My First 90 Days / 1yr

[abohlig 0]

Hello,

 

On Jan 20 I listened in on the teleconference and asked if anyone else was marketing by doing mailings to people who had their house on the MLS. There was a guy by the name of John from TX that said he was doing this successfully. He said he had sent out 1400 letters and had generated a lot of business from this. I thought that this sounded easy enough. My plan was to send out about 100 per week and each week have them be from different areas so that by the 5th week I would go back to the first area and anyone who had not sold yet would get another letter. I can't put any examples of what I have done as I still have yet to complete a deal so I just decided to use the LPA. So far I have done mailings of 110 and 105 the past two weeks and nary a call. Needless to say, I am a bit discouraged from the results of this so far. Any suggestions would be welcome. By the way all were to houses that had been on the market for a minimum of 80 days and were between 100 and 250k. In my area these are quite modest homes that should be perfect for a CA

 

I have also spent several sessions since my last update on the phone calling FSBO. Just doing this and following Michaels script seems to generate the most leads of any method that I have tried. The only bad thing about this is that it works best at night and on weekends. I have 4 little kids ages 8, 6, 4, and 2 and nights and weekends are not the best time for me to be spending on the phone.

 

I was talking to another guy in town here that has bought a couple of houses and sold them with a lease option. Much like a Sandwich lease, I believe. I think that I might try with several people making two offers to them, one for 10-15% below fair market value (fmv) and another to net them fmv by doing a CA. Hopefully they will choose one, I really don't care which. I plan on making offers contingent upon inspection and appraisal. If I wind up buying a place or two that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

 

This is taking a bit longer than I had anticipated. I thought that by now I would have been able to do a deal or two. I haven't, but I am not giving up.

 

Alan

[Sold ! 0]

Alan,

 

Don't give up, ever !

 

It's taken me way longer than expected, too, but I am currently juggling 2 CA's, a bunch of TB's looking for the right home to come along and a consulting deal.

 

Where did they come from?

 

All came from Fliers. I peppered my neighborhood with fliers on every door (667 of them) over the course of one week. I peppered the parking lots of nearby rentals with fliers between the wiper and the windshield. And, each flier mentions that you can make extra money by simply referring business to me.

 

Getting the word out is the toughest and longest part of the puzzle. Starting to do deals will bring more deals thru satisfied clients, I'm sure.

 

"Never give up. Never, ever, ever, ever give up."

-Winston Churchill(?)

 

Good luck !

[MichaelC 160]

So far I have done mailings of 110 and 105 the past two weeks and nary a call. Needless to say, I am a bit discouraged from the results of this so far. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Alan, while your discouragement is undersandable, don't give in to it. Two hundred pieces of mail is considered nothing in most circles. Suggestions? Give it a bigger and longer run before you decide this marketing idea isn't working for you. Give it at least another month and five hundred or so pieces before coming to any conclusions.

I have also spent several sessions since my last update on the phone calling FSBO. Just doing this and following Michaels script seems to generate the most leads of any method that I have tried. The only bad thing about this is that it works best at night and on weekends. I have 4 little kids ages 8, 6, 4, and 2 and nights and weekends are not the best time for me to be spending on the phone.

I'm not surprised to read that the old tried and true is giving you the best results. You'll have to somehow find a way to balance family and business and make time for those calls. If you can't do it every night, alternate. Squeeze in an hour or ninety minutes when you can on weekends. Make it a priority and you'll find a way to fit it in.

I was talking to another guy in town here that has bought a couple of houses and sold them with a lease option. Much like a Sandwich lease, I believe.

Doesn't sound like a sandwich lease, Alan. If sounds as if he's out and out purchasing the property first, and then setting it up as a Rent to Own. Smart move as an exit strategy. If he sells the property, he does so for top dollar without paying a Realtor's commission and possibly closing costs. If the t/b's don't buy, he does it again.

I think that I might try with several people making two offers to them, one for 10-15% below fair market value (fmv) and another to net them fmv by doing a CA. Hopefully they will choose one, I really don't care which.

