I have gotten about 25 responses to my bird dogs request on Craigslist.
I talked to about 15 of them on the phone and told them to drive around and look for distressed properties and send me the addresses when they get them.
Should my bird dogs be talking to the property owners? Should they enter the houses to see what repairs need to be done?
Also, there has to be another way other than just looking for overgrown grass… I have no idea what the interior of these houses looks like just by driving by, right?
I could write a book on bird dogs. My favorite is the bird dog prospect that insists on meeting me, he ties me up for at least an hour, he goes on a rant and an on about how RE is in his blood, ever since he was a fetus he has had nothing else on his brain, his parents were Realtors and his Uncle, He has Real Estate in his blood, he’s going to be the best bird dog I ever seen. Then guess what? He never sends me 1 address and I never hear from him again.
I no longer waste my time meeting these people. I send them my info pack, I point them in the direction and that’s what they get.
My next favorite Bird dog is someone that sends me 3 addresses and calls every few days wanting an update. I try to explain that its a numbers game and they need to send me many. Most quit without ever sending me 1 address, some send a couple before quitting.
Another favorite is bird dogs that have sent me quite a few and I was unable to do a deal on any of them and they send me threatening emails that they are going to the feds and I’m a scammer and a con. One took me to the Labor commission and then never showed up.
If you got an iron skin and willing to deal with the problems of trying to motivate these people, then I’m your fan.
Luckily I have a good sense of humor and it is fun to work these psychotic people. Maybe, I’m just too optimistic, but every once in a while they bring me something good.
I paid out $40,000 last year.
So, I havnt given up on bird dogs yet.
Let’s make some Money…
Rando
I’m surprised you got any responses for $200. a weeks worth of groceries and some gas?
I pay a flat fee of $2,000 and a few bird dogs are more advanced and have done deals on their own I split the profits 50/50
I get most of my deals from direct mail and bird dogs and a few from bandit signs. One of my favorite ways is when some of the other local wholesalers call me because they have a deal they can’t sell. I have some hungry ass buyers that will usually buy everything I throw at them.
These deals just fall in my lap and we split fees anywhere from 5K to a 23K one we split 3 ways last summer.
Did I mention how a good percentage of deals fall thru?
You got so much to learn. Some sellers will change their minds because they talked to a Realtor, it don’t matter you have a legal binding contract with them. Some deals have too many liens from code enforcement, back taxes and dead family members.
Some deals the siblings are in dispute, some are in prison or on the lam. I had one deal the lady purchased the house with owner financing and nobody cud locate the seller to sign it off.
Many times the sellers know there are problems with the Title but they like to keep it a secret and when the Title company finds it they act all surprised.
I used to get all puckerd up and stressed out over these bad deals, probably cuz back then I needed the money desperately and I already had it spent.
But now I go with the flow, and don’t count the money till its closed and in my hand, and also I have a little reserve and I’m in a better position financially and mentally.
But don’t ask 300 questions, jump in and figure some things out on your own, get the experience, feel the heartbreak of a deal gone south and the high of a deal slammed in under 3 weeks.
And have some fun doing it.
I hope my $150 investment in bandit signs wasn’t a waste.
If I put all 50 up today, they would probably be taken down by 'someone, " within a few days.
How do you find “hungry buyers?” The only way I find them is from We Buy Houses signs. In which case, they are most likely wholesalers like me… Buy 90% of them claim to be rehabbers when I call them.
I was always embarrassed putting up my signs, I first purchased 100 and spent a lot of time with big markers hand writing them. I put some of those up and got a few phone calls. Then I got more and stuck one in my front yard and it sat there for a year and a half until I got a call that paid out $8,000. Then I ordered 500, and just got another deal that paid out $8,000. I still have a few hundred signs left over that I need to get out.
I did pay a girl $2 each to put them up but wen I wud drive by they wud be upside down because she only used one nail, or they wud be 3’ high even though I told her I wanted them at 9’ high, and I was getting calls that some of my signs were on the ground.
But anyway, after making 20 Grand off of those signs, now I’ll stop at high noon, take out my 4’ ladder and walk over to the busy intersection and nail that thing up with dozens of drivers watching.
Many people claim you will get better responses from hand written ones, I like the pre printed ones cuz it’s easy, recently I discovered that dirtcheapsigns.com has pre printed ones that look hand written, so those are the ones I’ll be ordering next.
A few of the neighboring towns has special forces that hate these signs and I was getting calls to remove them, after a few call he was asking what my address was, I asked him why? He said so I can come over and write you a citation.
I luv using google voice, they don’t know who I am, I did spend several hundred dollars and a lot of time making small bill boards out of plywood and 2/4’s Most got stolen, I think the homeless used them for firewood.
Question everything & everyone, use self doubt and skepticism to rule your life, hesitate, procrastinate, spin your wheels, blame and mistrust everyone. Stay on the defensive, be negative, don’t believe anything anyone says.
Give everything a half ass effort and quit at every hurdle. Don’t read self improvement books, watch TV at every free moment.
Hang around with others that have the same attitude. Doubt your ability and success. Be critical of others and yourself.
Wish for a better future but don’t go out of your way to get it. If you quit as a bird dog you are probably going to quit as a wholesaler. You wont have the resolve to sift thru hundreds or thousands of addresses to find one good deal.
Success in any endeavor means never quitting.
Soon, and I hope I’m wrong, my friend, you will be with the 99% majority.