How long did you wait before first deal!?

Bird Dogs, Wholesaling
1

I am starting to get nervous. I WAS so excited and pumped to get my new deal in real estate investing! I have read every book again and again, I read countless forums on the subject of investing, I have joined my local real estate investors club, I have a couple mentoring me (they will walk me through a deal once I find it and take 50% of the $ generated from the deal after costs), I have a classified newspaper advertisement, I have bandit signs in the areas I am farming, I have had a direct mail post card drop, I am advertising in a civic league newsletter… and I have not made a penny yet! The phone has rung and for the most part I have callers wanting retail for their homes and they are upside down on their mortgage :banghead

I was so close one time with a women who owed just $45,000 on her mortgage and the comps were at $150,000 - she was 4 months behind. In the end she got her lender to work with her. The adrenaline rush was great when I thought it was going to happen! I want that feeling again.

What am I doing wrong!?

2

When the sellers call, are you giving them a reality check? Keep their info and call them again in a couple months just to “see how things are going”. People’s lives change, which means so do their needs and wants.

3

Mentor’s are taking 50%??? Are they putting any money intot he deal?

4

No. The deal is, I find the deal and they walk me through it and provide any contracts and support I need. If there is any money that has to be paid to get the deal done ie. paying arrears and late fees I pay it but then I get that money back at closing plus 1/2 of any profit. So in the end if the profit is 10,000, we both get $5,000 and if we make $100,000 on the deal I found, we both get $50,000 after I have been paid whatever money I put in at the begininng.
BUT I need a motivated seller to call me first!!

5

maybe it’s the area you are trying to work?

you could also try getting out there in person; a lot of successful wholesalers have told me that you need to physically drive around and look at houses, and while you are out looking at one house you will stumble onto another one. an added advantage to this which you may not have thought of is that if you find a house in person by chance, the odds are greater that it is not being marketed effectively (if it was, wouldn’t you already know about it?) in those cases, the seller is probably getting more desperate because they are not getting offers, you should have less competition, etc.

6

Good deals aren’t found they are negotiated. As someone said maybe you need to give the sellers a reality check, and continue to follow up.

But there are lots of ways to find deals. Ads and signs are just one way. How about networking? How about tracking down owners of vacant or run down houses? You mention direct mail, are you testing different headlines and messages? Are you trying different areas, different price ranges? How about working with an agent for Bank REOs. There are lots of ways to find deals, you just have to find the one that works for you.

7

Man I realize I am new to this but first I would find a new mentor 50% the guy I am working with has agreed to work with me. He is working with me on spotting deals first…once I am able to find my own deal then he is willing to go with me to talk to the home owners,so I really can see what needs to be said and how. Same with the contract and all. What is he getting out of this you ask. Someone that will watch his back. He works a seperate part of metroplex so if I have something fall in my lap that is on his side of town I will give him the first option at the deal

8

First, don’t throw those leads away where the owners are upside down. What you need to do is find an investor who does short sales and refer those leads to them. You could make a few bucks just for passing information.

9

I do short sales. Once the home owner realizes that they have to get all the information together for me to do the short sale (tax returns, hardship letter etc) they disappear. People are so lazy!!

10

Short Sales Completion theses day can take anywhere from 3 to… 12 months depending on many factors. I’ve also seen less than 10 days, to close a deal from homeowner commitment to closing the transaction. Never seen faster from first talking to homeowner to completing a deal. Has anyone else?

11

You have a great opportunity with the couple that is willing to mentor you for 50% of the profits. That’s a bargain and you will do well if you take advantage of that. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re getting scammed by them taking 50% of the profits. If you didn’t have them, then you wouldn’t make anything on a deal. 50% is better than 0%.

Also, have you spoken to these mentors of yours? I am surprised that you are asking on a forum when you have mentors that is suppose to be helping you?

12

50% is absolutely ridiculous. I have never had a mentor and I would never give anyone 50%, maybe 15% but 50??? Are you kidding me?

IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

13

50% for mentoring hmmmm that’s crazy

14

50% is well worth it, especially in creative real estate deals.

For example:

You’re a beginning investor with a desire to get started in real
estate investing to attain a better life for you and your family.

