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Be a Real Matchmaker!

Now that the push for real estate matchmaking software has ended again for now… There is more to being a real estate matchmaker other than getting a buyer and seller and putting them together. I

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Be a Real Matchmaker!

209 Days of Silence Ended by 209 Gurus&#

Well it’s been 209 days since my last post this one will be short the next one won’t be nor will it be in 209 more days! I guarantee it won’t even be another 209 hours before the nex

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209 Days of Silence Ended by 209 Gurus…

Howdy It’s Been A Minute!

So it has been awhile, but every time I had a post I wanted to write the flavor of the month would come out with an email that all of his large list of friends would send you also that was close to th

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Howdy It’s Been A Minute!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Questions&

I know several people have asked me about doing deals in other markets what’s my best tip? This is a good tip for doing deals in your own  market also though… There is an old saying that

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Questions…?!?

Yeah Buddy!

So I’m just gonna say something real quick like… Be careful what you ask for you just might get it is a powerful old ass saying… I’m gonna have start digitally bitch slapping p

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Yeah Buddy!

Really Again? F**k Them Too

5
by on July 20, 2010 at 2:33 am

I have decided to ignore any tweet with the word list in it, because I’m tired of all of these ratings people who base all of their criteria off of not a  damn thing. The real estate business isn’t rocket science is there plenty to write about? Yes yes there is if you are in the business for real doing the correct things everyday you should have an infinite supply of stories to tell as well as giving good advice.

Between twitter, facebook, talking to aspiring real estate investors and other blogs you will see and/ or hear the seeds for failure every 4.3 seconds. I almost did this, I didn’t have time for that, I don’t like this, I don’t know how to…, I’m too tired, I was sick…, my dog had bad gas, Zillow says its worth…, I was gonna but didn’t, I missed that goal… again, I am creating…These are all  the very reasons people are failing except at getting e-cred and blogosphere love. You know how much all of those statements put in your pocket… $0.00 every second for the rest of your life.  Why am I writing a blog post at 2:00 am central standard time, because I have been busy doing things that create income. Like making offers, doing marketing campaigns, placing ads and talking to buyers. You see lead conversion is the most important thing in wholesaling, real estate investing as a whole, or any business for that matter. All of you people who bought that one thing last week are in for  a rude awakening whether you are doing it yourself or paid extra for them to do it all for you… If you are going to make a dime one from those leads you have to convert them!

Here is your free big money tip if you made it to the end… Do the things that make money and forget the things that are for your leisure. Building relationships with people is a great thing to do with your time. They don’t have to be the most authentic relationships with a Realtor or other investor, but don’t completely fake it either. You don’t have to become fifteen Realtor kids’ god-parent by any means, but be real. Build a team or dare I even say a network of people you can work with or at the very least kick some ideas back and forth. I have a contact page if you want to see if we can get along. Unlike some people I don’t play “favorites” with my lists, or blow smoke up anybody’s ass so we can be “pals.”

The next post will be the second in the Ninja Marketing series. I actually will even throw in a case study post from the latest deal in the 50 in 52 challenge. To get back to what I do at a high level regardless of what some people “see” (I’m tired of the borderline “bitching” and electronic ass chewing posts myself… almost)

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It’s Not Nice To Keep Secrets…

9
by on June 16, 2010 at 5:20 pm

People have always told me it’s not nice to keep secrets, but at the same time why should you have to tell everyone everything? If anyone has a good answer for that I will send you a free book signed by absolutely no one…

What’s the point of the question? ———————————–>

If you want to know my super secret negotiation line that drives even the most hard headed sellers down in price via newsletter in exactly 24 hours! Which is now highly visible and there is no reason for you to not sign up. All current and new subscribers will get  digital copies of my 2 favorite books no less. Join the list or get the fist! (Well at the very least not get any of the cool shit)

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Big Dogs Start As Pups!

10
by on June 7, 2010 at 3:05 pm

Every big dog at one point in time or another started as a pup! Name anybody doing big things at anything let alone real estate they have one thing in common. They paid their dues! People just starting out see all of these guys and gals doing huge numbers and think if they are doing it I can to exactly the same way they are. It’s true you can become a top producer in any field with some effort! You absolutely have to do the little things first there is no way around it. It’s perfectly fine that you have people you look up to, but you can’t repeat can not just pick up doing the same things the big producers are!

One thing I see a lot of people trying to do is automation and outsourcing which is okay except for the fact you can’t automate a business you don’t have yet that’s the bottom line point blank period! If you truly want to have the grand life not working for someone else you need to put in the work needed to get there. That means putting out your own signs, calling every lead you get whether you think it’s good or bad, answer your own phone calls or at the very least return them, and remember exactly where you are in the pecking order.

