90 Day Game Plan

[FirstAmerican 0]

Hello,

 

I have not read Michael's manual, but I have been reading the posts and I am very impressed by the cooperative spirit. So I would like to help. This is a work in progress. Please reply with your suggestions and comments. I will also be starting a deal thread so that we can track our daily deals and find out works and what doesn't. That will be coming soon.

 

One thing before we start. I would like to stress the importance of being Investment Marketers. Most of us did not get in this business to have money and no time. Quality of life is determined by both. So while calling 100 sellers a day is effective. It is also not using our leverage properly. This game plan will address the leverage vs cost issue. I will only include shoe string budget marketing. Higher end marketing can be addressed at a later time. If interested.

 

First steps.

1. Form a LLC (NV or WY) I suggest Wyoming.

2. Fire your current CPA/Hire a new one. If anyone has a list of questions that you should ask please reply to this thread.

3. Interview several title companies. Find one that is investor friendly. Quick closing, double closings, etc. Find out if they mail out default notices. Email is the most effective or a fax machine. I like email because it allows remote access. Have the closing agent walk you through the foreclosure process in your state. If they don't know it. They are more than likely not investor friendly. One more note CALL ON ALL OF YOUR PAYOFFS when dealing with foreclosures. Barter the price down they believe they are about to get wiped off.

4. Interview several attorneys. (Divorce, Probate, Tax, Bankruptcy) Offer a substantial reward for all loans they send your way that close. Will pay on closing. Find out the foreclosure laws in your state. Have your attorney walk you through the foreclosure process as well. Find out about redemption period, listings, etc. Check all of your contracts for compliance with state law.

5. Interview several real estate agents. (HUD approved, REO attorneys, REI creative especially) Explain to them you have many deals that sellers are not motivated enough to sell outright or LP. Therefore they want to sell, but they are willing to wait it out on the market to get full price. Use them for your comps, have them look up expired listings, referral pivoting, and look up in the MLS for OWC (owner will carry, motivated etc.)

6. Get in business for yourself - Start keeping track of receipts (buy file folders for each different receipt type) get some business cards and proliferate them to everyone you know. http://www.vistaprint.com has them very cheap. Get some today. Buy a planner, start tracking your time and appointments. Think about getting a 24 hour recorded message. This will allow you to only talk to people who are motivated. You might lose some deals, but being on the phone 24 hours filtering deals can be tiresome. Also this will increase your call turn out 100fold because people don't like to be sold to without knowing specifics. This is a stepping up system. The people at the top will be motivated and qualified this is what you want.

7. Get a website http://www.inetusa.com has one for 25.00 month. http://www.investorpro.com is more expensive but more professional and you can add people to your marketing lists. This is another filtering process. More on this later if interested.

8. Go to http://www.reiclub.com/real-estate-clubs.php find a real estate group in your area. Try to network with people on this forum of people in your area. Attend monthly, network with other investors. Ask about their dream team. (contractors, painters, heating and cooling, plumbers, handymen etc) Use these resources. Find out who you can flip properties that are fixer uppers that you can't/don't want to handle.

 

Priming the pump.

9. Go to your local library take the papers from 1-3months and write down the phone numbers on all of the properties. Nothing else matters. The property doesn't matter unless the seller is motivated. Take the papers from 1-3 weeks and write down all the numbers of people looking to rent. These people are already half way to leasing. This is your master list. I have some scripts taken from various sources on what to say to lead the call. Let me know if interested.

10. Go to your county records office and ask about defaulted mortgages. Find out if the email you the information. This is handy because most papers don't include addresses and this will cut out the time it takes to research to find the address to the parcel number. Find a good couple postcard formats and take the mailing list that is emailed to you and send the list to http://www.usps.com this will print and mail the information out for you. They also do letters, but the quality is poor. Send different sets of postcards out every 3 weeks. If a postcard is returned, you have a vacant. Go to http://www.findtheseller.com and track the seller down. This is a good sign because there is little emotional attachment on the property.

11. Find investors. Call everyone you know and ask them, 'I know this is not for you, but do you know anyone who would be interested in making 15-20 percent returns secured by a first lien on real estate?' Try not to split deals, the profit margin is higher if you borrow money this way. If this does not work aka you hang with broke people. I have a list a lot of different money lenders. That will do hard money loans based on property. If you still can't find any money. That's okay we can still make money. I'll go into that later.

12. Subscribe to a data agency ( http://www.dataquick.com ) find property that has been purchased within 3 years. There will be no equity in this property. This is good because we can do the property on a sub2 or LP and make them pay us because if they want to move the closing costs and realtor fees would cost them more money and they would have to wait it out on the market. Start your mailing to these people every 6 weeks.