You read the testimonials, you read books, you know the financial
potential.

You have no current real world experience in creative real estate.

You somehow find a mentor who will mentor you in exchange for
50% of the net profit when the deal is complete. He doesn’t charge
you anything upfront (which Ally’s mentor is doing).

With his guidance you find a good deal, get it under contract, and
sell the deal. Let’s say it was a wholesale deal that netted you $10,000.

You pay your mentor $5,000 (50%) and you keep the other 5K. All was
done in less than 30-60 days.

Without that mentor, you would not have done a deal, let alone made
5K!

I know the power of a mentor! I was turning my wheels for over 2 years
with no results. I found a mentor, and within 3 weeks did my first wholesale
deal that netted me $5,000, thanks to the assistance that my then mentor
provided me with.

Just a little side not, I use to mentor people the way Ally’s mentor does it, not
charging upfront, however I realized that most people are not serious about it
and will not follow through, waisting my (the mentor’s) time. Ally’s mentor will soon
realize this if they continue mentoring people with no upfront payment…

15

You shouldn’t look at it like “OMG I PAID THE MENTOR TEN GRAND! TEN GRAND!”

no, you didn’t. you technically just profited less. it’s your first deal so consider it an investment… in yourself. maybe if you hadn’t worked with a pro looking over your shoulder, you’d have blundered and earned 10 grand less anyways.

if you can get a good mentor it is totally worth it to pay them half your first deal and know that they are there with you to guide you and protect your interests. besides, if he is getting half, you KNOW he is aggressively fighting for your interests, because they are his too!

being cheap never pays off.

16

it’s better to get 50% of something rather than 0% of nothing…

those who cannot gave 50% will lose 100%…common guys…use your coconuts…

17

There are pro and cons to the whole mentor thing. On one hand. book knowledge is a poor substitution for real world experience. What people learn in home study courses on Real Estate tend to be somewhat different in “real life”. If a person is a successful wholesaler and is willing to mentor, I would say do it. Coaches help players develop their skills. People that don’t have experience are rarely coaches to begin with. Tiger Woods didn’t figure out how to develop his talent on his own, he had help. A 50% split does sound high I do admit though, but since its on the back end, its really nothing missed out of pocket. ;D

18

Just keep doing what you’re doing, you’re off to a great start actually. I know a lot of people that didn’t have the resources (including myself) that you obviously do in order to market yourself and your business in your town. So, you are actually blessed in that and keep up the good work!

Don’t let anyone tell you that 50% to a mentor is not worth it. The key word here is “mentor”… not some schmuk on the internet or t.v. claiming to help you when all the while taking your hard earned money while selling you a bunch of useless e-books, seminars, etc. A true “mentor” will take you by the hand and show you every step of the way how to find, structure, and close a deal. And to me, that’s actually priceless. Without that mentor, you probably wouldn’t either not have a deal at all or screw up royally your first go round (like I did till I found my mentor!).

As with any business, wholesaling can take time. Although some areas are more lucrative than others. One really can’t put a time cap on success.

Don’t throw away ANY leads. Even if they may seem useless at the time. FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP!! I can NOT stress that enough! That is another form of marketing. Be creative. Don’t follow everyone else, you have to come up with your own niche in order to make yourself stand out from the rest. You don’t want to get lost in the sea of other investors. Hold your head up high, poke your chest out, and walk with confidence to talk with people one on one. You’d be surprised at how people will open up to you about their own personal situations. You will learn a lot and this can also lead to word-of-mouth advertising coming directly from the people you talk to. And actually word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising.

Be patient, as long as you keep thinking positively, and working towards the greater good of others, deals wil start coming your way, and you’ll be celebrating your first closing in no time. :beer

Good luck and much prosperity to you.

19

dont feel bad, it took me two years of research and number crunching before i got started, and I still made mistakes.

20

I want to get started in the wholesaling business…

Lunch with guru…($23.57)
Bandit signs…($104.95)
Mentoring from guru…(50% Net Profit)

Knowing how to do deals on my own next time…PRICELESS!

:beer

50% of one deal is CHEAP!

Most mentors in this area charge $10,000 - $20,000 for one year or one deal, Up Front!

Good luck with your first deal!