No matter what stage of the game you are at realize that time is of the essence in a multitude of ways. You can’t wait at any point in business in the beginning it’s important to be putting in time to learn your chosen profession inside and out. The best way to learn is by talking to sellers, buyers, other investors, and mentors. As you move forwards you still have to be conscious of time you can’t take your sweet time on deals, because one of the hungry young pups who gets it will step in and snatch it up.

You don’t want to be the baby in the game shooting themselves in the foot by trying to play big shot and just throwing away leads for chump change or the guy who used to be the top real estate investor that got passed by being comfortable let alone lazy!

That doesn’t mean that you can’t help people along the way or wholesalers have to hate each other it’s about establishing and protecting your bottom line. Which will actually get bigger if you learn to work with other wholesalers I kid you not on that one. You are in real estate investing to make money as an entrepreneur and stop being just an employee for someone else! Realize though it’s gotta be done the right way.

2 Quick tips before I sign off when doing ads for craigslist or whatever make 2 versions one in English and one in Spanish! Just use google translate if you don’t know it.

Tip 2 learn about other forms of investing or at least meet other investors who are doing different things so you can do something with every lead you get.

PS be sure to check out the new fan page!

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Curiosity Killed the Cat… B.S.!

21
by on May 5, 2010 at 5:03 pm

They say curiosity killed the cat, I’m calling bulls*#t! If curiosity killed the cat then how did he get rich off of the story or how did he tell anyone about it? So my curiosity and love for impossible challenges has gotten the best of me. I decided to attempt something that when you read it will seem entirely impossible yet at the same time doable after some thought. I am challenging myself to close a deal in all 50 states within 52 weeks from next Monday. Some will think I am crazy , some will think it’s borderline genius and the rest will call it a combination of both. My answer is I don’t know which is correct, but it’s never boring to be me for very long!

I will use every single tip and trick in the book and write so many notes for new ones that the book will need a second volume! What does this have to do with all of you? I only live in one state thus to ensure this has a true chance of success I will need to do a lot of joint venture (jv) deals with other wholesalers/ real estate investors ( or a paid learning experience for newbies). So feel free to contact me if you can’t wait for the actual details to be released.

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WTF Happened? Lots of Craigslist Tips

3
by on April 27, 2010 at 9:32 pm

I can answer that title question I have no clue where the follow up post went. So I will try something else and just write what I always do until I find that post or specific set of notes again. So here we go with a little craigslist primer. Since a lot of people I talk to aren’t really using it to their advantage properly. I view it as a tool for free leads! Of all types not just seller leads. You can find people actively buying, and or other wholesalers to network with. All without placing an ad of your own for the lazy members of the viewing audience.

First thing when I have a craigslist cruising session I have a pen, paper, a calculator, and cell phone right next to me. I also have my property and buyer databases open so as I can track everything about my current or potential deals. (Tip: track everything! Original Asking price, Offer price, Accepted price, dates, comp averages, addresses, contact info, deals you didn’t get or couldn’t sell, just everything! For the simple fact that it puts numbers in front of your face to show you what is or isn’t working.)

Second when I open it up for whichever city or area I am looking in I actually open up the real estate for sale section and open up the F.S.B.O.’s (for sale by owner) in another tab on my browser by right clicking on a label to the right that says owner. In the original tab I click the broker label and have them completely separated. Which is good for those of you looking for a Realtor or dozen to contact to work your short sales or R.E.O. (real estate owned a.k.a bank owned) deals. From right here you should decide what it is you are looking for lead wise. If you want a Realtor or REO’s go to the broker page. Buyers (for the most part), other wholesalers and private sellers go the the owner page.

Some people think the only way to find buyers on CL is by searching the for rent and cold calling all of them or searching the for sale section and finding people with multiple listings. These are good ways to find them yes, but far from the only way. If you look through posts titles I almost guarantee within the first 200 posts you will see an ad title something along the lines of: House Wanted $0-50,000. This is usually an actual cash buyer who rehabs houses either to rent or resell a few at a time or lives in it and fixes it up to flip. (Time saving tip: use the search feature and just put in a $ symbol to search for cash buyers quicker)

Now of course you need property to sell to these buyers. The way I do it is if it looks interesting I bookmark it. (Organizational tip: If you are doing more than one area set up individual folders for that area when you favorite sites put it in the respective city ) Then if there is a number then I write it down  and whatever property info there is to call them  later. If not then I send them an email immediately now if an actual email addy is available I will take it down also to follow up later. Now if you have questions if a house is even a possibility open up your favorite quick comp site and have it ready to go for when you need it.

When just getting started I do recommend talking to other wholesalers and even those seemingly useless people known as Realtors … Why? Because if you are going it alone completely you will end up broke. Seriously though think about it if you have to split a few deals because you have no list or replies to your properties posted  half of a closed deal is worth a lot more than a piece of paper with an expired closing date on it! Some of them will even tell you the best areas to contract properties in.

