Nothing Beats Them Coming To You!

It doesn’t really matter which type of real estate investing you prefer investing in, probate, foreclosures, rehab, flip or hold, they all have one thing in common. People.

You’ll be dealing with people.

Do you like that? Well, not everyone does. Like the Seinfeld episode where Jerry says, “People, they’re the worst,” you’ll be dealing with people. Sometimes, just like you and me, they can be a pain in the wazoo!

Have you ever had a deal that you were counting on, only to see your hard work go up in smoke because the guy decided that he would “wait a while longer” and see what else the wind blew in? Exactly!

The one thing I NEVER hear from most real estate gurus is how much “effort and patience” you must exert into this magical business of getting rich quick. (Otherwise known as real estate investing.) Of course, it’s not prudent marketing to say, “I made this $35,000 check after busting my butt for 6 months.)

This is not like going to dental school for six years and opening up shop where the money just starts rolling in consistently once your practice begins. Everyday presents a new challenge. This business is sales. I’m sorry to say, “If you don’t like sales or aren’t very good at it, you should stay out of real estate investing.” Or, if you think “people are the worst.”

It’s a people business and those who succeed, know how to talk to people and how to not let their behavior, throw them for a loop, too far when they throw them. In other words, (more understandable), when someone doesn’t go with your flow, don’t let it cause you to react in an unfriendly way now. This real estate investing business is all about people and relationships with people.

Yes, you have to talk with people all the time. Some investors hoping to do all the work with their website online and hoping to have little contact with the actual people, are in for a surprise and much less success. The “press the flesh” quote, is what every good salesperson knows will “seal the deal.”

Now that we’re in a mindset that we can have “virtual relationships” through Facebook and Twitter, some misguided real estate investors may think they can avoid the messy real life contact of human beings, but that’s not going to be nearly as successful as the people that understand the “human factor.”

I believe that some of the “old ways” of marketing are still the most effective. Direct mail marketing to potential sellers and buyers will possibly be even more effective as the online world continues to get very “cluttered and over-played” in our world.

It’s like when you were in high school. Remember all the different fads? I won’t try to list them here because they’re different for every generation, but we all had them. I’m not saying the internet is a “fad,” what I am saying is that, something that we get too familiar with, loses it’s effect to move us anymore.

Receiving a letter, addressed in a personal way, will always grab your attention. Then, it’s up to the letter to hold it and convey the message after it’s opened. Good direct mail does that and will usually get my attention before my computer even gets turned on.

None of us wants to waste time with people that “aren’t ready, not serious, just curious or just plain fickled” when it comes to spending time in this business of real estate investing. Yes, websites are necessary and provide leads, but there are people that will be looking for a buyer and may be hesitating or not quite ready yet… that’s where direct mail marketing will beat the others every time. If it’s done right, direct mail marketing for real estate investors will always have them coming to you.

I don’t like chasing deals with “uncertain” outcomes anymore than anyone else, but if you use good direct mail marketing to these potential sellers and buyers, your opportunities go way up! And best of all… they come to you! I like that!

The REIM Complete Package is a good direct mail marketing package. Check it out for yourself HERE!

Lease Option Or Subject To?

By Jason Hanson

Whenever I can, I prefer to do a subject-to deal. I only do a lease option deal as a last resort. I usually end up doing lease options with savvy landlords who don’t want to give up ownership of the property (they want to keep all of the tax deductions).

Here are a few of the reasons why I like subject-to’s better. First, I own the property. The deed is in my company name. Second, I get all of the tax deductions and benefits of owning the property. Third, I don’t have to deal with any third parties or sellers because I own the house.

Here’s why I want to do lease options last: Because you only control the property, you do not own it. This means you have to trust the owner and you will never do a lease option deal with someone who is in financial trouble. Of course, you don’t simply trust the seller. You have your ironclad paperwork. You go to the courthouse and record a memorandum of option to cloud the title on the property (so they can’t sell it behind your back). You ALWAYS make the mortgage payment directly to the company (because if you send the owner a check, and they don’t pay the mortgage then you’re screwed).

In some cases the monthly rent you’re paying will be larger than the mortgage payment. Here’s an actual deal of mine: I owe the owner $1,000 a month and his mortgage is $890. So, every month I pay the mortgage company $890 and then I send the owner a check for the difference of $110.

You will also want to run a credit check on the seller. Make sure he’s not in debt up to his ears. And use an authorization to release form to check the monthly payments and mortgage balance. All of these items are so important because remember you’re promising your tenant/buyer that they will have the option to own the home down the line. If your seller goes bankrupt, or puts liens against the property then you won’t be able to sell to the tenant/buyer and you’ll lose your backend payday of $30,000+.

Luckily, I have never had a problem with a lease option deal. All of the sellers I have worked with have been honest and very thankful for the help I gave them. In a way, this is just like screening a tenant……you screen the sellers up front that way you know your deals will close and you won’t have any problems down the line.

For Finding Motivated Sellers, Get The NEW REIM Complete Package HERE

Do You Think Wholesaling Is SEXY?

I’m not sure that I’ve ever thought about wholesaling this way before. It seems to work during a football game… the pretty girls dancing around in their little cheer leading attire, but WHOLESALING property? I’ve never heard it presented in such a “red-light district” sort of a way! Well, if you believe Preston Ely… he says, “Wholesaling Just Got Sexier.”

Maybe he knows something you and I don’t. Is this the new “pick up line” of 2009? “How about you and me getting together for a little “wholesaling?”

NA… that doesn’t work. Parasailing would be sexier to me.

Whatever he has up his sleeve, must be more than a “sexy face and wholesaling property.” This is probably going to surprise a lot of people, including me.

I’ve got an exclusive look for you from the “den of sexy wholesaling” and the “Hugh Hefner” of wholesaling right HERE. This site should be rated XXX, do to the “wholesaling nature” of the content.

Make sure there are no children around the computer or elderly with a weak heart condition before taking a look.

Postcards and Letters… That’s Marketing!

I just read an article on a forum where a guy states his dismal results from mailing postcards out. Although people still use postcards to reach out to prospects, there is another way to be more effective. It doesn’t matter whether you use postcards or letters.

It works on the same principle as social media. Personalize. It’s the difference between the weather guy or girl who says, “Hey everybody, the weather looks pretty good in (city or area),” and the weather guy or girl that says, “Today, it looks like we’ll get a little rain on our way to the game.” See the difference? When I talk to “everybody,” I don’t seem to really care about you, do I? But when I make it with “you” inclusive, now you care about what I have to say.

I have a great little eBook that explains the benefits of these little “tricks and tips” of writing and mailing great direct mail campaigns and it’s FREE. Get it Now at: FREE eBook