprietor instead of a disregarded entity with sub S-Corp status?
  7. No I have not invested in real estate before. I know there are varying opinions on whether you should start up a company before you start or just go for it under your own name until you get a few deals and I think that has already been covered enough on other posts. But if I figured if I was going to start my company before I start investing and doing deals. Would it be better to start my company before the end of the year and have the normal start up costs and maybe some marketing costs. Or would it be better to wait until 2011. I don't know hardly anything about taxes, write offs, and business accounting. So I didn't know if maybe there would be a cost benefit or tax benefit with one or the other. Or if it is minimal at best either way I go. I should probably just contact a CPA but didn't know if you guys had any real life expertise or suggestions one way or the other. Thanks.
  8. Wow thanks MC! Wasn't expecting that. I will definitely PM you. Thats what I figured better be safe than sorry, I had already planned on taking them to a local real estate attorney like most have suggested to others just starting out. After reading a lot of the forums here I have no doubt that your contracts have everything covered, but you already know that each state has its own hoops to jump through. Litigious society is 100% correct! Even though I didn't know that word until now, I love it here. Learn something new from here every single day and I doubt that will ever change. There is a great family here (unlike every other forum out there) and it is all because of you MC! The more you give the more you receive and this place is just a testament to that. As for shrewd, I guess only time will tell. Thanks for all the help and your generosity. Can't wait to GET NAKED! ~Smitty~
  9. I am wanting to get into L/O and was wondering if it would be better to start my company now at the end of the year or wait until after January 1st? I will most likely start a LLC but set up to be taxed as an S-Corp due to the tax advantages when doing C/A's and quick flips. But should I do it now and buy office equipment and have a lot of the startup costs and write offs done in this year or wait until the following year? Thanks in advance. ~Smitty~
  10. Thanks pilot. I am on both sides I guess. From my experience Soldiers don't want to live "on base" due to all the politics, strict rules and plain old b.s. associated with it after already having their lives controlled most of the day. When they are "off" they don't want to be controlled just as much as they are when they are at work. So they would much rather rent or buy outside of base. But I hate seeing Soldiers that just don't know any better and end up renting a house or an apartment everywhere they go and then after 20 years of service they have no equity in anything and then get screwed on their retirement and disability. Luckily I am not one of them, but I really want to help people in this economy (to include myself). So I see this as a great opportunity to do both. I know they wouldn't have a ton of equity before they had to move again but at least they would have some. As I said earlier with people having a deadline when they have to move and sell their home it could be great motivation for me to help them out on the seller side and if I do a good job on the deal when they are a t/b maybe I could in the future turn them around as the seller. They would probably be more comfortable with the process since they were already on the other side of the transaction and would kind of know what to expect? I do know that the military (or at least the army) is going towards more of a five years in one place rather than 2-3 years to try and cut down on divorce rates and have some kind of consistency in their life. So this might help but... I definitely do not want to steer people in the wrong direction or be misleading and I would disclose everything up front. But as far as a CYA addendum would go. Since I will be trying to do only CA's at first to build up before I start doing SLO's how would I structure the CYA? Since I would be assigning to the t/b would I sign the addendum and then assign that as well. Or would that be only signed between me and the t/b? Could I make the CYA a part of the assignment document or keep it separate? Thanks for your help! Is there anyone else that has come across this or has any comments? ~Smitty~
  11. Hello everyone! I just want to say how glad I am to finally be a part of this forum. Tons of great information here and hours upon hours of priceless reading so far. I have quite a few different questions, and yes I have read A LOT before I got up the courage to finally register and ask my own so I hope these don't sound like newbie questions and I really didn't know if I should ask them all in the same post or not. But I decided from reading many other posts that I should probably break them up to benefit not only current members but also future members as well. Recently I transitioned from the military and am once again a normal citizen. I currently live in Clarksville, TN which is just outside one of the biggest military bases in the U.S., Fort Campbell, KY. The population is approximately 123k, and earlier this year Clarksville was recognized as the 9th fastest growing city in the U.S. (Not anymore) The city is booming and quite frankly if it wasn't for the military base it wouldn't be what it is. I know this area has a good opportunity for a real estate investor, as a majority of the military personnel do not stay longer than 3-4 years as they are transfered somewhere else. There are tons of rental properties just outside the base and many more all over the city. Which brings me to my biggest concern and question regarding L/O and my situation. With the Service-members Civil Relief Act how would that affect a C/A or SLO? The SCRA allows Active Duty military, Reservists and National Guard to terminate their lease if they are deployed, called to duty for longer than 90 days, or PCS (Permanent Change of Station). It also states that any prepaid rent or security deposit must be returned within 30 days after the termination of the lease. It also allows these personnel and their family members protection from being evicted from a property for a minimum of 90 days (unless by court order) which I presume you would go get a court order anyway to properly evict someone? But it is only for those below a certain dollar amount for rent which is I believe close to $2,900. I know that the option fee is not a security deposit, I also know that the rent credits are the seller concessions so technically it would not have to be given back since the option fee is non-refundable, and the rent credits are only given if they exercise their option to buy. But how would this truly affect a C/A or SLO? Am I just worrying too much, or if they actually hired a lawyer and took me to court would the judge see me as a slum investor trying to steal from the military personnel and their family? Don't get me wrong. I completely 100% believe in the SCRA and its purposes and being former military and having used some of its protection myself, I can tell you it is a very powerful thing and much needed for our military and their family. But am I getting into a gray area here and should just not do these types of deals in this area. Or should I just do a really good job of disclosing everything and making sure they understand that even under the SCRA it is non-refundable and that they are adults and if they wasn't looking to actually buy then they should just go rent from a regular landlord or property management company and not worry about it. Or maybe just add a one page Cover My Assets addendum that they sign stating that they fully understand what is happening and that I strongly encouraged them to seek the advice of an attorney before signing, this is non-refundable, blah blah blah? I feel that if I am protected from my contracts (which I will be getting your manual very soon and be using your contracts in the future) than I will be able to do quite well for myself even if they do break the lease, because I will then have repeat business whether I am doing C/A's or SLO's. Also I think with a lot of people every year having to leave due to a PCS, then there will be a lot more motivation because they have a deadline that they have to leave by whether they like it or not. So I would think there would be a lot more motivation for them to choose my program rather than trying to rent it out or sell it themselves. What do you guys think? I know you guys will give it to me straight, and sorry for the lengthy post. Also Michael by any chance do you offer any type of Military/Veteran discount on your manual? Sorry, had to ask. Thanks for any and all replies in advance! ~Smitty~
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