As for the announcement its now a riddle… If you look with a moderate amount of effort and use common sense you will figure out what this means. An opportunity I extend to any of you will soon be going away in present form and coming back in a toned down version… First person to figure it out and email me the answer wins a prize.

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Take A Risk!

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by on January 14, 2010 at 1:01 pm

[tweetmeme source= 'gregharris66720' only_single=false]
Direct mail marketing for leads is a highly debated subject in real estate investing you have one side that stands by the good old postcard and the newer school of thought swearing by yellow letters. Last year I attempted direct mail because my “genius” mentor said that you have to do it no questions asked it’s a must! I did it and ended up not liking the idea of spending that much time and money for a 6 percent response rate and a whopping 15 percent of those even being a remote possibility of a deal.

At the end of the year though I ended up talking to a few fellow investors that swore by the idea of direct mail, and this week I gave it another shot. However I have done an experiment to find which way is the best and gets the most responses. I sent 250 postcard, 250 yellow letters, and 250 of my outside of the box idea. The results were not what I expected in the slightest bit. I used 3 different phone numbers just so I could track which mailing they are responding to. The numbers so far as follows .

Postcards-  with 14 call backs or 5.6 percent response

Yellow letters-  with 43 call backs or 17.2 percent response

My idea- with 155 call backs or 62 percent response rate

Sometimes it pays off to think for yourself and not just do what everyone else is! If you have an idea think it through, and ask others opinion of the idea to see if they have any cons to it that you can’t answer or overlooked yourself. After all that if it still makes sense the only thing left to do is TAKE A RISK! The only smart way to take a risk is to make sure it’s calculated!

My idea is based on scientific lessons learned through those boring psychology classes I had to sit through a few years ago. If you want to know what it  is all you have to do is ask! Wholesaling and investing are rocket science, but you don’t have to do the same things as everyone else.

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The Balancing Act

2
by on January 7, 2010 at 6:17 am

[tweetmeme source= 'gregharris66720' only_single=false]
It’s been a few days since the last blog so I figured we’ll do another one. This time I will point out some things that seem to get overlooked in the real estate business especially by wholesalers.

The opponent

Leads-

Lead generation is not a one sided or even two sided part of the process. A lot of the investors or “potential” investors  I talk to seem to grasp the concept of buy low and sell higher is how we make our money. A good portion however put great effort into their marketing, but have unbalanced marketing strategies and ideals that prevent them from making larger overall profits.

Problem 1-

They focus too much on having a massive buyers list. Their are people out there who like to brag about their buyers list of 20,000 people which is great don’t get me wrong, but they have spent all of their time on getting buyers and have no properties. At the end of the day only one buyer can buy your property, which leaves you with nothing for or from the other 19,999 buyers on your list. They all also only have one type of buyer on their list everyone wants cash buyers but if they are all investors buying at whatever percentage your “magical formula” tells you they will buy at you are missing a lot of money. If you have some retail buyers on your list or a buyers agent in your network REO’s and short sales actually become worth the time and effort you have to put into them. Also those houses where you are a few thousand dollars apart on with a seller can become an option for you.

In order to get some balance into your system, after you have a few buyers who want to buy more than one property a year up your efforts on marketing for sellers. The more buyers you have should also mean that you are targeting more sellers not more buyers!

Problem 2-

They target 500 sellers a month and don’t really consider if they have buyers in place. You can not repeat can not send out 400 pieces of direct mail and make 100 REO offers and have no buyers in place. The balancing act works both ways here people. If your mailing campaign is decent and get a 6 percent response and half of those come back as being good deals do you have the buyers in place to close on 12 properties? What about the REO’s if you have a 10 percent success ratio on your hundred offers, suddenly you have 22 properties now to close on. Wait though you’ve spent all of your time getting sellers and not buyers… oops. Now I firmly believe it’s easier to find a buyer for a great deal than it is to find deal itself, but you are delusional if you think that is gonna hold true if only have 6 people who you are for sure can close for you. So before we do our mass mailings make sure you are ready to buy or sell massive amounts of properties!

Training Camp

A goal or priority even for everyone is to make sure our business systems are in balance. No piece of your business should out grow any other part. Lead generation is important yes, but so is having balance within your marketing. One flat tire keeps the vehicle from moving!

Post Match Thoughts

To be successful you absolutely need to recognize the weaknesses in your game, if something is already a strength don’t focus on it entirely! If you can bench press 500 pounds and only squat 220 you are not a complete athlete. The same premises hold true in business. Maintain your strengths and build up your weaknesses. Feel free to leave comments and I appreciate the re-tweets.

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