13. Buy a local paper every weekend and keep it. Let your papers age themselves and call on the oldest ads first. You might miss some deals, but these sellers are much more motivated after sitting on the market for a couple months.

14. Go to http://www.hud.gov and http://www.buybankhomes.com. These are usually fixer up properties. You will notice 90 percent of these properties are handled by 5 percent of the real estate agents. These are the people you will want to network with.

15. Call all of the investors in your newspapers. Check out the competition. Find out if they will buy deals from other investors. This will be your wholesale market. You can flip properties to your investors that you don't/can't handle as long as you write and/or assigns on the buyer line. This is your buyer list. Put an ad in the paper, "RENT TO OWN a beautiful property in XXX area. 24 hr rec. msg. Call for details." Anytime someone calls your ads write down their information. Ask where they are looking to stay. How much downpayment they are working with etc. Add these names to your buyer list.

16. Pick up some signs. Michael has a great website that I don't have handy. Check out new subdivision builders etc. Ask around to find out who places signs. They will know zoning laws and this will leverage their time and resources. It might cost 2-3 dollars a sign. Remember each deal will pull you on average 15k-20k. How many deals do you need to do to pay for your signs, business cards, internet, cell phone, gas etc. for an entire year? Leave business cards with the builders for people who find new homes, but need to unload a property quickly.

17. Pick up some motivational tapes. Nightingale-Conant is a wonderful resource. Constantly buy information concerning real estate investing, finances, people skills etc. Try to focus on audio recordings so you can leverage your drive time.

 

After the pump has been primed this should cause your business to go on auto pilot. Motivated sellers will be calling you and you will be doing less and less work with less and less time. That is the goal.

 

 

I'd also like to share something that I have been studying for years. It's called Emotion Intelligence or EQ. The studies have been shown that IQ does not make successful people. The base attribute that all successful people have mastered is EQ. EQ is the ability to think beyond our first instincts. Losing emotional control or 'hijacking' is when you lose rational thought in face of emotional disturbance. Fear is a great emotional disturbance. This is the cycle: you want to go out and invest. However, your belief about your abilities is very small. This forms a cage in your mind. It is very effective. You will rationalize why you are not doing something. For instance, "I don't have enough money to invest. I don't know how to find properties. I will read just this other book and take this course. Then I will act." It's very very effective. The negative mind loop is created by you, formed out of self limiting beliefs. Remember this. Write it down. Ingrain it in your brain and this will increase your EQ. You can not think yourself into a new action, but you can act yourself into a new thinking. Always have a purpose and a goal. Then when the negative mind loop starts you will know your self limiting beliefs. I will talk more about this later if anyone is interested.

 

I hope this is a good guideline. If you have anything else to add. Please reply.

 

-Christopher

[Alan (NYC) 0]

Welcome Chris.....Some methods described in your post to cultivate interest with motivated sellers are valid and can lead to good quality deals. However, I disagree with forming an LLC so early in the game.

 

Get the experience of a few deals under your belt before forming a LLC or any Corp. for that matter. No need to spend money before you make money. Some people dabble in L/O only to find its not for them. Get some experience first.....

[FirstAmerican 0]

Alan,

 

Good advice. A couple points to add: If you are doing only lease purchases that is fine, but if you are ever putting a property in your name. You should be incorporated for asset protection. You don't want to lose personal property/assets for a sour deal. This goes doubly so for foreclosures and preforeclosures. Also, the tax benefits alone should pay most of the initial cost of a LLC. LLC's are fairly cheap and are not subject to the double taxation requirement of standard corporations.

 

 

Welcome Chris.....Some methods described in your post to cultivate interest with motivated sellers are valid and can lead to good quality deals. However, I disagree with forming an LLC so early in the game.

 

Get the experience of a few deals under your belt before forming a LLC or any Corp. for that matter. No need to spend money before you make money. Some people dabble in L/O only to find its not for them. Get some experience first.....

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[Golflover 0]

Christopher,

 

What questions do you suggest asking CPA's, Title companies and lawyers to see if they will help network with you?

[FirstAmerican 0]

Good question. I have found when dealing with other professionals the most important thing to address is the, "whats in it for me" title companies will/should be expected to do business with you because you will be doing business with them. Get notices of default, make sure they allow you to call of on payoffs etc. Sometimes, they find out about motivated sellers, but not often.