I don't like giving homeowners multiple choice offers. If often confuses them, which makes them say no to everything. Or, they act as if they are reading a Chinese menu, where they'll take one from column A and one from column B, combining the best of both offers for themselves.

This is taking a bit longer than I had anticipated. I thought that by now I would have been able to do a deal or two. I haven't, but I am not giving up.

Nor should you, pal. You're building the foundation of a new business, and it often takes longer than expected. Stay with it. This is not rocket science. It is, though, hard work. The effort and consistency you show now will pay you back many times over, if you just give it your best and some more time. I kid you not!

[Guest Guest_justin_*]

So, where are you now?

[abohlig 0]

Hello everyone,

 

I suppose that I need to make a post as to where I am. It has been 90+ days. I am a little embarrassed to say that as of yet I have not yet done a deal. This is one reason that I have not written on this topic in a while. I have not wanted to admit that I have not met my goals.

 

On to brighter topics. I have modified the original post to 90 days / 1yr. as I intend to continue in my quest to make this a full time endeavor for me. I am not discouraged. A little disappointed, yes, but not discouraged.

 

I did some calling FRBO on Monday and have Two people interested. I went and looked at one yesterday and am looking at the other tomorrow. The one that I looked at yesterday looks like it would be a great fit. He left it in my court to get back to him with the details of my offer. We have not agreed upon the option strike price (home sale price) yet. I plan on getting back to him this afternoon.

 

Hopefully I will have more to talk about soon.

 

Alan

[Sold ! 0]

Alan,

 

Why are you running around looking at houses without having some form of committment from the seller? That's one of the first rules of time management in this biz.....don't WASTE it !

 

You are becoming a "motivated buyer." maybe this is why you haven't done a deal. People sense that you need to and they can command you to come look and see all day long.

 

They need you, not vice verse. Make some ground rules for the sellers and make THEM stick to the rules.

 

Give it a try and keep your head up !

[abohlig 0]

Thanks for the reply Rich,

 

I don't think that I am doing an excessive amount of running around looking at homes. I have only looked at about 6 or so in the past 3 months. Unfortunately, I do have another business that has done a pretty good job of distracting me. I will not go and look unless I determine that they are interested in what I have to offer.

 

Does everyone make offers without even seeing the property? If you all do, it seems a bit strang to me, but maybe I am all wrong here.

 

I am calling and first qualifying them to being interested in what I have to offer. Then going to see the property. I just check it out and make another contact with the owner. Then coming back with a proposal a day later.

 

Is anyone else successfully doing it my way, or does everyone just throw out verbal offers left and right without ever seeing the property. I guess you can throw out offers and just figure that some are bound to stick.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Alan

[<Steve> 82]

Alan-

 

The conventional way to find houses is to drive around see what we like and then find the seller. This is time consuming.

 

As per the manual, the way we find houses when doing Lease Options is to find the seller first and then back into the house. Talking with the seller and finding their motivation is key. If they buy into idea of the L/O and all the advantages it offers over the phone then we look at sale and rent comps in the surrounding area of similar houses. If the numbers work for us to make a deal, we then send out a legitimate written "short" offer to the seller or a verbal offer. This is all done from the easy chair at the home office. If the seller is in agreement, then we go look at the house. If the seller is not in agreement he gets my offer anyway. He may change his mind later.

 

Alan I try to spending a couple hours daily marketing and looking for properties. I usually can make 5 to 10 good contacts with sellers. If I used that time to drive around looking at houses I might find 1 or 2 house in the same amount of time and the odds the seller is motivated enough to Lease Option their house is slim to none.

 

My2(non)cents

<Steve>

[Sold ! 0]

Alan,

 

Steve has got it right.

 

And, always put a clause in your offer that let's you pull it if you don't like the house or the neighborhood. Something like, "this offer is contingent upon inspection of the property and surrounding areas."

[MichaelC 160]

Alan,

 

Steve has got it right.

 

And, always put a clause in your offer that let's you pull it if you don't like the house or the neighborhood.  Something like, "this offer is contingent upon inspection of the property and surrounding areas."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just a reminder that the Short Offer Form contains a contingency clause that states the offer is subject to our inspection and final approval.