I got an idea from Art Sobczak's Telephone Prospecting And Selling Report.In one of his articles he talked about sales questions. What made his article especially interesting and powerful was that each question began with "How."In addition to Art's questions I've added a few of my own:>>> How do you define quality?>>> How are you budgeting for this project?>>> How are you planning to make the decision for . . . ?>>> How have you evaluated these...more
"Bodacious" means to be bold, outstanding, and remarkable. Take those attributes to work and you're on your way to building a fulfilling, bodacious career. Does having a bodacious career sound exciting to you? It is! After starting as an $8 an hour customer service rep, I rose through the ranks of AOL, accepting four promotions and surviving over six layoffs to become the head of corporate training for 12,000 employees. Along the way I...more
We have become very concerned by the number of readers writing to us asking how to determine which are the wholesalers(*) that can be trusted. Why are we concerned? Because when we dig a little deeper, we realize that they are buying properties based solely on the recommendation of the wholesaler. They're guessing which ones to trust, and which houses to buy. That's a dangerous way to do business.Are we saying that most wholesalers will take advantage of you? Of course not. We believe in wholesaling. We wholesale many deals ourselves every year. Frankly, the majority of wholesalers are honest, and try to provide data that is as accurate as possible. The problem is twofold: first, wholesalers are sales people and present deals in the best light possible. The Buyers still need to do their due diligence to make sure the deal works for them. Second, wholesalers can only provide what the average renovator may incur as expenses. Your individual, specific expenses in any given deal may be higher or may be lower. It also depends on what exit strategy you're planning. That's why two investors can analyze the same deal, and one decide that it works great, and the other decide there's no...more
One of the things that distresses us about our industry is the amount of wrong or incomplete information available to investors. Some myths block what otherwise would be a great deal, while others would have you believe that a bad deal is actually great. For example, we encourage purchasing homes "subject-to" the existing mortgage as an option to...more
So you wanna buy pre-foreclosures? or at the courthouse steps? So many people ask us about this. Here's our '30 second seminar' on it. If you're going to buy PRE-foreclosures--after the seller is behind on her payments, but before the lender's auction date-then there are some pros and cons to consider.Pros: 1) you've got a good possibility of...more
This info is very important for both new and experienced wholesalers, AND buyers of fixer-uppers, to carefully read and understand. We learned it painfully, hopefully you won't have to :-)Often times we are asked by investors about using conventional financing for their investor deals. In other words, they want to go through a bank or other similar lending institution to purchase a fixer-upper from us, or another wholesaler. The obvious advantage is that rates are cheaper, and the loan origination fees (many times referred to as "points") are both much less than "hard money" (loans from individuals or small institutions specifically for investor type properties, with rates ranging from 5 points and 15% interest to 10 points and 18% interest). There are, however, some obstacles to using conventional financing of which you must be aware.First of all, these banking institutions will only loan on inhabitable, decent condition property. So if the property you are considering needs major repairs, forget this type of financing for the most part. Next is how you have structured the deal. Because of all of the recent frauds cases where banks have been burned, we have been unable to locate...more
That's an obvious question - we all do! So what is the trick? So much time and money is spent on systems updates, roofs, and structural issues, that many times there's nothing left for what really makes the sale: what your potential buyers see. And...more
Q: Hi Lou, I have a property under contract that I want to resell/flip as-is to a rehabber/renovator, but I may have to purchase it quickly and simply record the Quit Claim Deed, without using a closing attorney or waiting for a title exam. I need...more
One of our investor students told us of an interesting probate deal or "adventure" they're working on now and while it's a good story, it also illustrates lots of the ins and out of probate or estate issues and purchases.The Seller (we'll call him...more
If everyone always did everything they said they'd do, we'd all be a lot richer. Unfortunately, tasks are overlooked, and the ball is often dropped. If you want to have successful closings, you must have strong "follow-up" skills to catch problems...more
If you invest in real estate, you need cash to buy houses. Even if you have a full bank account and great credit, you'll eventually run short on funds - or short on time to obtain a loan - for the next deal. Private lending is the answer. It is a...more
So many of you have been telling us that you're ready to get started investing, but "you can't find any deals! and what are the steps and secrets to finding great deals?" Some of you have even written asking us if there still ARE any deals leftÂ… OF...more