 

Bankruptcy Attorneys and Probate Attorneys are a great resource. Bankruptcy can not hold off a secured deal. The lender can file a notice that basically says, you filed bankruptcy to hold off foreclosure. They don't stand up in court long. Attornys and CPA's don't have much in it for them. Offer money for referrals that close. Start a referral network group (BNI) where you can pass referrals back and forth to each other. Your own personal attorneys and cpas will and should do business with you. When I interview attorneys and cpas, "I will say something along the lines. If I do business with you, I expect you to do business with me. Let me sit down and show what I do exactly so if you find anyone in need you can refer them to me. I will also pay you a great finder's fee for you troubles."

 

It might seem long and involved at first. However, The key is you have as many lines out as possible. So your phone is ringing not you're on the phone trying to scrounge up a deal. There is a hard way and an easy way. I have found this to be an easier way of doing things.

 

Christopher,

 

What questions do you suggest asking CPA's, Title companies and lawyers to see if they will help network with you?

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[Sold ! 0]

12. Subscribe to a data agency ( http://www.dataquick.com ) find property that has been purchased within 3 years. There will be no equity in this property.

 

Ha ha ha ha ha ... Not in my backyard ! I bought my house less than 2 years ago, already have $100K equity and I only put like $10K down !

 

It's a good and sound philosophy, but, in raging markets like mine and many around the country, you can count on equity falling from the trees with 15-20% appreciation.

[FirstAmerican 0]

LOL Good point. I'll trade you my no equity deals for your 20 percent appreciation any day. Most areas in Michigan are much slower marketwise, but make up for it in foreclosures as far as investment potential is concerned. Maybe in your area max 1 year in a home would be a good mailing possibility. It doesnt take much time if you leverage your resources and the added lines in the water can only help!

 

Out of curiosity, in a market that is that hot, what are the benefits to the seller that you bring up? And how much would you estimate that it affects average seller motivation?

 

 

Here is a good script for calling on rental ads:

 

Hello, Im calling about the property?

 

Is the property still available?

 

Can you tell me a little about the property?

 

Would you consider a lease of two years?

 

If I make all of my payments on time, would you consider selling it at the end of two years?

 

That sounds like a very nice property, why would you consider selling it?

 

For Sale Ads:

 

Basically the same thing. Obviously they would consider selling it, the real question is will they lease it.

 

Because im an investor who only buys nice property in nice areas, can you tell me is yours a nice property in a nice area?

 

As an investor I have several different methods of buying your home, one method is for me to lease out your property for a year or two and then completely cash you out of the home, is that something we should talk about or probably not?

 

-Chris

[Sold ! 0]

Because im an investor who only buys nice property in nice areas, can you tell me is yours a nice property in a nice area?

 

As an investor I have several different methods of buying your home, one method is for me to lease out your property for a year or two and then completely cash you out of the home, is that something we should talk about or probably not?

 

-Chris 

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Claude D and a little C&F ?

[Alan (NYC) 0]

Chris,

 

As an investor I have several different methods of buying your home, one method is for me to lease out your property for a year or two and then completely cash you out of the home, is that something we should talk about or probably not?

 

That script is directly quoted from a newsletter from Peter and David at resultsnow.com

 

Tell us a little about you. How many deals have you done? What experiences have you had? Adam King is from the Michigan market and he regularly contributes to this forum. According to his posts, he is absolutely tearing the market up in Michigan. What have your experiences been like?

[FirstAmerican 0]

That script is directly quoted from a newsletter from Peter and David at resultsnow.com

 

Tell us a little about you. How many deals have you done? What experiences have you had? Adam King is from the Michigan market and he regularly contributes to this forum. According to his posts, he is absolutely tearing the market up in Michigan. What have your experiences been like?

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Alan,

 

Yeah I didn't write it. It's been the most effective for me. Ive learned not to reinvent the wheel. I am a loan officer currently. I worked for a couple years as an underwriter. Right now, im in the Oakland County area. Im pretty new to real estate investing. I have done 3 wholesale deals, 2 LO's and I have a couple REO's in the works. Things have been exploding, Im going to need to find some people out here in MI because I have found a couple killer contacts in the REO field. I will have too much property to handle. So I will be interested in sharing the profits. If you know anyone let me know. I started about 6 months ago. I have awesome mentors and went to a couple trainings. Im looking to start networking out of state. If I can be of any help, please let me know. Tell me about you?

 

P.S. Adam King if you are interested in buying property from investors. Please let me know your area and your minimum LTV (ARV).

 

-Christopher

[Glenn (MI) 0]

Hey Christopher,

 

I'm from Michigan as well. From south of the Lansing area. And very new to this board and to real estate investing. Done my share of reading over the years but then get caught up in my business again and never get out of the starting blocks.

 

Last year was a dismal year for my business so I've realized its time to finally do something about my real estate dreams. Just starting out and looking for a mentor and someone to work with as well.

 

You've got some good ideas I've read. Welcome aboard.

 

I've talked to Adam. Yeah he's got it going on and a real good guy to talk to. Haven't met him yet but I'm interested and hopefully he'll find the time to squeeze me in his schedule between his prospecting and bank deposit runs.

 

Glenn

[FirstAmerican 0]

Hi Glenn,

 

Im curious what was the business that you had created that was not able to hit autopilot?

 

What is your investing philosophy? I would like to help you make money. Let me know if you need property in your area or investor contacts to help you raise funds.

 

Try a couple ideas from my 90 day gameplan and see how it works for you. I personally haven't done all of them. I created the gameplan for myself as well. My mentors helped me put it together and I stole a couple from random sources. If you have anything to add let me know. I tried to condense alot of material down into a concise gameplan. I did not originate it all myself. I plan on copying myself to success.

 

You already know all about L/O's. Good luck to you!

 

-Christopher.

[Glenn (MI) 0]

Hi Christopher,

 

My current business is a wholesale/retail business selling aviation products to aviation buffs, execs, military, etc. Nice for the office, bar or den, luxury items.

 

Being in Mich you know how poor the economy has been and is. I had a store in a mall in E. Lansing and took a bath and have been back-pedaling ever since all of '03 and so far in '04 trying to regain my footing.

 

Plus a ruptured disk in my back Jan 2nd didn't help for 7 weeks and I had plenty of time to contemplate my future during that time and I realized its time in my life to "bust a move" in another direction and I've always had an interest in R.E. but never the knowledge to pursue it. Or the time.

 

While layed up I started reading R.E. investment books again and it re-ignited the flame thats been flickering inside for years. I'll still keep my current business and customer base but plan on dropping a few gears and not devoting as much time to it as previously unless a customer calls and places an order here or there. But I've come to the conclusion it no longer will pay the bills after 5 years.

 

From the R.E. aspect I'm interested in starting out wholesaling (flipping) to build my cash roll back up and learn more about foreclosures and probate & divorce properties. My business has drained me and I'm not in any position to spend $1000's rehabbing, or being stuck with someones mortgage payments etc. right now. I'd like to be able to flip a quick deal or two and get a little breathing room first then get my investor legs.

 

In my county there are currently 369 homes in foreclosure. That seems pretty excessive to me compared to some others I've looked at. My girlfriends county has 62 homes in foreclosure. There has to be an opportunity there I'd think for someone who knows what they're doing. And with all the layoffs and plant closings happening here in Mich. I think it'll get worse before it gets better.

 

You'd like to help me make money? Great, where do I sign up? I'd like to land a mentor myself instead of stumbling around blindly and it costing me some some expensive lessons and forcing me out of the business before I really even get into it. I'm still wet behind the ears in this but the more contacts the better. I'll check out your 90 game plan as well Christopher.

 

I'm a newbie and always willing to learn positively from others too. This is a great forum and just reading the posts here from the veteran investors makes me feel like I'm more knowledgeable about this business than I really am.

 

Drop me an email Christopher with your contact info if you care to chat and I'll give you a call and maybe we can work a deal together.

 

Cheers,

 

Glenn

[FirstAmerican 0]

Glenn,

 

Do you have a website? I have a friend that is starting a business selling airplane parts. He currently works for a major airplane parts purchasing company. We got together and created a business plan for him about a week ago. He has all the buying contacts for airplane merchandise. Maybe you two can set up a business referral system due to the similarity of the customer base.

 

If you are interested in only flipping properties to investors right now. You should definitely create a buyers list of investors. Go to your local rei club, pick up all the business cards you can and just call around. I stole a line from DumbEnoughtobeRich "I know this is not for you, but would you know anyone who would be interested in making a 10-15 percent return on their investment secured by real estate?" Ask that to everyone you know and don't know yet. You will find some investors so you won't have to use your own money.

 

Call all the ads in your local papers and ask the investors if they will buy property from other investors. Everyone is trying to get property for a discount. When you figure out how to be the person that has the discount properties. You will have an unlimited customer base. If you run across a property that can't/won't be discounted but you can get terms. That is the type of property that you will want to L/O. If there is a motivated seller, you can always make money. Whether it be the bank being the motivated seller, the homeowner, or another investor. Always think outside the box. You are only limited to your own self beliefs.

 

If you came across a property that was 2 million dollars (market value 2.5 Million) and the seller was in desperate need to sell would you take it?

 

-Christopher